Bay Area charity denies wrongdoing in sale of donated USCG vessels

Bay Area charity denies wrongdoing in sale of donated USCG vessels A Benicia faith-based non-profit group is denying allegations of wrongdoing over the sale of two decommissioned U.S. Coast Guard cutters donated to the group eight years ago.
   Canvasback Missions received the vessels, the White Sage and the White Holly, through a legislative addition inserted by former Rep. Frank Riggs, R-Calif., the New York Times reported Wednesday. The group eventually took possession of the two vessels in September 1999 in Baltimore.
   Financial difficulties led to the charity abandoning plans to use the two vessels to provide medical services to the impoverished in South Pacific islands.
   The group then decided to sell the vessels: one to a maritime equipment company, which then resold it to an animal farmer in Nicaragua. The other vessel was sold to a San Francisco-area couple who now rent it out for eco-tours and marine research, the Times said.
   The charity did not notify the Coast Guard of the sales, but denied any wrongdoing.
   According to the Times report, decommissioned Coast Guard ships are normally sold at auction, included in foreign aid packages or added to the mothball fleet.