USCG Spar

USCGC SPAR

The USCGC Spar is a 180 foot long Class "C" Seagoing Buoy Tender and is resting in 110 feet of water with the highest decks at 65 feet. The deck at the stern is at 85 feet and the main deck on the bow, under the boom, is at 90 feet. It was sunk as part of the artificial reef program in 2004 and is located about 440 feet from the Aeolus. It is about 22 miles south of the Beaufort Inlet and 8 miles inshore of the U-352 and usually takes about an hour and a half to get to the site after leaving the inlet.
During the summer, the water temperature ranges from the upper 70s to the low 80s. Visibility averages 50 feet but can get up over a 100 feet. The Atlantic Sand Tiger shark is present in the spring and the fall, occasionally staying through the summer. There are usually schools of amberjack swimming around the wreck as well as sea bass, spadefish, and baitfish.
Since being sunk as an artificial reef, the USCG Spar has begun to settle into the sea floor. The water has dug out around the hull, creating a five foot deep trench around the ship. The rudder has settled into the sea floor so that only the top portion is visible. The ship has a 5 degree list to starboard. Growth was present after the first week of being sunk and has had continual growth over the ship.
USCGC Spar was a Class "C" Seagoing Buoy Tender with an overall length of 180 feet, a beam of 37 feet, and a draft of 13 feet. The ships hull was an ice reinforced steel hull and has a total displacement of 1025 tons. USCGC Spar was a single screw driven vessel with a bow thruster. It was diesel-electric driven and generated 1200 horsepower for a maximum speed of 12 knots. The ships compliment consisted of forty-two enlisted members and seven officers. Her working operations area was servicing aids to navigation from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to the northeastern tip of Maine, a distance of more than 227 miles. Most of her time was dedicated to servicing about 200 floating aids, as well as providing logistical support to seven lighthouses. In the winter she carried out icebreaking operations in Cape Cod Canal, Buzzard's Bay, and performed an annual lighthouse maintenance project for her operational area.
USCGC Spar was named after the original Coast Guard Womens Reserve and is an acronym for the Coast Guard motto "Semper Paratus, Always Ready." Built at the Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Company in Duluth, MN, USCGC Spar was launched November 2, 1943.
After being commissioned on June 12, 1944, USCGC Spar was subsequently stationed in Boston, MA in August 1944. Upon commissioning, USCGC Spar was quickly directed to assist in the war effort by supporting anti-submarine warfare during convoy duty off the coast of Brazil. On December l, 1946 USCGC Spars homeport changed to Woods Hole, MA. SPAR was moved again on June l, 1957 to Bristol, RI.
In 1957 USCGC Spar conducted oceanographic operations through the Northwest Passage. The culmination of this assignment occurred when the Coast Guard Cutters STORIS, BRAMBLE, and SPAR became the first vessels to circumnavigate the North American continent. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent his personal congratulations for this significant accomplishment. This impressive history was further added to in 1966 when USCGC Spar logged over 17,000 miles and visited such ports as Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and Ireland while conducting an oceanographic charting expedition in the Northern Atlantic.
The cutters homeport changed again in April 1967 to Boston, MA where it and the cutter CACTUS traded captain and crew.
During the 1970's, the Coast Guard's mission profile changed, and USCGC Spar kept pace with the new operations. She played a key role in the massive oil spill cleanup operations after the tanker ARGO MERCHANT ran aground off Cape Cod in 1976, acting as the test platform for various attempts to clean up the spill. USCGC Spar received a Letter of Commendation from the Commandant of the Coast Guard.
In March 1973 USCGC Spar moved to its last homeport in South Portland, ME. USCGC Spar went to Refresher Training in Little Creek, VA in 1981 and achieved the highest marks ever earned by an oceangoing buoy tender. In 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1995 USCGC Spar again returned from Little Creek with outstanding marks and displayed a gold "E with three gold stripes for nine consecutive overall "Excellent" scores in operations and seamanship training. USCGC Spar was recognized by Vice Admiral Paul Welling, Atlantic Area Commander, as "The cutter with the most gold" in the Atlantic Fleet.
The primary port calls for USCGC Spar were Rockland, Maine and Southwest Harbor, Maine. Less frequent port calls are made to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Boston, Massachusetts, and Newport, Rhode Island.
USCGC Spar was decommissioned on February 28, 1997.

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