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7 August 2017 The nonprofit Last Patrol Museum will be holding a special “Welcome Home” dedication at the Toledo Yacht Club on the morning of Aug. 19 to honor and dedicate the MLB 44334, a historic retired U.S. Coast Guard Motor Life Boat, as a mini museum ship and training vessel for area mariners. The festivities will be held in coordination with a US Navy Sea Cadet drill session planned on the yacht club grounds. Guests are asked to be at the Toledo Yacht Club at 9 a.m. and the boat will be brought in for an introduction and dedication ceremony at 9:30 a.m. After planned comments for the dedication of the boat, Veterans and guests will have the opportunity to go aboard the vessel for tours and if conditions permit, rides will be offered for Veterans and Cadets. A lunch of hot dogs and chips will be served at noon. Cadet training will resume once lunch is completed. “We want everyone to come out so we can introduce the Cadets to their new training vessel,” said John Nowakowski, Commanding Officer of The Last Patrol. “Most of them don’t know that she is here, so it will be a big surprise for them. “44334 will be an operational museum vessel, but her main purpose will be as a training vessel for the US Navy Sea Cadets while also being available to the US Coast Guard Auxiliary and the US Coast Guard if they need her. We’re here to further everyone’s knowledge of boating safety and rules of the road,” he explained. For the past several months, The Last Patrol has been working to bring 44334 home to Ohio to serve as a historic youth training vessel. The 44334 is a fully restored, 44-foot steel MLB. She has spent her entire life on the freshwater Great Lakes serving at CG Stations in Michigan and Indiana before transferring to Lorain, Cleveland and Marblehead. After her CG retirement, in Port Clinton she served as R.T. Cook for the Ohio Naval Militia. She has worked in recent years as a private U.S.C.G. Auxiliary patrol vessel on the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay near Bay City, Michigan. The plan is to purchase the 44334 for $30,000, an exceptionally generous price established by the current owners, William and Penny Church of Midland, MI. Other 44s have sold recently starting at $80,000 to well over $100,000. Donations so far are approaching $10,000. In an expression of incredible generosity, Mr. Church opted to bring the 44334 down to Toledo under her own power in a 278-mile journey over July 19-20 in order to help promote the project and assist in the fund-raising efforts. She will be moored and based at the Toledo Yacht Club. “We are deeply grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Church for this opportunity to acquire this extremely valuable piece of Coast Guard history at such a reasonable cost,” Nowakowski said. “We can’t thank them enough. They are truly wonderful, generous people to have made this all possible.” The extensive service of 44334 in Ohio waters means she has come home to share her legacy and that of the legendary 44-foot MLBs with new generations of young mariners. She can provide a proven stable and extremely safe learning environment for seamanship/boat handling, navigation, marine engineering and other maritime-related topics. When not engaged in training, 44334 will be available to Toledo Flotilla 16-13 of the U.S.C.G Auxiliary for limited special operations. This will promote boating safety and assist the Auxiliary while providing opportunities for Cadets to expand their educational and hands-on experiences. This is a bonus, especially for Cadets who want to continue maritime-related activities but who cannot or will not be joining military service. Many active duty and retired U.S.C.G. and U.S. Navy Veterans live in the area. They will be welcomed as volunteer mentors aboard 44334, allowing them to relive memories of their service while sharing their skills and experiences with the Cadets. These mentoring opportunities will be of immeasurable value to the Cadets and Veterans alike. Several members of the Last Patrol Board are U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Veterans while John Nowakowski is a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran. RSVP by calling John Nowakowski at (419) 351- 2346 or email lastpatrol@embarqmail.com.