NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Throughout the year, no matter the weather, the U.S. Coast Guard stands ready to protect and serve our maritime community on the water and in the air.
This weekend at Harborfest, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from nearby Air Station Elizabeth City will be conducting a search and rescue demonstration at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Chopper 10 was above the Elizabeth River Friday as the USCG did their demonstration to show you what you can see this weekend.
During the demonstration, the crew will showcase how they would rescue someone in distress in the water — using their aircraft, basket, swimmers and hoist.
With a top speed of around 180 knots and a range of around 600 nautical miles, the Coast Guard can deploy the Jayhawk in any type of weather condition.
In our region, the Coast Guard uses this helicopter for searches when a boater goes missing, and for rescue operations. Over the years, the crews have rescued numerous boaters in distress across the Chesapeake Bay and off the Atlantic Coast of Virginia and North Carolina.
There are 42 MH-60 Jayhawks in the Coast Guard fleet. Much of the maintenance work on them is done at the Aviation Logistics Center, right here in our region, in Elizabeth City, N.C.
As you attend Harborfest this weekend, keep an eye out for more local Coast Guard crews. Crews from Coast Guard Stations Portsmouth and Milford Haven will be conducting safety patrols and enforcing a safety zone during the event for the fireworks.
