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I avoided Kodiak by leaving the USCG in 1980. I would have been with Scott in Kodiak that year as that was my next duty location. Could have even deployed on the same flight since he was Aircraft Mechanical Engineer position and I was Radio/Nav and we often flew together in San Diego. Dodged a bullet? IDK.
My only experience with really cold water is from scuba. Part of getting a NAUI Master Diver cert is cold water... we went into the Columbia River outside of Kennewick in 34F water, at the Keystone Jetty near Whidbey Island, and into a flooded abandoned missile silo in E WA (woo, that was cold). I had a thick wetsuit on, which would have felt similar to the Survival Suit that USCG helo crew wears.
Yes, Columbia at Kennewick was cold. I helped put in the light on the northwest corner of the confluence of the Snake and Columbia, there at that park. We put the light out about 50-100 feet in the water on some rocks. We built a square container for concrete - IIRC it was railroad ties with plywood inside - and then poured concrete into that. It was July, sunny and about 90 something degrees, but we were shivering because the water was so cold.
The other time was MLB school at Cape D in February. They were taking us out to swim ashore, but we were to jump in at the docks to get wet and acclimated to the cold water. We had to break ice to get into the water. River water is always so much colder than ocean water - usually.