The Coast Guard commissioned the Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo at Coast Guard Sector Key West, Fla., March 28, 2015. Mayo is the sixth Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutter to be homeported in Key West.
Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished him or herself in the line of duty. This vessel is named after Coast Guard hero, Isaac Mayo. In the spring of 1879 a raging snowstorm blanketed the shores of the Northeastern United States. The perilous seas and weather caused a three-masted schooner, the Sarah J. Fort to wreck on the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Mayo displayed extraordinary character during the disarray as he and his crew faced the storm to rescue the schooner’s sailors. Because of Mayo’s exemplary surfman and leadership skills throughout the challenging rescue, Mayo was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal on November 10, 1879.
The Key West Navy League Commissioning Committee is supporting the commissioning through funding of activities traditionally associated with a commissioning, separate and apart from the U.S. Coast Guard.