USCG Cutter SPAR Competing in Buoy Tender Olympics

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard in Juneau is hosting the Buoy Tender Olympics this week, and the Kodiak-based SPAR (lower left) is there competing. The event is intended to highlight the skills needed to work aboard a buoy tender. It comes in the midst of the annual buoy tender roundup, which includes cutters based in Alaska, Washington and British Columbia. The Coast Guard says crews aboard its buoy tenders in Alaska service 1,250 navigational aids along 42,000 miles of coastline. They also participate in search and rescue, environmental protection and law enforcement missions. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Grant DeVuyst