A whale of a ship

Paul Clinton

It feels like Christmas for Lt. John Kidwell, a newly appointed U.S.

Coast Guard commander who has a big present waiting for him under the

tree.

Come July 11, Kidwell plans to be standing in a Louisiana shipyard

waiting to sign for the new cutter he will sail back to Newport Beach,

where it -- and he -- will be stationed.

“The ship [will be] fresh out of the wrapper,” Kidwell said.

A little more than a month after he takes control of the 87-foot boat,

valued at $3.5 million, Kidwell and his crew of 10 men will embark on

their 35-day trip.

Already named the Narwhal, after the arctic whale, the ship will

replace the Coast Guard’s Port Stewart at home base in Newport Beach. The

Port Stewart was retired April 26.

With its two turbo diesel engines and increased length, the Narwhal is

a higher-tech step up from the Port Stewart, Kidwell said. It’s duties,

which include search and rescue, drug interdiction and environmental

protection, won’t change much.

“The only difference between this one and the last one is this ship is

a lot faster, more up to date,” Kidwell said.

The Narwhal was built at Bollinger Shipyard in New Orleans, La. Prior

to kicking off the Narwhal’s maiden voyage on July 27, Kidwell and his

crew will be busy preparing for the trip.

The ship will take a familiar route south from New Orleans to the

Panama Canal and on to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico

before reaching Newport Beach.

The trip charts out at more than 5,000 nautical miles and includes two

dozen ports. The Narwhal should arrive in Newport Beach in early October.

A host of governmental officials will be there to greet the Narwhal

upon arrival, Kidwell said.

The 31-year-old Kidwell seems like a kid at Christmas because he is

living his dream. As a boy growing up in tiny Ketcham, Okla., Kidwell

fantasized about piloting a Coast Guard cutter.

In February 1991, he enlisted in the Coast Guard, working his way up

the ranks. One of more than 300 applicants competing for seven openings,

Kidwell successfully passed a rigorous screening process to gain command

of the Narwhal.

Kidwell hopes the trip will interest the Newport Beach boating

community, who he says has embraced earlier Coast Guard commanders.

“People come down here all the time,” Kidwell said in his Bayside

Drive office. “If we’re on the docks, they come by and wave. People pop

in here all the time to say hi.”

One person who spends more than a few passing moments at the Coast

Guard base is Kent Burton, who volunteers more than 20 hours a week

lending a hand.

Burton, who lived in Cowan Heights, will be sailing from Louisiana

with the rest of the Narwhal crew. Burton, who spent two years in the

U.S. Army, is a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

“Going through the Panama Canal is a naval tradition,” Burton said.

“Being able to participate is a fabulous thing . . . That’s the way I

look at it, like an adventure.”

NARWHAL SPECS

Length: 87 feet

Weight with a full load: 100.15 tons

Weight, minimum operation: 92.44 tons

Maximum speed: 25.62 knots

Fuel capacity: 2,660 gallons

Engines: Two turbocharged diesels

Cost: $3.5 million