COAST GUARD SEARCH & RESCUE SPECIALISTS WILL AGAIN BE AT THE HA-HA KICK-OFF PARTY ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2
The accompanying photo is from a Ha-Ha/Coast Guard SAR presentation at the West Marine store just prior to the 2022 Ha-Ha. The gentleman in front on the lower right is Douglas Samp, who at the time was in charge of Coast Guard Search & Rescue for the entire Pacific Ocean. The Ha-Ha gets the best from the Coast Guard.
Samp already had considerable experience with the Ha-Ha, as he was the Duty Officer in 2009 when a Ha-Ha boat was hit by a whale and quickly sunk about 180 miles south of San Diego. He oversaw what was later declared a “textbook rescue” at the extreme range of San Diego-based helicopters. The rescue was possible because of the boat's preparation and the leadership of her captain, Eugenie Russell.
Rather than do a presentation at the West Marine store, in the last couple of years we've had the Coast Guard set up a booth at the Kick-Off Party. So on November 2, everyone will have as much one-on-one time with the SAR experts as they want.
Samp, a very friendly and personable guy, has 26 years of Coast Guard and 15 years of Command Center experience as a Command Duty Officer, Search Mission Coordinator (SMC), and Command Center Supervisor overseeing Coast Guard and interagency operations at District, Area, and Sector Command Centers. Instead of heading up SAR in the Pacific, Samp now travels around the world helping less developed countries improve their SAR capabilities.
SAR Specialist Douglas Samp
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SAR presentation at West Marine just prior to the 2022 Ha-Ha
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