Our Captain at that time was LCDR F.J. Flynn ( Great Captain )
Click below for all commanding officers of the USCGC Spar wlb-403
A Fact - Earth weighs 6 trillion trillion tons.
The Spar's Voyage In "1966".
On July 15th the U.S.C. SPAR-403 departed Bristol RI to embark on a 17,000 mile voyage across the North Atlantic - up past the realm of the arctic circle -​ throughout Europe's many ports.
​The Spar's Itinerary for "1966" voyage.


​July 18th
we arrived in Argentia Newfoundland ( refueled ) and Departed enroute to Keflavick Iceland.
July 25th we arrived at Keflavick Iceland & we ( refueled ) and took on Provisions.
August 4th we departed Keflavick Iceland and was enroute to Reykjavick Iceland.
August 7th we arrived in Reykjavik Iceland and ( refueled ).
August 10th we departed Reykjvik Iceland enroute to Tromso Norway.
August 23rd we arrived in Tromso Norway & ( refueled ) and took on provisions.
August 26th we departed Tromso Norway, and completed the Survey work on September 8th. We headed back to Tromso Norway.
September 9th we departed Tromso Norway enroute to Copenhagen Denmark .
September 14th arrived in Copenhagen Denmark.
September 19th we departed Copenhagen Denmark enroute to Bremerhagen Germany.
September 20th we arrived in Bremerhagen Germany & departed on the 23rd.
September 23rd we departed Bremerhagen Germany enroute to Belfast Ireland.
September 27th we arrived in Belfast Ireland & ( refueled ) and took on provisions .
September 30th we departed Belfast Ireland enroute to Argentia Newfoundland, 1,971 miles.
October 6th we arrived in Argentia Newfoundland & ( refueled ).
October 9th we arrived back in Boston Massachusetts & we spent approximately two weeks there before coming back home to her home port Bristol RI. October 23rd 1966. Putting a grand total of just over 17,000 miles under her belt along with the crew & officers & the ten civilians on board who worked for the naval dept.
Sometime after August, 10th the stop to "Jan Mayen Island" was incorporated into the cruise while out at sea, it wasn't planned while we were still in Bristol RI it wasn't posted on the itinerary. We were enroute to Tromso Norway when we were passing by Jan Mayen island.
​One could say it was for some "R and R" / to get off our sea legs.

​                         Note: I Turned 21 years old in Keflavik Iceland, July 28th."1966".
Oceanography in the Coast Guard.
The scientific study of the oceanshas been a part of Coast Guard operations for more than a century. It began when the first Revenue Cutter Service vessels visited Alaska after the territory was purchased from Russia in 1867. They added oceanographic survey work to the long list of their other duties.

Hydrographic Survey Work In The North Atlantic,1966.

If you were not on this trip or one like it, then you will never know what is like being on a 180 out at sea,
​ ( North Atlantic ) for just over 3 months
. We had all types of weather and two monster storms that lasted nearly two weeks each. Some swells were being recorded in the ships log book at 70 / 80 feet high.
 The winds were just as bad. The Spar seen her crew members through it all.
 ​Results 1 - 10 of about 10,200 for LEONARD G. JOHNSON ATLANTIC SURVEY "1966".
Enter The Below Into Google - the first article.
This information is for the crew members as well as the officers that served aboard the
U.S.C.G. Cutter SPAR wlb - 403 in 1966
​LEONARD G. JOHNSON ATLANTIC SURVEY "1966"
​​Distribution Statement : APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE ( Click here )
  Search Results - Click Below
Click here for North atlantic fracture zones near 53° - Elsevier

by L Johnson - 1967 - Cited by 17 -Click Here Related articles
North atlantic fracture zones near 53°. G. Leonard Johnson a ...USCGC SPAR WLB/403 while returning from an Arctic survey collected bathymetric and magnetic data .... 15 (1966) 63. [16] D. V. Worthington and G. H. Volkmann, deep sea Reserch.
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0012821X67901872.

The abstract of the SPAR -WLB / 403 trip in "1966" was found on Tuesday, 3 / 9 / 2010.

Accession Number : AD0817251
Title : OCEANOGRAPHIC CRUISE SUMMARY RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY OF NORTHERN MID-OCEANIC RIDGE.
Descriptive Note : Informal rept. 30 Jul-10 Oct 66,

Corporate Author :NAVAL OCEANOGRAPHIC OFFICE NSTL STATION MS
Personal Author(s) :Johnson, G. Leonard
Report Date : JUL 1967
Pagination or Media Count : 7
Abstract :
​A joint U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office and U.S. Coast Guard geological, geophysical survey was conducted during the summer months of "1966" on that portion of the mid-oceanic ridge that lies north of Iceland. Preliminary analysis of the data delineates the general form, magnetic signature, and size of the mid-oceanic ridge and several small related fracture zones. It was found that the mid-oceanic ridge between Iceland and Jan Mayen has an average width of about 60 miles and a poorly developed rift valley. East of Jan Mayen, the mid-oceanic ridge is well developed with a rift valley and flank provinces. It had been previously thought that the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone struck east-west in the region east of 5 degrees W. and 71 degrees N. Instead, it was found to be an en echelon feature striking northwest-southeast. This fracture zone extends from the base of the Greenland continental slope to the Norwegian coast. (Author).

Subject Categories :PHYSICAL AND DYNAMIC OCEANOGRAPHY
Distribution Statement :Approved For Public Release.
Search DTIC's Public STINET for similar documents. CAN PERFORM SEARCHES HERE
Members of the public may purchase hard copy documents from the ​​​​National Technical Information Service
​Abstract
Near 53°N the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is offset 370 km in a left lateral sense by a large fault. Smaller subsidiary and parallel fracture zones are found both to the north and south of the primary fault. There is no magnetic signature associated with the fracture zone.
 Title:
North atlantic fracture zones near 53°
Author:
G. Leonard Johnson

Publication:
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Publisher:
Elsevier
Date:
August 1967
Copyright © 1967, Elsevier

​Earth and Planetary Science Letters- Click.
Volume 2, Issue 5, August 1967,
Pages 445-448 - CLICK.

Maps of the sea-floor geology identify the locations where fine-grained sediment and associated contaminants accumulate. Remote-sensing techniques such as side-scan sonar and high-resolution seismic reflection profiling allow detailed mapping of the texture and distribution of sediment types on the sea floor on a regional basis. These maps illustrate that sediment texture and other bottom features are patchy and that major changes occur over a wide range of spatial scales. The variability is due to the irregular bottom topography, past and present sources of sediment, and the processes causing transport. Maps show the location and extent of erosional and deposition environments and provide a regional context for the interpretation of bottom samples and benthic observations. Fine-grained sediments typically indicate areas of sediment accumulation; coarse-grained sediments or boulders define areas where the sediments are scoured and winnowed by currents.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters- Click.
​Volume 2, Issue 5, August 1967, Pages 445-448
Click onto map below for great detail ...
Click onto image below
​for Wikipedia the free encyclopedia on the Spar wlb-403
This ends our trip  What our mission was about & where we were,
during the voyage & completing our trip on Oct. 9th 1966 . We were in Boston Mass. for two weeks then back to Bristol RI. ​Enjoy the rest of the site.  
Tom Hough EN3-1966
This song (Stranger on The Shore)I played this song on the jute box whenever I had liberty while attending engineering school in Groton Conn. back in "1965" I wore the record out, it brings back many memories for me.
​Soon after I graduated I was transferred to the 
​​SPAR- wlb-403  in Bristol RI.
​In "
1966" we went for one hell of a cruise, across the North Atlantic ocean,  17,000 miles worth.
Tom Hough EN3
U.S. Coast Guard
Home Page​
From my Daughter Andrea​
​Dad,
​​Your web site is amazing!!!!
I spent a good chunk of time looking at it today with my friend at work. She loved it, too and asked me to email her the link so she can continue to look at it at home. You should be proud of all of the hard work you've put into this. It is so interesting and enjoyable to go through!
Can't wait to continue going through it (it's long!!!)
Love always, Andrea  4_10_2010


Thank you Andrea, that means so much to Me. ​

The World ClockTime Zones Click below
​In 1963 the existence of a transform fault near latitude, 53 N was first postulated on the basis of earthquake epicenter data by Bruce Heezen and Maurice Ewing. Also the study of ocean currents indicated that there should be a deep passage through the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In 1966 the area was investigated by USCGC Spar (WLB-403)on its return from an Arctic survey.The fault was named Charlie Fracture Zone after the USCG Ocean Weather Station Charlie at 52°45′N 35°30′W, athwart the fault. In July 1968 USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) conducted a more extended survey.It was proposed that the fracture zone be renamed Gibbs Fracture Zone, as fracture zones are generally named for research vessels. The proposal was accepted only in part, and currently the official name is Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone. Note that the double name refers to the two parallel fracture zones together. The individual fracture zones have to be referred to as Charlie-Gibbs North and South.
The Spar fracture zone was named in "1966" - long before the Charlie - Gibbs
Report on the voyage
Click onto picture below for data information
To see the only footage known from our trip in 1966
​Running time, approx. 13:57 Minutes​


​​Click onto video below to watch,
​"1966" North Atlantic Storms
With all honesty I can remember one of the Storm's name we encountered & it lasted a day short of two weeks.
Her name was Hurricane Dorothy.  The other storm I believe is Lois, 70/90 MPH winds. When the storm was over the officers took their chart readings and calculated that we had advanced one ( 1 ) mile in two weeks.
​Going by this chart for 1966 the second storm seems to be Hurricane Lois. Just as bad as Dorothy.
Hurricane
Archive Detailed tracking charts and info for tropical storms since 1851.
North Atlantic Ocean.
Click below:for the two storms we encountered at sea.​​
The Arctic Mid-Oceanic Ridge
G. LEONARD JOHNSON & BRUCE C. HEEZEN

Click onto photo on right for information​.
Click here
.
​"1966"
​​​U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar WLB - 403 out of Bristol RI.

ARCTIC SERVICE MEDAL
(Coast Guard)

The two maps below are of the North Atlantic's Ocean Floor.
"Click Onto Maps To Enlarge" You will love the detail.
US Naval Oceanographic Office. Lamont Geological Observatory.

Tromso Norway,
​Click below for view, then double click
In honor of the voyage, the discovery was dubbed the
"Spar fracture zone".

Atlantic Ocean Properties, Salinity
The waters at the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean are saltier than those of any other ocean - but not near Canada! The reasons for this high salinity are related to the flow of currents, the rate of evaporation, precipitation, river inflow, and melting of sea ice. Currents may bring high salinity water into the North Atlantic from surrounding saltier seas. The rate of evaporation plays a role in determining salinity. The higher the rate of evaporation, the higher the salinity, because the salt to water concentration increases as water evaporates. Increased levels of precipitation, as in equatorial regions, will decrease salinity by diluting the salt water. River inflows also dilute salt concentrations, and so too does the melting of sea ice. The outflow from the Mediterranean Sea brings very salty water into the North Atlantic, and is the largest
​contributing factor to the salinity of this part of the ocean.

10 Civilian scientists attached to Naval Oceanographic Office, autonomous underwater and a shipboard survey system for physical oceanography data collection for their demonstrations In "1966" On The
​U.S.C.G. Cutter Spar WLB-403
That year,The SPAR conducted hydrographic operations throughout the Northwest Passage in company with the cutters STORIS and BRAMBLE In "1957". When she returned to her homeport in Bristol, RI.The Spar was the first vessel to circumnavigate the North American continent. President Eisenhower sent
​his personal congratulations for this accomplishment.
With most of the Western Hemisphere transits already made the SPAR WLB/403 crossed the North Atlantic in 1966 up past the realm of the Arctic Circle. We Encountered Two very bad storms while out at sea.Each Lasting just under two weeks with swells being logged in on the bridge up to 70 to 90 foot. Winds up to 90 MPH, well over hurricane winds which is 70 M.P.H. our destination was Spitsbergen Germany. Norway where she was called upon to measure the Ocean Topography in the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone area.During this voyage, we were visiting ports in Argentia  Newfoundland, Reykjavik Iceland, Keflavík Iceland ,Tromso Norway, Jan Mayen Island, Denmark Copenhagen, Bremerhagen Germany & Through The Keil Canal in Germany, and Belfast Ireland.
North Atlantic Fracture Zones Near - 53 DEGREES.​​
US Naval Oceanographic Office. Lamont Geological Observatory.

​THE Mid-Oceanic Ridge, a broad fractured arch more than 40,000 miles long, is the largest tectonic feature on the surface of the Earth. Associated with the center of the ridge over much of its length is an axial fracture or rift which is the locus of shallow earthquakes. An extension of this world encircling ridge into the Greenland Sea and Arctic Ocean was first hypothesized on the basis of a well defined pattern of earthquake epicenters and a few spot soundings 1,2. The topographic form of the ridge was first revealed by precision depth records obtained during the pioneer polar crossings of the nuclear submarines Nautilus 3 and Skate 4. The Arctic Mid-Oceanic Ridge does not bisect the entire Arctic Basin but lies midway between the monolithic, seismic Lomonosov Ridge and the Eurasian continental margin.
This Entire North Atlantic Survey from the SPAR WLB / 403 In 1966 can be purchased​Purchase
​The detailed seismicity of Mid-Oceanic ridges
References and further reading may be available for this article.
​To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.
T.J.G. Francis
U.K.A.E.A., Blacknest, Brimpton, Reading, Berks, UK
Abstract ( Short )Earthquakes occurring along the median rift of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge have a significantly different (body wave) magnitude-frequency relation from those occurring along the fracture zones which offset the ridge. A number of possible interpretations are presented.
Received 30 January 1968.Available online 21 October 2002.
Depositional ridges in the North Atlantic
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 6, Issue 6, 1969, Pages 416-422
G. Leonard Johnson, Eric D. Schneider
Purchase PDF (1004 K) | Related Articles

THE Mid-Oceanic Ridge, a broad fractured arch more than 40,000 miles long, is the largest tectonic feature on the surface of the Earth. Associated with the center of the ridge over much of its length is an axial fracture or rift which is the locus of shallow earthquakes. An extension of this world encircling ridge into the Greenland Sea and Arctic Ocean was first hypothesized on the basis of a well defined pattern of earthquake epicentres and a few spot soundings 1,2. The topographic form of the ridge was first revealed by precision depth records obtained during the pioneer polar crossings of the nuclear submarines Nautilus 3 and Skate 4. The Arctic Mid-Oceanic Ridge does not bisect the entire Arctic Basin but lies midway between the monolithic, a seismic Lomonosov Ridge and the Eurasian continental margin.
This Entire North Atlantic Survey from the SPAR WLB / 403 In 1966 can be purchased. See link below.
The detailed seismicity of Mid-Oceanic ridges
References and further reading may be available for this article.
​To view references and further reading you must purchase this article.
T.J.G. Francis
U.K.A.E.A., Blacknest, Brimpton, Reading, Berks, UK
Abstract ( Short ) Earthquakes occurring along the median rift of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge have a significantly different (body wave) magnitude-frequency relation from those occurring along the fracture zones which offset the ridge. A number of possible interpretations are presented.


​A Dual Role for the U.S.C.G.C. SPAR wlb-403 in "1966"
​The Origins of SPAR’s Great Adventure


​​​The attached document is the official order that sent U.S.C.G.C. SPAR (WLB-403) and her crew on what would be a memorable adventure far different from her usual occupation of tending buoys in Southern New England waters, and thousands of miles from her home port of Bristol, RI. This mission came about for a number of reasons. A year or two earlier, the US General Accounting Office (GAO)—the government’s “bean-counting” agency—had done a study that concluded there were two more seagoing buoy tenders in the First Coast Guard District than were needed to effectively carry out the Aids to Navigation mission in New England. There were then five: LAUREL (Rockland, Maine), COWSLIP(Portland, Maine), CACTUS (Boston), HORNBEAM(Woods Hole), and SPAR (Bristol).
About the same time, there was a good deal of change in the air for the Coast Guard; the Ocean Station program was coming to a close, the service was soon to be transferred from the Treasury Department to the new Department of Transportation, and Oceanography was becoming more important as a potential new mission. Cold War tensions were high in the wake of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and the US Navy was deploying ballistic missile submarines (SSBN’s) to patrol arctic waters near the USSR; for this it needed highly accurate charts of the sea bottom so that submarine commanders could navigate safely to and from their assigned missions with minimum chance of detection.
Threatened with the prospect of losing 40% of its buoy tender fleet in the First District, the Coast Guard saw an opportunity to support the Navy (and enhance its military role) by using these capable ships as oceanographic platforms. Thus SPAR’s 1966 mission came about. Not long after she returned from the Norwegian Sea in October 1966, she was replaced by CACTUS (the oldest of the 180 Class), which was subsequently reclassified as WLB (O) —for Oceanography—and SPAR (as one of the newest of the class) went to Boston. The LAURELwas similarly reclassified not long afterward. Beginning in 1967, CACTUS’s missions were
​almost exclusively in support of the US Naval Oceanographic Office.
​​​​Author, U.S.C.G. Captain David Wood (Ret.)

​​Click here for:  Document CGD1 OpOrd 8-66.PDF

​The Spar Was A Sea Going Buoy Tender.
On December l st. 1946 Spar’s home port changed to Wood’s Hole, MA.
the ​SPAR was moved again ​on June l st. 1957 to Bristol, RI.
In 1957 SPAR conducted oceanographic operations through the Northwest passage.
The culmination of this assignment occurred when the Coast Guard Cutters STORIS, BRAMBLE, and SPAR became the first vessels to circumnavigate the North American continent. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent his personal congratulations for this significant accomplishment. This impressive history was further added too, in 1966 when SPAR logged over 17,000 miles and visited such ports as / Argentina Newfoundland, Reykjavik and Kefavick Iceland, Tromso Norway, Copenhagen Denmark, Bremerhagen Germany, Kiel canal, Belfast Ireland and Jan Mayen Island, while conducting an oceanographic charting expedition in the Northern Atlantic.

Search Results
Technical Reports:1,902591
Searched for: AD:(AD0817251)
Results: 1 - 1 of 1 from 902591.
Result Page: 1 Click Below To See.
To View TR Citation
Title: OCEANOGRAPHIC CRUISE SUMMARY RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY OF NORTHERN MID-OCE...
Personal Author: Johnson, G Leonard
Corporate Author: NAVAL OCEANOGRAPHIC OFFICE NSTL STATION MS
Source Code: 250450
Page Count: 7 page(s)
AD Number: AD0817251
Report Date: 01 JUL 1967
Distribution Code: 01 - APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
Report Classification: U - Unclassified
Collection: Technical Reports

Then and now in the Coast Guard.
​In between all of this Information that I have collected for the
​ USC SPAR wlb-403
​while searching the archives for all this information a lot of memories are returning to me. I remember the 10 civilians working under the navy's department bringing all their gear and electronics on board. Getting ready for the survey. I don't believe back then that the crew really knew what was going on. I have more interest in it now then in 1966. Their equipment wasn't just placed anywhere it had to be secured in a very special way and that was to weld all the equipment to the decks. Where ever they choose to put It at the time I wondered why are they welding all this equipment down. It felt like it was going to be permanent for some reason but I soon learned when we were out at sea why? If they hadn't have welded it to the deck it would have been everywhere and severely damaged also someone could have been hurt. The two storms we encountered while at sea would have been the proof of such a mishap. Its kind of interesting to me now. I wish I could go back as I think a lot of us do. The way the guard is today is a different ball game. I'm not taking away the fact that in our time years ago when we served in the Coast Guard.
Once A Coastie Always A Coastie. Tom Hough EN3 Some 51 years later.
​​Searching journal content for G. L. JOHNSON in author.

Copyright © Tom Hough 2009
My daughter "Andrea" below with her dog "Nicky"
Click onto picture below, showing "David V.V. Wood's wife" and two sons greeting him at the dock,
​ when the Spar wlb-403 returned home after 3 months at sea.
​ Grats to David, one on the way.


Addendum:

"Click onto image below" to see the Spar's information card celebrating her
50th. anniversary, from 15 Jul "1966"  to 15 July "2016"​​
I love the high seas...