Alaska’s untamed wilderness is surrounded by the treacherous Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean, and the North Pacific, paired with incredibly strong winds and ice floes that slam the coastline; this dark and stormy environment makes for one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world.
For the Rescue Swimmers of the United States Coast Guard, it’s just another day at the office. The swimmers are responsible for around the clock watch on some of the most remote terrain in the United States. The Kodiak (Alaskan) Coast Guard protects over four-million square miles, making their area of operation the size of Europe.
The story of some of the Coast Guard’s most elite Rescue Swimmers is told in The Red Bulletin magazine’s September issue, “48 Hours with the Alaska Coast Guard.” Their journey, from the grueling training on land and in the pool, to taking the plunge in the icy Pacific Ocean, was documented by Adventure Photographer Justin Bastien.
Justin, a Southern California native and extreme surfer, considers waves the size of houses and hurricane-like conditions the perfect time for a shoot. Even so, the cold Alaskan waters had him in for a rude awakening. And it was his own doing.
Only the most resilient rescue swimmers can survive in the Arctic as a last line of defense to save those who fall victim to the unforgiving water, and Justin soon found himself alongside those swimmers, fighting to keep his head above water.
Justin first came up with the idea to photograph these heroes on an annual surfing trip with his cousin, Senior Chief Aaron Bastien of the USCG, Kodiak. After hearing his legends of wild rescues, Justin knew he had to get in on the action.
Aaron gave me a tour of the air station one day and told me what they do to save lives and told me about the wild conditions in which they operate. From there, I knew I had to get the story out there, it was just too cool to pass up.
Combating fear with unparalleled preparation, the Coast Guard’s motto, Semper Paratus, or Always Ready is also a theme that Justin tends to live by himself. Never doing anything half-heartedly, he dove into a year of research, planning, and preparation. In May, after a series of high security clearances, Justin and his team set off for an experience they will never forget.
The first couple of days on site, Justin and his crew became acclimated to the rescue swimmers’ way of life by taking part in their daily training exercises. While the Coast Guard Swimmers took turns carrying a fifty-foot rope exceeding 100 pounds in weight up the mountain side, Justin and his crew carried camera gear logging every drop of sweat along the way. Justin swam laps, photographing the swimmers as they did their long distance underwater endurance training, and he jumped off high platforms as the swimmers simulated jumping out of helicopters into open water.
The rescue swimmers taught Justin basic safety functions and made him take part in the training before he could start the journey into the deadly Pacific himself.
The “Sweat Cage” helicopter evacuation was by far my favorite training session. Nothing like being flipped upside down in the water, tied up and trapped in a cage to make you realize things can get serious really quickly out there.
With the USCG, everything is about safety and risk management. Besides the “sweat cage,” Justin had to endure some other risky safety training sessions to prepare for the chopper ride, and ultimately fight the waves alongside the rescue swimmers.
Not only are these swimmers well-trained professionals and complete badasses at their job, but they were fun to work with every step of the way. The collaborative work environment in the helicopter between the pilots, maintenance technical and rescue swimmers is something you rarely see these days, especially in high stress environments.
Kodiak’s Rescue Swimmer Chief, Tom Bolen, says Justin was surprisingly able to keep up during the rigorous training, and that it’s a rare occasion for rescue swimmers to enjoy having a photographer along for the ride. “I’ve worked with a lot of photographers and reporters over the years but Justin is something special. He handled the extreme conditions Alaska has to offer like it was second nature and with a smile on his face. We’d welcome back that cool cat, Bastien to come and train with the Coast Guard’s finest here in Kodiak at any time,” he says.
Justin says that for the most part, the shoots went smoothly, until the last day on set, when a roaring storm rolled in. With ten-foot waves breaking against the rocks on the beach, the pressure was on as this was the day he had to swim and shoot the “Surf Ops” training.
“Up until this point I thought that taking photos would be the easy part until I got hit by that first gust of 130 mph wind and awoken by freezing-cold surf early in the morning,” says Justin after the first day out on the beach.
The wind, the waves, the deafening rotor wash from the chopper’s blades, and the stinging sand being blown onto already numb faces yielded perfect conditions for the shoot.
“It was my third day on the job and I was running around in waves up to my shoulders holding up a rim light for Justin when we were shooting portraits,” explains Logan Kruse, one of two photographers assisting on the shoots. “I had another Coast Guard swimmer, Jason McGrath, giving me signals for when to turn around and prepare for a big wave so me and the light wouldn’t get crushed.”
After ten hours of fighting Arctic water with wind, rain and sand battering the camera equipment, the shoot was over. “It was such a blast! I walked away from the beach that day with the utmost respect for what it takes to be part of the Coast Guard,” reflected Justin. “It’s truly inspiring to create a picture documentary on these heroes who put their lives at risk.”
Justin is based in Ventura, California, and is available for assignment worldwide. To view more of his work, visit justinbastien.com.