This is the Winona after coming out of Todd Shipyard 1965. Her open main deck amidships was enclosed with a new deck house. the hedgehogs were removed, and her main boilers had new brick in the fire boxes. She had a new designation of WHEC 65 (HEC for High Indurance Cutter) and a"Racing Stripe" that helped to better I.D. her as a USCG vessel. We took on fuel, picked up our ammo and back to Port Angeles, Wa. By now the entire crew was new except the "Skipper"Capt. Schmidt, XO Lt.Cdr. Nodel, EO Lt.Cdr.Oberholser and a few others. We were at P.A. only for about a week then off to REFTRA (Refresher Training), San Diego, Ca. As we" made way" off the Oregon coast we entered a section of water know as the "tatter patch'' along with an accompanying storm. The new or green crew was literally "green", including myself. Crew members on watch each had their bucket, while others were trying to perform their duties during "drills" in preparation for REFTRA. Some were so sick never made it to their station. They were found lying down in the main passageway as the contents of what was in their stomach rolled around on the deck. By the time we reached southern Ca., most of us had our sea legs and color had returned to our faces.
