2008 Flights to New England's Lighthouses & USCG Stations

By Brian Tague

December 2008 marked the 79th year of Flying Santa flights to New England's USCG stations and lighthouses. This holiday tradition was established in 1929 by Capt. William Wincapaw, a Maine seaplane pilot, as a gesture of appreciation to the lighthouse keepers, lifesaving crews and their families who stood vigil along our coast. On Christmas Day, Capt Bill would take to his plane and drop packages of holiday treats for the dedicated folks at these isolated outposts. The tradition was carried on for many years by maritime author and historian Edward Rowe Snow, who sometimes visited lighthouses as far off as the West Coast and Bermuda.

Friends of Flying Santa continues these flights today, using helicopters to make visits to over 30 stations and lighthouses from Jonesport, ME to Jones Beach, NY. An all volunteer non-profit organization, the Friends hold fundraising events during the year to cover the costs of the program including scholarships for Coast Guard dependents. Each December, during three days of flights, we visit with and deliver toys to over 600 CG children. The role of Santa is shared by two CG warrant officers, Tom Guthlein and Dave Waldrip.

Our first flight of 2008 took place on December 6th and covered nine stops in Maine and New Hampshire. The sleigh for this flight was an Agusta 109e generously provided by Granite State Aviation. Pilots Greg Harville and George Louzek did an outstanding job transporting Santa Tom Guthlein to his anxiously awaited appointments along the coast. With weather more suited for actual reindeer, Greg and George safely guided us through some severe snow squalls that were parked over Penobscot Bay for the majority of the day. The first half of the flight included landings at USCG STA Jonesport, USCG Southwest Harbor, the island of Vinalhaven and Owls' Head Light. Taking a break to refuel at Downeast Air, Greg and George donned their official reindeer noses and presented gifts of appreciation to former owner Bob Stenger and his daughter Leslie Richardson for their longtime support of the Flying Santa flights. Back in the air, we continued on to stops at Pemaquid Point Light, Burnt Island Light, Portland Head Light and Goat Island Light before finishing up the day at STA Portsmouth Harbor. Over 200 gifts were delivered to the children of these northern New England Coast Guard units.

Our second flight of the season took place on Sunday, December 14th covering 10 Massachusetts stops from Nantucket to Newburyport. The Bell Jet Ranger for this flight was generously provided by Ray Newcomb and JBI Helicopters of Pembroke, NH. This was the second year that Ray stepped forward to sponsor one of our Santa flights. Returning pilot Leo Boucher did an awesome job dropping in at some of our tightest landing areas. With Santa Dave Waldrip, we visited with over 200 children during stops at Brant Point Light, Chatham Light, Cape Cod Light, STA Cape Cod Canal, Scituate Light, STA Point Allerton, Boston Light, Hospital Point Light, STA Gloucester and STA Merrimack River. At every stop, pilot Leo donned his reindeer nose and cheerfully showed off the JBI Jet Ranger.

Reminiscent of 2007, bad weather once again forced us to twice postpone our final flight of the year to stops in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. For the 7th year running, Evan Wile, along with Cannon Aviation, donated his helicopter and piloting services for our flights. Setting out the day after Christmas with a full load of fuel, toys and good humor aboard Evan's MD 520N, we were transported to STA Jones Beach, Stratford Point Light, Lynde Point Light, Point Judith Light, STA Castle Hill, Prudence Island Light, Aids to Navigation Team Bristol, Warwick Light, Nobska Point Light and West Chop Light. At all of the stops Santa Tom was greeted by very appreciative Coast Guard families, some of whom have been participating for almost 20 years. These special Santa visits continue to be a large part of their holidays. Their children have grown up more familiar with Santa's helicopters than his reindeer.

The long list of pilots, all current and past members of the New England Helicopter Council, has helped make this annual tradition a huge success. Friends of Flying Santa remains extremely grateful to pilots Greg, George, Leo and Evan as well Granite State Aviation, JBI Helicopters and Cannon Aviation for their past, present and future support of this 80-year-old tradition of good will to the families of the USCG.

(To view all the photos from December's flights please visit our Photo Galleries)