Kukui Welcomed Home

December 09, 2009
By USCG Hawaii 14th District Public Affairs
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HONOLULU - The day after Thanksgiving, the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Kukui returned home after spending five months in San Francisco for a major maintenance overhaul.

In June, the crew departed Honolulu, beginning a 169-day effort to complete vital maintenance to the cutter and preserve its readiness to patrol the Pacific. The Kukui is one of three buoy tenders assigned to 14th District waters.

The maintenance involved more than 130 contracted work items as well as 30 projects completed by the ship’s crew.

While in San Francisco, Kukui’s crewmembers integrated themselves with the local community. They participated in major community service events such as clean-ups of local beaches, volunteer work at the San Francisco Zoo, and service at the San Francisco Food Bank.

The Coast Guard wasted no time in returning the crew and the cutter back to operational status. On the first day of the journey home, while passing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, the crew of Kukui received a distress call from a disabled vessel in danger of grounding on rocks in heavy seas.

Crewmembers located the vessel and were able to direct a nearby Coast Guard rescue boat to the distressed vessel in time to tow it to safety.