USCGC Dauntless

A short read about one of the United State’s Coast Guard cutters

mixed media painting by author

The Coast Guard’s Medium Endurance Cutters are also known as Reliance Class cutters. They are either 270' or 210' in length. The vessels of this type (mostly) named after inspirational traits.

Of this group, the Dauntless is my personal favorite. I was able to meet some of the crew once as a reservist, and they were incredibly helpful in letting me experience some things I needed to learn, to try to advance. At the time, I had no idea why a Coast Guard cutter would have a giant marijuana leaf painted on it, until I read the explanation on Wikipedia. It was the first cutter to seize one million pounds of marijuana. The Dauntless has also over 85 narcotics seizures.

In addition to it’s law enforcement role, the Dauntless completed 55 SAR missions during Mariel Boatlift in April and May of 1980. The Dauntless was also the first to arrive to the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986.

I created this painting of the Dauntless by using a combination of drip painting, for the background, and oil painting for the actual cutter itself.

I do not publish my posts behind a “paywall,” so read as much as you like.

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