Kids cut class at sea

Ensign Intermediate School students sail with some of the young Americans who guard the California coastline and ports.Hands shot into the air when a crew member aboard the Coast Guard cutter Narwhal asked for volunteers to ride the Pacific Ocean waters on a small, orange powerboat.

Devyn Davis, an eighth-grade student at Ensign Intermediate School, was passed over, but not for lack of enthusiasm.

Her voice shrieked and her eyes opened wide moments before the passengers were chosen. She had ridden on the boat, which is stored inside the 87-foot cutter, during last year’s trip.

“It was so much fun,” Devyn said. “We got to go really fast and wave to everyone standing on the ship.”

If retention rate is any indication, Ensign physical education teacher Joe Fuschetti’s field trip is passing with flying colors.

A handful of the students who attended last year’s inaugural ride aboard the Coast Guard cutter were back for more Wednesday.

Marna Rough, 13, was one of them.

“I wanted to experience it again,” Marna said as she watched the pilot steer the vessel. “The coolest things are the computer charts. They seem so easy to work.”

More than 20 students from Ensign were shown the ship’s safety equipment and search-and-rescue capabilities through interactive activities and demonstrations.

They learned details about the Narwhal, one of four Coast Guard cutters tasked with patroling the coastline between South Orange County and San Luis Obispo. The ship is stationed in Newport Beach, travels up to 200 miles offshore and has a 10-man crew, said Lt. Luke Byrd, commanding officer of the ship.

It is one of the vessels that guards the port of Los Angeles and monitors environmental safety around the harbors. Byrd said homeland security defense is the primary role of the Coast Guard since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Field trips and tours are ways to introduce students to their line of work, Byrd said.

“We always like to get kids interested in what we do,” he said.

On the two-hour trip, students saw a .50-caliber machine gun and watched crew members navigate the ship. The young passengers took turns tossing overboard heaving line used to rescue people.

Devyn said she improved on her throw from last year. Eleven-year-old Skyler Gray grinned after he chucked the line toward the powerboat filled with his classmates.

“They said if there was a man that needed to be rescued, I’d have gotten him,” Skyler said.

The field trip was set up through Fuschetti as part of his fishing, boating and aquatic safety class, funded through a grant from the Future Fisherman Foundation.

He is involved in the Newport Beach Navy League, a group that supports maritime service agencies.

Fuschetti said he opened the trip to anyone in the school.

“No one gets to do this,” Fuschetti said. “They’re really lucky.”20051013io9z6aknKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Christie Ohlhaver, 12, heaves a line to Dean Deleon of the Coast Guard during a field trip for Ensign Intermediate School students aboard the cutter Narwhal off Newport Harbor. 20051013io9z71knKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Lukas Ronaldson, 12, pilots the Narwhal as Coast Guard Lt. Luke Byrd watches during the field trip for about 20 Ensign Intermediate School students aboard the 87-foot cutter. 20051013io9z5wknPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Twelve-year-old Natalie Goodman tries on a gas mask Wednesday aboard Coast Guard cutter Narwhal off of Newport Harbor.