Smoking an Undercrown All Dekk'd Out 10 year anniversary cigar and drinking a Single Barrel Cask Strength Selection of Old Forrester while I listen to @beyondthebreakerspodcast episode on USCGC Blackthorn. Notes of cinnamon, baking spices, some leather, and light wood notes with lots of mouth tingle. .... Putting some smoke in the air tonight for the 23 crew of the USCGC Blackthorn, lost this night, January 28, 1980, while heading back to homeport from the yards in Tampa Bay. At 8:21 pm the 180-ft bouy tender collided with the 605-ft tank vessel SS Capricorn. A series of failures, including other marine traffic, lots of radio traffic, and failures in communication led to the bow to bow collision.The collision caused little initial damage but the Capricorn's anchor ripped into Blackthorn, through several spaces, and began towing the cutter backwards causing her to eventually capsize in less than 20 seconds. Several brand new crewmen were trapped during their escape when they ended up in the engine room. Seaman Apprentice William Flores, out of boot camp for a year managed to open the lifejacket locker as Blackthorn capsized. He tossed lifejackets to his fellow crewmen and tied open the locker with his own lifejacket to ensure the remaining lifejackets would float free as Blackthorn sank. Flores lost his life that night while trying to help his fellow Coasties survive, he was 18 years old. It took 20 years for Flores to be awarded the Coast Guard Medal for his heroisim. .... "Many of the survivors told the same story. They said they would not be alive if it were not for one of the new crewmembers." - MCPOCG (ret) Vince Patton. .... #thisdayinhistory #AToast #uscg #uscoastguard #USCGCBlackthorn #cigar #CigarLover #CigarAfficionado #cigarphoto #cigarsmoke #pssita #sailorandsticks #cigarsandwhiskey #TapThatAsh #whiskey #oldforrester #WhiskeyAfficionado #whiskeygram #whiskeyandhistory #whiskeyneat #quote #quotestagram (at Coastal San Pedro) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn_MUx6uRAz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
