ASTORIA, Ore. (Nov. 1, 2001) -- Coast Guard Cutter Cowslip, a bay-class buoy tender underway in Astoria. The Cowslip is scheduled to be decommissioned December 2002. The 180-foot buoy tender is the oldest in the Coast Guard and will be replaced by the CGC Fir, a 225-foot buoy tender. Located in the Astoria, the Cowslip worked under the most demanding environment in the U.S.--- in and around the Columbia River, servicing more than 200 aids to navigation in the Straits of Juan de Fuca to near the California border. Appropriately, the cutter's motto is "no bar too rough, too tough, too far." USCG Photo by PA2 Aida Cabrera