It was around October 2008 when I heard about The Spike. There was a calling to see if the owners would be willing to donate her and volunteers to clean her. Between October 2008 and March 2009, very little was heard on the subject of “Spike.” Around mid March 2009, I was brought to see Spike. She was beautiful. Spike is a retired USCG Tender that served Mayport Florida from her commission in 1968 to her decommissioning 1988. The US Coast Guard turned Spike over to Jacksonville’s Safe Harbor Boys Home where she was used as a dormatory and for maritime training. Here I began taking photographs of her before anything changed. To document what would never be again, before it it lost. I also began to video the rooms and compartments, hatches, and passageways. Around April/May 2009 time frame things began to pick … Read entire article »