The total transit took about 20 minutes – 15 minutes up and 5 minutes down – as the tonic of having made it up sustained me on the far easier trip down. I do recall being passed though by one of the (far) younger climbers – I think he was part squirrel – as he zoomed past me on the way up and was already on the deck when I was approaching the underside of the platform, still on the way up. But, for a 65-year-old, I think I represented the Auxiliary well in the eyes of those we signed up to serve – active-duty, United States Coast Guard. Some “knowing” nods were made my way as I stepped down from the gunwales to the deck itself.
JIM LOSI with VIN PICA: Jim Losi (left) is on the Eagle Board of Directors and gave Aux tours of the Eagle in preparation of visitor tours. He is one of only a dozen AUX members who have ever been qualified as a "Cutterman", and is helm qualified on a 225. Jim hails from Sector San Francisco 113 Division 12-91