Author: Chester Brigham

Publisher:

Published: 2018-02

Total Pages: 142

ISBN-13: 9780974077819

It was the 1920s, and flapper-age fervor was in high gear in Gloucester, Massachusetts, fueled by illegal booze flowing into every cove and beach from rum row vessels off-shore. With local law enforcement outmatched, the Coast Guard set up a cutter station to combat the rum runners. In charge was young Lieutenant Commander C.C. Von Paulsen. This experienced ship¿s officer did his best with the pursuit boats under his command, but was frustrated that so many fast rum boats still got by. He knew a better way. Not only a seasoned mariner, Von Paulsen was an aviator ¿ one of the first Coast Guard pilots. With encouragement from higher ups but no funding, he scrambled together a makeshift seaplane base in Gloucester harbor, sharing a tiny island with a lighthouse, the lighthouse keeper¿s family, and a government fish hatchery. He borrowed a bi-wing seaplane from the Navy and, along with a fellow pilot up from the ranks, flew a relentless schedule of patrols that year, scanning thousands of miles of coastal waters to spot rum ships and radio his patrol boats to take up the chase. The results convinced hardened sea officers and Washington politicians alike that there was a role for the Coast Guard in the air. Von Paulsen was granted funding and more planes to expand his shoestring operation on Ten Pound Island into the Coast Guard¿s first permanent air station. Bootleg whiskey still found its way into Gloucester, a port town not enthusiastic about Prohibition. But the sea lanes were now largely cleared of mob-financed hooch delivery ships.