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Flotilla Commander Kent McCoin [email protected]  Vice Flotilla Commander George S. Crouch III [email protected] Aids to Navigation C.Dale Owen [email protected] Career Counselor Carl Brown [email protected] Communications Steve Davis [email protected] |
Communication Services Lee Olson [email protected] Finance Lynn Williams [email protected] Information Services Donald H. Davis [email protected] Materials James Smith [email protected] Marine Safety Hans Miller [email protected] |
Member Training Gerald J. Ruschkofski [email protected] Marine Dealer Visitor Albert C. Morgan [email protected] Operations George S. Crouch III [email protected] Public Affairs Edward C. Jones [email protected] Publications Joe M. Richbourg [email protected] |
Public Education Ronald J. Tvorik [email protected] Personnel Services Aaron R. Small [email protected] Secretary/Records Jeanette Brown [email protected] Vessel Examinations James Fleming [email protected] Division Captain Ellen Kreiling [email protected] |
Congratulations to our own member, Jay Dahlgren, for his election as Commodore, Seventh District. We know he will serve us all well.
Probably no place on the lake shows the �drawdown� effects more than flotilla island. Nevertheless after some discussion about BS&S at our last flotilla meeting, things turned positive about why the public and the flotilla needs a successful class and the first class was another quality presentation with a growing number of students. What is also important is we know a number of folks who plan on attending future meetings, but had conflicts the first class. Thanks to Ron Tvorik, the instructors and everyone who spread the word on the benefits of our education program and brought in additional students.
As another reminder, time is running out for your requalifications this year if you haven�t completed them. Don Davis gave a good summary of everyone�s needs in last month�s On Course. In addition, it is time for vessel facility checks for next year. They too should be completed in October so any remaining paperwork can be input by early November before our databases are frozen for the rest of the year! The same for any radio facilities due to expire this year.
Certified letters were sent to all members we had not heard from who had not paid their dues for 2003. Some of these members received letters after they mailed their dues; thanks for your payment and continued membership. While those of you in this situation may now disregard the form, the certified letters position us to avoid the flotilla having to pay dues on behalf of nonpaying members who do not desire to continue. Sometimes in past years this has been an undesirable cash drain! In other cases, circumstances have changed and continued membership is not possible. For those of you leaving us, we wish each of you the best and we thank you for your past participation in the Auxiliary. Furthermore, we would be happy for you to come to another meeting this year so we can give you a proper �send-off.�
Division 12 meets in Charleston the last Saturday in October; plan to attend if able. Keep in mind our elections soon for next year. Nominations may be made from the floor but candidates must have completed one of the approved �administration� courses. We have ordered additional texts so you can sign up today for group or self study. Call Jerry for details.
Sea School will be using Flotilla Island for their Captain�s (6-pack) license course for two weekends and five weeknights beginning November 9th. Their exam will be on Sunday of the third weekend. The last BS&S class falls during this period and will be held at Holiday Kamper, thanks to Ed Jones.
Stay Tuned! Perhaps we can have a knowledgeable guest at our next meeting to give us more insight on what to expect with the �drawdown.�
See you at the next Division or Flotilla meeting!
Of course, the lake level is on everyone�s mind. I was on the water this past weekend and had a great day. Yes, keep a sharp lookout and stay safe. There is still water for enjoyable boating and we still receive calls for help.
Speaking of help. I just talked with Sgt. Mills with DNR. We have been asked to relay information about the lake to DNR. They need to know of shallow areas in main parts of the lake. Of course, a major part of Lake Murray will be shallow but what we are looking for are the new hazards. The current markers will not be moved. They will lie on the ground until the waters return. Some new markers will be added as needed but only for the hazards. DNR plans to fly over the lake to help in this matter. This information is subject to change but as of now it is correct. As always, please pass information and GPS reading to me and I will get the info to DNR.
The following members of 12-3 will lose their qualification if the ACM is not achieved.
BOAT CREW
Brown, C, Coxswain needs 8 hours as Coxswin.
Brown, J. Crew needs 8 hours as Crew
Miller, H. Coxswain needs 8 hours as Coxswain
Burton Crew needs 8 hours as Crew
Detuelo Crew needs 8 hours as Crew
Dunbar Crew needs 1 hour as Crew
Mikutaitis Crew needs 8 hours as Crew
VE/MDV
Dahlgren MV needs 5 visits
Mendenhall, G. MV needs 5 visits
Owen MV needs 5 visits
Dahlgren VE needs 5 CME
McCallister VE needs 5 CME
McCoin, K. VE needs 2 CME
Mendenhall, G. VE needs 5 CME
Owen VE needs 5 CME
Richbourg VE needs 5 CME
IT
10 members need hours for ACM. See 12-3 Data Sheet below
Click on the underlined link to view the report. Click "Back" button to return to newsletter.
All of our flotilla members need to stand up and shout!!! Our very own Jay Dahlgren was elected as the District Seven's new Commodore for the next two years!!! This is the Number ONE Position in the whole District!
Bobby and I attended the D7 Fall Conference a couple of weeks ago in St. Petersburg, Florida. If and when these quarterly meetings are held in the Jacksonville area, if our members have the time, they should try to attend.
As of 10-1-02, there is a new online shopping from D7's supply store in Palm Coast, FL. Just go to cgaux7.org/d7store All available merchandise including education is on the site. Many have pictures and you just pick & choose for you shopping cart, enter your credit card number(Visa & MC only)...AND also you must enter your Division & Flotilla Number (so you don't get charged FL sales taxes.)
I also picked up the "new" hot weather tee shirts and will have them at this month's meeting along with other material supplies.
Weather
Planning a patrol or pleasure cruise? There are two fantastic websites that can help you: Weather Underground www.wunderground.com is a general weather website that provides all types of global and regional weather information; MarineWeather.com www.marineweather.com contains a plethora of vital marine weather sources (sea surface temps, wave heights, forecasts, etc.) as well as information on tides, buoys, satellites, marine classifieds and a boater�s bulletin board. Log onto these sites to gather some interesting and potentially life-saving information!
Safety
The national Auxiliary website reports an important safety recall: SOSpenders Corporation is recalling 7,200 automatic inflatable personal flotation devices after identifying a malfunction during in-house testing. They have received no report of malfunctioning or injuries related to the products. SOSpenders Corp. is recalling all �Hammar� products for 100% safety inspections. In-depth information including affected products/item numbers/part numbers can be found at www.cgaux.org
Consumers should stop using the PFD's immediately and contact the Customer Service Department at SOSpenders Corporation at 800-858-5876 (M-F 8am-5pm PST).
Environmental Protection
Marine Signs: There are 8.5X11-inch flexible plastic signs warning boaters about pollution problems available from Coast Guard HQ (limit 10) through our Materials Officer. I think these would be ideal outreach materials to provide marinas during courtesy visits. There are four signs:
Yellow - Use of dispersants prohibited
Orange - ABC�s of fueling
Blue - Stash your trash
Tan - Keep your bilges clean.
Video: �Stop Exotics (Clean Your Boat)� - This video provides an overview of aquatic nuisance species and explains the basic steps boaters can take to help combat the problems associated with them. Flotillas will receive this video from HQ. Hopefully we can incorporate this video into future BS&S classes.
Submissions for the newsletter are due the 10th of each month. Any member can submit material, not just the elected and staff officers. In fact, I encourage anyone to do so. I also would like to again remind those officers (elected and staff) of the importance to our membership of your reports. I can't publish it if you don't write it. Thank you to those who do take the time to do their reports each month.
The newsletter is designed to be read as an on line web based document instead of being downloaded and printed out. This saves space on your hardrive as well as time, paper and ink. However, if you still want take the time and use up your paper and ink, I have posted a Microsoft Word version formated for printing so that the pages will line up correctly. To download this version, click the following link. Oct 2002 Newsletter You must have Word for the file to load. If you do not have Word, a free viewer is available from Microsoft at the following site. Just click on this link and it should open the Microsoft download page. http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/wd97vwr32.aspx
Precedence at Locks
I thought I would try something a little more obscure this month, thanks to Ed Jones who has had a lot of experience with obscure situations such as locks. This is not something that most of us do often. In fact, I have only done it five times (Pinopolis twice, Great Lock, VA and Canaveral Barge Canal, FL twice.) At the Canaveral Barge Canal, I had to wait for over an hour due to the order of precedence. Can you put the following in the correct order?
1. U.S. Military Vessels
2. Non-commercial Boats
3. Commercial Fishing Boats
4. Commercial Tows
5. Commercial Passenger Boats
6. Mail Boats
The first correct response will qualify for a prize at the October meeting, courtesy of Ed Jones.
The Fall BS&S class began on October 8th and got off to a good start. There were 8 students present with 4 or 5 more expected to be in class on October 15th. Thank you to the BS&S Staff and Flotilla members who were present to greet the new students. Ollie covered the event for the Lake Murray News, so be on the look out his article and photographs.
Don and I met at Zorba's Greek Restaurant for a delicious pre-class meal. Next Tuesday, we will meet again at Zorba's, between 5:30 and 5:45 PM. As usual, not only the BS&S Staff but all Flotilla members are invited to Zorba's and the BS&S class. Remember, the more Flotilla members in dress uniform, that we have in class, the better our chances of recruitment. We are also going to squeeze in some knot tying during each class and could always use extra help. Also, remember that I will turn in your attendance to Don, so you will receive Coast Guard credit for being there. Your prep and travel time will still be recorded on the ANSC-7029 form. If you have any questions concerning this, please contact me and I will check it out with Don.
Thank you for your support.
Vessel Facility Inspections for next year ( 2003 ) have to be completed, and submitted to DIRAUX by December 31,2002
DIRAUX has a new Operation Of Auxiliary Facility By Non-Owner Form, it has a line for Co-Owner's signatures, and also has a section, "If any Facility Owner would like to authorize Coxswains to operate his Facility while the owner is NOT ON BOARD." If the Facility Owner doesn't want to do this, just write NONE across this section. This form can be found at cgaux7.org/forms.asp called " Surface Use By Non-Owner Form.
Only "qualified" Vessel Examiners can do Facility Inspections. All Facility Inspection Forms MUST be approved, and signed by Commander McCoin before being submitted to DIRAUX. Upon completion, send all Facility forms to the FSO-VE to make copies for his records, and forward to DIRAUX.
VEs will be available for Facility Inspections: Saturday, Oct. 12th. and 19th. at Flotilla Island for trailerable facilities only. Please call if you're coming !
Trivia : Oregon's Crater Lake is 1,932 feet deep, with an average depth of 1,500.
October 8th, Fall BS&S Class begins
October 26th, Division Meeting, Mt. Pleasant
December 16th, Flotilla 12-3 Change of Watch dinner meeting
January 25th, 2003, Division 12 Change of Watch, hosted by Flotilla 12-3
Confidentiality Notice:
Telephone numbers and addresses of members are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974. As a matter of policy, rosters of names, addresses and telephone numbers shall not be made available to the general public or any outside organization. Privacy of all rosters shall be safeguarded and the page clearly labeled. The publication of these rosters, addresses, and telephone numbers on any computer on-line service including the Internet is prohibited by the Privacy Act of 1974.