The story of my Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat Surf Drills painting.

I got called out on a cold and windy day. Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay found the right wind and tides for a Motor Lifeboat Surf Drills that day and sent me a message to report to Sand Beach. I google-mapped the location and arrived about a half mile north of their location. I climbed the dunes to get a better vantage point then hiked down to near their location where I found a Coast Guardsman with a radio. I set up on a tripod and used the longest lens I had, 200 mm.

Two boats present. Waiting for the oncoming wave sets. By turns, each boat adjusts their timing and aim and smashes through, lifting high in a billowing splash of water.

The day was grey with no other activity on the water. The scene was their classroom for practising this maneuver and it went without a hitch. However, I have seen the angry ocean and this was not such a storm. I know these practice drills in the surf are meant to prepare the crews for much bigger water and less than optimal conditions.

So, I began to imagine. My brush began to experiment. My eye wondered what it would look like if . . . and . . .

In the end, I worked out a scene with impending darkness and a threatening sky. The ambiguous form of a far off fog bank and distant ship in distress. I put in steeper oncoming waves than what I saw on the beach that day. I put the element of drama out front because I felt it was important to call attention to the courage and skills these crews may have to draw on any given day. Semper Paratus is the motto of the United States Coast Guard; Always Ready.