Fireworks over Cutter Barbara Mabrity

NEW ORLEANS -- Petty Officer 2nd Class Joebert Schmoll, a machinery technician with Coast Guard Cutter Barbara Mabrity, watches as fireworks mark the official start of Mardi Gras in downtown, March 7, 2011. The Barbara Mabrity, a 175-foot coastal buoy tender homeported in Mobile, Ala., provided transport for the monarchs of Mardi Gras as part of the Coast Guard's annual participation in the festivities. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Stephen Lehmann.