Coast Guard Cutter Venturous returns home after 49-day patrol

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Venturous returned home Wednesday following a 49-day deployment to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and the Caribbean Sea.

After arriving off the coast of Pensacola, Fla., the Venturous crew assumed on-scene command and control for vessels responding to the spill. Crewmembers developed a communications and operations framework that will help to sustain continued oil spill response efforts in the future.

"The crew has exceeded expectations on this patrol and we're pleased to have played an active role in preventing additional oil from reaching gulf coast beaches," said Cmdr. Ted St. Pierre, commanding officer for the Venturous.

Once the Deepwater Horizon well site was capped and Coast Guard Cutter Decisive took over the command and control duties, Venturous crewmembers continued their patrol off the coast of Haiti in support of Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations.

Coast Guard Cutter Venturous is a 210-foot Reliance class cutter, homeported in St. Petersburg. It has a crew of 85 officers and enlisted personnel. Typical missions include counter-drug operations, alien migrant interdiction, search and rescue and fisheries enforcement.

Crewmembers from Coast Guard Cutter Venturous pull in to St. Petersburg after a 49-day patrol Aug. 18, 2010. During the patrol, Venturous crewmembers were deployed to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Rob Simpson.

Cmdr. Ted St. Pierre, the commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Venturous, gives his two daughters a big hug after returning from a 49-day deployment to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and the Caribbean Sea Aug. 18, 2010. The Venturous crew assumed on-scene command and control for vessels responding to the spill. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Tara Molle.

Petty Officer 1st Class Brad Pfalzer, a crewmember onboard the Coast Guard Cutter Venturous, embraces his family after returning from a 49-day deployment to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response and the Caribbean Sea Aug. 18, 2010. The Venturous crew assumed on-scene command and control for vessels responding to the spill. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Tara Molle

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