WILMINGTON – For the first time in two months, Doug Goodwin can enjoy normal life with his wife and kids.
Until Monday, he’d been at sea as the commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCG) Diligence, which around 1:30 p.m. eased up to its Water Street port following a 60-day domestic fisheries patrol, the fourth mission Goodwin has completed in his year-and-a-half with the ship.
“Just seeing the family from the pier is awesome,” Goodwin said after a session of family hugs, adding he was thankful that email has made staying in touch so easy while in the Atlantic. “If it wasn’t for email, it would be like it was in the old days, which was a handwritten letter every couple of months.”
The Diligence, commissioned in 1964, has called Wilmington its home port since 1992, according to its USCG profile. It is the sixth U.S. vessel to carry that name since 1791.
Out in the Atlantic, Goodwin and the 210-foot cutter fared with a number of new crewmen “who worked tirelessly to learn, study, and become qualified in new jobs around the ship,” a USCG press release stated. “During the patrol, the crew earned 56 qualifications in jobs spanning all facets of shipboard life and operations.”
While its missions vary, the Diligence’s sea-turf includes the East Coast, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Its crew performs rescues, intercepts illegal drugs, enforces fishing regulations and halts attempts at illegal immigration in what usually are two-month stints.
For Goodwin, it’s contrast ahead: dinner with the family, dropping the kids at soccer practice, even planning a trip to Disney World.
“Just maximizing family time before the next one,” he said.
