THE SCUTTLEBUTT

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY FLOTILLA 12-8, 7TH DISTRICT CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA VOL 28, NO 3, MARCH 2002 FLOTILLA WEB SITE: http://www.uscgauxcharleston.org
FLOTILLA COMMANDER VICE COMMANDER COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS FINANCE MATERIALS MEMBER TRAINING OPERATIONS PUBLIC EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS SECRETARY/RECORDS
Dean B. Creed . . . . 843-971-1541 Brett J. Grooms . . . . . . . . 553-216 Tom Beauchemin . . . . . . 873-0363 Richard Daniel . . . . . . . . 556-8453 rbdaniel1829@aol.com dbcreed@netzero.net brettg101@comcast.net two_short@charleston.net Brett J. Grooms . . . . . . . 553-2168 Joey Bokern . . . . . . . . . . 884-8616 Robert Lovinger . . . . . . . 762-6136 John Sikes . . . . . . . . . . . . 569-0994 jsikes@aux.uscg.net brettg101@comcast.net joseph.bokern@hughessupply.com rlovinger@earthlink.net

AIDS TO NAVIGATION CAREER COUNSELOR COMMUNICATIONS

727-0307 Dan Cowley . . . . . . . . . . 795-7053 Dean Creed . . . . . . . . . . . 971-1541 Tom Schmidt . . . . . . . . . 886-0500 Mike Ethridge methridge@carlockcopeland.com dbcreed@netzero.net cowleyrd@knology.net beach-cat@worldnet.att.net

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

MARINE SAFETY LIAISON MARINE VISITOR

W. Brent Hepburn . . . . . 884-6625 Dom Zito . . . . . . . . . . . . 795-1012 Bob Orenstein . . . . . . . . . 821-0233 David Beaudrot . . . . . . . 552-2632 dzito@knology.net bhepburn@worldnet.att.net orenstn@dycon.com (no e-mail access) Marguerite Bishop . . . . . 766-1741 Barbara J. Yeatman . . . . 795-4149 Dick Clarke . . . . . . . . . . 849-9216 Dick Clarke . . . . . . . . . . 849-9216 doberdoody@netzero.net mar-jer-bishop@msn.com clarker@citadel.edu clarker@citadel.edu

PERSONNEL SERVICES PUBLIC AFFAIRS

VESSEL EXAMINATION
IMMEDIATE PAST FC

FROM THE COMMANDER

Dean Creed, FC While the Charleston boating season never truly ends, boating activity will be picking up substantially in the next several weeks. Im proud that our flotilla is prepared, and is already active on all fronts. Let me take this chance to brag a bit on your flotilla staff officers regarding just how that is happening . . . If you know of anyone interested in joining, FSO-PS Bob Orenstein is beginning a New Member class on 04 March. This years recruiting moniker is Each one get one so talk with a friend, neighbor or other acquaintance and, if you think they would make a good Auxiliarist, suggest that they attend this class. FSO-AN Dan Cowley has established quarterly ATON briefings and patrols, and is arranging a workshop for members interested in assisting with aids to

navigation efforts. FSO-MS Dom Zito and several others have been providing outstanding support to the Marine Safety Office. FSO-MV Barbara Yeatman runs one of the most successful marine visitor programs in the Seventh District, but her only help currently comes from Donald Smith, who did an excellent job in 2001. Our MDV mission needs some more folks, and Barbara would welcome your participation. If you are interested in obtaining Crew Qualification, FSO-MT Bob Lovinger and FSO-OP Tom Schmidt are beginning training on 20 March. You also should plan on attending the Team Coordination Training (TCT) that will be offered on 09 March, as TCT is required to qualify. Tom has been working with our friends in Flotilla 12-6 to ensure that we meet our joint commitment to Group Charleston to provide on-water patrols at least every Tuesday and Saturday, but we need to secure more operational facilities. If you have a boat, make it the best boat it can be make it a USCGAUX Operational Facility. FSO-PA Dick Clarke coordinated an excellent

showing at the January Charleston InWater Boat Show. A sincere thanks to all of you who volunteered time to serve at our boat show booth and created, in the process, a number of PE, VSC and new member candidates. Well done! Please continue to give Dick the support he needs to make the PA effort shine, as doing well in this area is critical for all of us. FSO-PE Richard Daniel has established the 2002 schedule of PE courses, and welcomes assistance in making these happen. If youre interested in instructing, or serving as an instructors aide, a BSC program begins 02 March, and help is always needed. FSO-VE Dave Beaudrot has scheduled the initial vessel examination blitzes for 23 and 30 March. Vessel exams are one of our best marketing and communications tools, and we always need more folks doing that! Consider helping this effort by getting qualified as a VE. Helping to making it all happen somewhat behind the scenes include FSO-CC Brent Hepburn, who has been doing an excellent job identifying Coast Guard Academy candidates; FSO-CM

Information contained in this newsletter is for official US Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary use only under the Privacy Act of 1974. The Auxiliary is guided by the current equal opportunity policies of the Commandant of the Coast Guard. No person shall be subject to discrimination in the Auxiliary or its programs because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or disability.

Marguerite Bishop, who continually increases our Operational VHF Radio presence; FSO-FN Joey Bokern, who does a great job keeping all our finances in order; FSO-MA Tom Beauchemin, who ensures that all the many various materials that keep the CGAUX ticking are always available; FSO-PB John Sikes, who routinely produces one of the best newsletters in the entire nation (ours!); and FSO-SR Mike Ethridge, who has been doing a superb job in providing minutes for our meetings. And, without any doubt, no one could ask for more all-around help than VFC and FSO-CS Brett Grooms continues to provide our flotilla. If any of these efforts or events interest you (and if not, ask yourself why youre in the Auxiliary!), please contact either the flotilla staff officer or me, and well be glad to give you more details and get you involved. My greatest single pleasure as Flotilla Commander is swearing in new members. I had the pleasure of doing this twice at the February membership meeting: Chris Beckham and Bill Dempsey Welcome Aboard! Finally, Id like to see all members attend our next Division 12 meeting. It will be held on Saturday, 27 April, 0900-1200, at the Mt. Pleasant Waterworks Commission building on Rifle Range Road. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about whats happening at the National, District and Division levels, as well as with our neighboring flotillas. Put it on your calendar now!

AUXMEET A live on-line chat room, which can be used by any Auxiliarists. WEATHER An excellent resource if you interested in improving your weather skills. C SCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES A listing of scheduled schools and course descriptions. E-Training and Testing Web based training resources.

MATERIALS
Tom Beauchemin, FSO-MA The following was recently received from ANSC: Please do not stockpile penalty stamps. The Coast Guard has paid for these stamps in the same manner as any individual would pay the post office for regular stamps. Unused stamps are lost money for the CGAUX. ANSC can adequately supply all orders, so there is no reason to maintain a multi-month supply.

PUBLIC EDUCATION
Richard Daniel, FSO-PE We completed a BS&S Course on January 8th as an overflow from our program in 2001. We ended up with seven folks finishing the program by performing very well on the final exams. We will be ending up another BS&S course at the end of February with around six or seven people completing the course. This course was set up and held off site at Yeamans Park Presbyterian Church in Hanahan. Public Education will be conducting a Boating Safely Course on March 2nd and March 9th starting at 0830 until 1330. All people that indicated an interest in taking a boating course while attending the recent Boat Show will be invited. The course will be given at the Coast Guard Base Group Charleston. We are planning another Boating Safely Course in April. Any Auxiliary member interested either becoming an instructor or attending the courses please let me know.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Dean Creed, FSO-IS I know everyone continues to grieve that our old friend AUXMIS, the Auxiliary Management Information System, will be going away. Nonetheless, folks, it is going to happen sometime in March or April, AUXMIS will be replaced by AUXDATA. The forms process is going to change. The forms will change, and the information put on the forms will change also. The pleasant surprise is that most changes are for the better. You will be amazed (and I dont use that word lightly, only in wellplaced context) at how much more information youll be able to get from the system directly without having to ask your FSO-IS or anyone else. I will provide an introduction to the new system, including the new forms and the submission process, at the 13 March membership meeting. I highly recommend that everyone attend this meeting. If you dont, I can assure you that you will have trouble submitting forms of any type. Please plan on being there!

COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
Brett Grooms, FSO-CS New on FutureWeb FutureWeb is the R&D website of the Information and Communication Services Department. Many new links have been added recently highlighting exciting new electronic initiatives being developed and utilized in the Auxiliary. Stop in and take a look at the future!!! AUXIMAGE A National On-line resource for Auxiliary related images. If you have high quality images please submit them to the database. VIDEO Video clips of Admiral James D. Loy Future of the Auxiliary speech and many more.

GET YOUR OPERATIONAL FACILITY INSPECTED ASAP!

Do you have an operational facility? If so, you need your vessel inspected for the year 2002. Dont procrastinate. Get your boat inspected as soon as possible so the paperwork can be processed and you can get your decal. Contact Dave Beaudrot at 552-2632 or a vessel examiner (VE) near you.

E-MAIL ADDRESS CHANGES

Please note new e-mail address for our members: Brett Grooms address has changed to brettg101@comcast.net Dan Cowleys address has changed to cowleyrd@knology.net Wayne Reeders address has changed to wreeder@comcast.net

Page 3

The Scuttlebutt

March 2002
members pursuing OTW participation, those who need TCT currency updates (attending an 8hour session is required within one year of achieving Crew Qualification and every five years thereafter), and all of us that have a desire to improve our knowledge of Situational Awareness and other TCT topics, JUMP on the opportunity to attend Charles Wootens TCT session on Saturday, March 9th! To sign up, please contact Dean Creed at 9711541 or dbcreed@netzero.net no later than March 4th.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Dick Clarke, FSO-PA Thank you to everyone who contributed to the almost 100 man-hours spent by our members at the January boat show. The event provided a gold mine of leads for prospective students in our classes (and potential members of course) and applications for Vessel Safety Checks. David Beaudrots VSC demo using a Duncan Boat Harbors display boat was well attended. Its exciting to feel the great working relationship we have with the helo folks from Air Station Savannah. Helicopters attract attention and thats good PA for us. Media outlets are being pursued to take advantage of this great exposure possibility.

OPERATIONS
Tom Schmidt, FSO-OP During the last thirty running days we have met all scheduled patrol commitments. including our teammates from Flotilla 12-6. Generally, 12-8 covers the Tuesday commitments and 12-6 the Saturdays, with 12-8 also having a vessel under orders about every other Saturday. The bottom line is that we are doing great, with 12-8 having logged fifty-six OTW vessel hours in the first two weeks of January. Included this time are four Helo Ops in daylight Helo- Charleston Harbor Ops. By the time you read this, we will have performed our first after dark Helo-Ops. Immediately following our February membership meeting, we conducted a mandated Situational Awareness reinforcement session, including a very productive interactive discussion. The lesson and discussion lasted about seventy-five minutes and was attended by an impressive group of 25 flotilla members. In addition to heightening the absolute need for improved Situational Awareness, the following must-do list was highlighted: 1. If your vessel is equipped with a kill switch, the helmsman must be attached to it by a lanyard at all times the engine(s) are running. Group Charleston must be notified immediately in all instances involving personal injury and/or vessel damage when a facility is under orders. SAFE speed is exactly that! The helmsmen must be constantly aware of the situation, including conditions, and must make sound judgments regarding SAFE operating speeds! There is no parameter in this equation for emotion! All OTW personnel must have current Team Coordination Training (TCT) status! It is strongly recommended that all

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!

Jeff Mahl, DVC-IR Have you ever wanted just the right image for an Auxiliary website, or maybe youre working on a P o w e r P o i n t Presentation for Member Training or Public Education? How about that hard to find photo for your next Flotilla, Division or District publication. Help has arrived! AUXImage brings you hundreds of quality approved images (both graphics, clipart, and photos) with online ease. You will find the AUXImage link at the Marketing & Public Affairs Department page http://www.cgaux.org/cgauxweb/news/n ews_a.htm . AUXImage is also a featured link on the R&D FutureWeb Whats I n s i d e p a g e a t http://www.auxonline.org/~futureweb . With AUXImage you can search the ever growing collection by image type, classification, or keywords. You will like the convenience of the gallery format which speeds the review of multiple thumbnail images. This makes the search process faster, even for members who may have dial-up access. Once you spot the perfect image, just click View Full to see it full size, along with all the particulars and instructions for easy download to your computer. Best of all, members are invited to submit those very special quality photos you might catch on the water or on shore, so

MEMBER TRAINING
Bob Lovinger, FSO-MT We are moving ahead with training plans for Flotilla members who want to become Crew qualified. The first two class sessions are planned for shore-side training to begin on Wednesday, March 20th and March 27th at 1900 hours at the Coast Guard Station. Individual members who have expressed an interest in becoming Crew Qualified should have been contacted, but if you havent been contacted, or if you have not expressed an interest before but are interested now, please call me. Our plan is to have people who have completed the class work for the shore-side tasks by the middle of April to begin signoffs with the Qualifications Examiners at the end of April and to go on to the on-the-water tasks by mid-May. I have been asked about Coxswain training and I will have an answer in the next issue of the Scuttlebutt. If you are interested, contact me sooner.

2.

3.

4.

Page 4
that all members can share and use them! Just click Submit Images and youll find an easy upload submission function. Once submitted, the images will be reviewed by A Department staff for proper content. Once approved, they will be added to the AUXImage library. Remember, your submissions must be applicable Auxiliarywide! Avoid the temptation to submit items of limited local or regional interest. Think first, is this an image that would be suitable for the NAVIGATOR? Be VERY selective... This special resource is brought to you by the combined efforts of the Department of Marketing and Public Affairs, with the Department of Information and Communication Services. We hope it will assist in your efforts to convey the great Auxiliary Image to our members and the boating public we serve.

The Scuttlebutt
incidence of CO events! The backing plate is 2" x 3" and has adhesive tape on the back. The company is Quantum Eye, and is on the web at the following address: http://store.yahoo.com/qginc/quaneyemu lca.html . Sent to us by Jay Dahlgren, VCO 12

March 2002
your transom. Too fast, and water will come over your transom and swamp your boat. With any vessel, you also must watch the swing of your bow, which can make a rather wide, sweeping movement as you turn in reverse. You don't want it to hit something or someone. An inboard/outboard, or I/O, handles in a manner similar to an outboard, but the outdrive unit is not visible to the helmsman, and therefore precise maneuvering is more a factor of observing boat reaction than of watching the changing position of the outboard. The transom usually is higher on an I/O powered vessel, and therefore there is less risk of swamping with the boat moving astern. Skillful backing of a twin-engine inboard vessel is remarkably easy, once you have become accustomed to the tightness and feel of the controls. Put both rudders in a straight-ahead position, and leave them there. To back back in a straight line, put both engines in reverse, with the same amount of throttle on each engine. To back slowly to port, increase the throttle on the starboard engine and decrease throttle on the port side, or to turn even more quickly, put the port side engine in neutral. With practice, you will be able to pivot the vessel on its stern. Just give yourself plenty of room to practice. If your boat is 30 feet long, you'll be swinging in a circle with a 30-foot radius. Backing a single engine inboard vessel is a bit more challenging, and probably will require considerable practice to be good at it. The reason that a single engine inboard is more difficult to maneuver in reverse is because the single propeller is creating a paddle-wheel effect. Each time one of the propeller blades slaps the water, it tries to pull the stern of the boat in the direction the prop is turning. You can't "aim" the propeller in any direction you wish, like you can with an outboard or I/O because the prop on an inboard is fixed on a shaft, and steerage is accomplished by moving a rudder back and forth in the propeller's wash. Since the rudder is aft of the propeller, the water being moved by the prop in reverse passes across the rudder before being drawn into the prop, lessening the efficiency of the rudder.Pg 6

PRACTICE BACKING BACK

Commander Bob Most inexperienced boaters find that many of the skills they've learned driving an automobile don't always apply behind the wheel of their boat. Accustomed to the feel of the rear end of their Chevy following closely in the tracks of the front end when cornering, the boat, they soon learn, pivots from a point about a third of the way back. Pulling away from a pier becomes a frustrating experience when the stern repeatedly bangs into the dock as the captain turns the wheel seaward. In due time, however, the newer boater gets used to the idea that he or she must allow a wider berth on turns, and the dents and nicks in the rub rail get less numerous. Boat handling skills in general improve with time, as the boater becomes more confident and gathers more experience. When it comes to maneuvering your boat in reverse, however, more practice and a whole new set of boating skills are required. Operating astern is commonly referred to by the novice nautician as "backing up." Personally, I've always had trouble with "backing up," because to me it was always backing "back," not "up." So let's talk about going in reverse as "moving astern." It'll make us more popular at the Yacht Club, and it will give people who don't know you well the impression that you have lived your life on the sea. If you are operating a boat with an outboard engine, you have the easiest job of all when it comes to backing back. You turn the wheel or push the tiller one way or the other, and the propeller moves from side to side, pulling the stern in the direction you want it to go. You do have to be a little careful about the speed at which you move astern, since you'll be pushing against the water with the flat surface of

THE WINNERS ARE IN!

Paul Mayer, DVC-VC The votes have been tallied and the results posted on the National V Departments Interactive Website. Go to http://safetyseal.net/awards.asp and see if your favorite VE or MV was voted as the best VE or MV by you, the members. Also since this is a new year, if you have a member in your Flotilla who you feel is deserving of being voted as the best VE or MV for the year for 2002, take a few minutes to nominate that special person while you are on that web page and get the word out to have your supporters vote for your nomination.

CARBON MONOXIDE SPOT DETECTOR

Sue Hargis, 17th District Boating Safety Coordinator While this is not an advertisement, we wanted to provide a web link to a "spot" detector for carbon monoxide. I just had some folks tell me about them, and then sent me a couple. They last for 18 months, and the dot changes color if the CO level gets too high. There are some cheaper ones that only last a month, but this one seems a pretty good deal at $9 each. Seems like a pretty good solution to recommend to folks to decrease the

Page 5

The Scuttlebutt

March 2002

FLOTILLA 12-8 MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES 13 FEBRUARY 2002

FC Dean Creed called the meeting to order at 1920. Bob Orenstein led the Pledge of Allegiance. Members present: Bobby Baker Tom Beauchmein Dave Beaudrot Chris Beckham Jerry Benson Joey Bokern Dick Clarke Dan Cowley Dean Creed Richard Daniel Bill Dempsey Mike Ethridge Brett Grooms Brent Hepburn received: ANDan indicated that this year he wants the Flotilla to strengthen its statistics for Aids to Navigation. He reminded everyone of the Saturday verifier training which will begin at 1400. Dan stated that there is a need for more verifiers. He also stated that the ANT team will teach a workshop on how to work on small aids sometime in March or April. There is also a need help to help with the lighthouse, and there is a need for an operational facility for AN work. MTBob reported that there were a number of people interested in becoming CREW qualified. The first 2 training sessions for CREW are scheduled for 3/20 and 3/27. Team Coordination Training will be held on 3/9. This training is a requirement to be Crew qualified, and every Crew or Coxswain needs to participate in this training every 5 years. OPTom reminded everyone of the Flotillas commitment to patrol every Tuesday and Saturday. This Flotilla has logged 56 vessel hours since the beginning of year. Tom also mentioned there is a tremendous need for operation facilities. As a part of his report, Bob also demonstrated the proper use of the bang stick, which is used to ground a line coming off a chopper. (According to Dan Cowley the proper name for this device is Debmans stick, not Dead mans stick as it is commonly called. It is named for Mr. Debman, who invented the devicean interesting bit of trivia. Thanks Dan). VEDave invited members to become VEs. He reported that the boat show was successful, and there were a number of requests for VEs. There will be a Blitz at Buzzards Roost to perform VEs for the Power Squadron on 3/23. There will also be a Blitz on 3/30 at the West Ashley Outboard Motor Club. Anyone interested in becoming a VE should contact Dave. Allen James Melvin Johnson Bob Kreiling Ellen Kreiling Frank Leister Bob Lovinger Bob Matthews Lou Mintz Mike Morris Bob Orenstein John Rodgers Tom Schmidt Mary Vogel Barbara Yeatman

Following the introduction of guests and visitors, Dean reported that there are currently 65 members on the flotillas roster, and the prospects of continued growth look good. Chris Beckham and Bill Dempsey were sworn in as new members. DCP Ellen Kreiling presented Dean and Brett with their Commander and Vice Commander certificates for 2002. Tom Schmidt and Brent Hepburn were sworn in as staff officers. Dave Beaudrot and Tom Schmidt were awarded their coxswain qualification and pins. Bob Mathewes and Bob Kreiling were awarded Auxiliary Annual Service Performance Award for 2001 Operations service following the 9/11 bombings. Dan Cowley and Brett Grooms were awarded Aids Verifier certificates. John Rogers boat is now an operational facility. Dan Cowley, who is currently training to become Officer of the Deck on the USCG cutter, Yellow Fin, gave a brief presentation regarding the workings of that vessel and volunteer opportunities. Yellow Fin is an 87-foot cutter, operated by the USCG. Dan just returned from spending 3 days on the boat, assisting the crew with various operations. The Yellow Fin has a crew of 10, and these 10 average working 84 hours a week. Obviously, there is a significant need for Auxiliary members to volunteer to work with the crew on the vessel to give some relief.. Anyone interested in volunteering contact Dan. No particular qualifications required to volunteer. After a motion was made and seconded to dispense with the reading of the Minutes, the Meeting Minutes for 9 January 2002 were approved as written. Dean discussed Operation Patriot Readiness Forms. He reminded members that he needs forms from all members ASAP. These forms are needed for the new AUXDATA system. The following Staff Officer reports were

PERichard reported that there will be a BSC course starting 3/2. CCBrent reported that the deadline for accepting applications for the AIM program is coming to a close. If anyone knows a good candidate contact Brent. Bob Orenstein was awarded the Service Award for 20 years of dedicated service. Dean stated that the 2002 Calendar will be posted on the Flotillas website. Dean reminded all members to check it frequently for updates. AUXDATADean will hold a workshop at the March Membership meeting re various changes to forms. If anyone needs to submit a form between now and March, contact Dean for advice. Americas Boating Course (ABC) was discussed. This Flotilla has not decided if we will offer the ABC. The meeting adjourned at 2025. Respectfully submitted, R. Michael Ethridge, FSO-SR

CAREER COUNSELOR
Brent Hepburn, CSO-CC This is really final call for anyone who wants to apply for next summer's AIM program. As everyone knows by now, it's a one-week introduction to the Coast Guard Academy for rising high school seniors. A typical candidate should be in the top 10% of his/her class, have at least 1200 on SATs, be a varsity athlete, and be of sound moral nature. If you know anyone who wants to know more, them to call me at 884-6625. Don't forget that the Career Counselor works directly with the Coast Guard in general recruiting efforts is TTI Patrick Smith, Psmith@cgrc.uscg.mil .

Page 6

The Scuttlebutt

March 2002

Flotilla 12-8 Calendar March 2002

Sunday Feb 27 FM 28 Monday 29 Tuesday Wednesday 30 31 Thursday Friday Mar 1 Saturday 2 BSC 1 at CG Base, 08301330

LQ

9 BSC 2 at CG Base, 08301330

010

11

12

13 NM Staff mtg 1730 Membership mtg 1900, base Chas 20 Crew Training at CG Base, 1900-2100

14

15 Scuttlebutt Deadline

16

17

18

19

21

FQ

22

23 VSC Blitz at Buzzards Roost Marina, 1000-1330

St Patricks Day 24 31 Easter 25 26 27 Crew Training at CG Base, 1900-2100 28 FM 29 30 VSC Blitz at West Ashley Outboard Motor Club

Good Friday

BACKING
continued from page 4 So if you have a single-engine outboard, you're going to have to spend some time studying and practicing in order to become profi cient a t back ing into tight spots , and may find

So let's talk about going in reverse as moving astern. It'll make us more popular at the Yacht Club.

that you'll be altering your plans at times to conduct your maneuvers with the gearshift in forward. If you want to practice sternward maneuvers, pick a calm day and a spot with little boat traffic, stop your boat, and toss something overboard that floats high in the water. Then practice backing back on the float. Soon, you'll have the feel of your controls and know how your boat reacts at various speeds, and wind and wave conditions in reverse. A final point. Never

back back in shallow water where your prop could strike bottom or rocks, or when there may be someone in the water behind your boat. If in doubt, don't even bother to take the time and movement to shift to neutral if you think someone may be in the water near your stern. Shut the engine OFF! Brushing up on your boat handling skills is important, and knowing how to maneuver in reverse is essential to those skills. Have fun and good luck!

Page 7

The Scuttlebutt
same goes for this boating season as well. Since I assumed the duty of FSO-MV for the flotilla (and have able-bodied, willing help), together with our friends in flotilla 12-6, we have covered quite a lot of Charleston County; putting our displays and keeping them filled with our pamphlets EVERYW HERE and ANYWHERE anyone would allow us to put a rack! I get a warm, fuzzy feeling when I return to a dealership or marina and find the rack has been pilfered. The materials that I JUST PUT THERE a week ago...GONE! I hear from the store managers that they

March 2002
are NOT finding the pamphlets in the trash that certainly is a good sign. It is a real pleasure to enter a new business (dealership or supply), and to hear things like we will be glad to set up a rack. So, having blathered a bit, I would like to say that I am proud to be a part of the Auxiliary, a Marine Visitor for the flotilla. The Marine Visitor Program is a vital and necessary part of the safe boating education and experience.

MARINE VISITOR
Barbara Yeatman, FSO-MV This is the down time for the MV Department. Just because we are not hot on the trail every couple of weeks doesn't mean we are dead in the water. This is the brief interlude granted us to gather our supplies, stamp everything and get ready to go again In spite of the tragedy during of 9/11, pamphlets and other boating materials continued to fly off the racks everywhere, and I can and do hope the

The Old Salt

One of our members who shall remain nameless other than The Old Salt has offered to provide a periodic short column of tips and techniques of potential interest to Flotilla 12-8 members and others. If there are topics that interest you, please let the editor know, and he will pass this along to The Old Salt. BUYING A BOAT. Buying a boat for recreational use is not a rational act. What can we do to help ourselves act a little less irrationally as we walk the docks of the boat shows and look at all the shiny, fancy, new, latest, must-have toys floating in the water or neatly placed on the

floor of the Convention Center?

The Old Salt was in the market for a boat some years ago and he knew it would likely cost more than his house so he developed a form based on reading, wishing, and guessing. This form is specific to his particular interests. Although it was aimed at a trawler, you can adapt it to your use. In addition to the ratings, he used a Polaroid camera to help his failing memory keep all that fiberglass straight and there is space on the back to take Polaroid snapshots and paste them to the form with two-faced tape. Remember, if you are out of two-faced tape, some boat dealer will have some; they invented being two-faced.
Let The Old Salt know (through the editor) how you like the idea of this column and what topics interest you. (more to come....)

The Old Salts Boat Rating Form

Make & Model Hull Type Features: A/C [___] LOA Rev. Ht [___] Elec Panel Year LOD Builder Displacement Fuel ______gal. Diesel [___] /

(Part One)

Water _______gal.

Elec Serv

Dual Stations [ Y ] [ N ]

Date Seen

Icemaker [___] Water Maker [ Y ] [ N ] Evaporator [___] Osmosis [___] Boat Location Asking Price Description: Salesman How long on mkt? Phone ( Broker [ ) ] Stock [ ]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

FSO-PB 12-8 D7 141 SOUTHWOLD CIRCLE GOOSE CREEK, SC 29455 -------------------------------------------------------------OFFICIAL BUSINESS

STAFF MEETING 3/13 1730-1900 MEMBERSHIP MEETING 3/13 1900-2000

THIS SPACE FOR LATE BREAKING ARTICLES AND INFORMATION

PERSONNEL SERVICES
Bob Orenstein, FSO-PS With all of the expansion of activities since September 11th, our needs are expanding also. We need more personnel and boats. Every one of us should consider themselves a recruiter. Talk up the Auxiliary and if you get a positive bite, turn them over to me and I'll take it from there. It's amazing how many people response to ...your country needs you and your boat. Everyone is a likely candidate. Let's get the message out!

FAMOUS QUOTE
When anyone asks me how I can best describe my experience in nearly forty years at sea, I merely say, uneventful. Of course there have been winter gales, and storms and fog and the like. But in all my experience, I have never been in any accident ... of any sort worth speaking about. I have seen but one vessel in distress in all my years at sea. I never saw a wreck and never have been wrecked nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort. Edward J. Smith, 1907 Captain, RMS Titanic
(struck iceberg and went to the bottom just five years later)