This Day in U.S. Coast Guard History - May 9
1985- The CGC Chase was crippled by an engine room fire that put the cutter out of service for almost six months. One crewman, MK3 Nicholas V. Barei III, was killed during the incident.
1985-The largest cocaine seizure by the Coast Guard (to date) was made when Coast Guard units seized the Goza Now with 1,909 pounds of cocaine. The unlit speedboat, or "go-fast," was first located by the CGC Cape Shoalwater as it raced towards Miami. An AIRSTA Miami helicopter was dispatched to investigate and then began chasing it as it neared Miami Beach. As they approached the shoreline, the three-man crew of the go-fast jumped overboard and escaped but a TACLET seized the abandoned Goza Now and her illicit cargo. District 7 got a "Bravo Zulu" from Attorney General Edwin Meese.
1987- Coast Guard units, including the CGC Ocracoke, made the largest seizure of cocaine by the Coast Guard (to date). They discovered 3,771 pounds (1.9 tons) aboard the La Toto off the northwest coast of St. Croix.
(Source: USCG Historian’s Office)
