THE SCUTTLEBUTT

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY FLOTILLA 12-8, 7TH DISTRICT CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA VOL 28, NO 5, MAY 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@dycon.com brettg101@comcast.net joeybokern@aol.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 davebea@quik.com 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 12-8 MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Our June membership meeting, on Wednesday, 12 June 2002, will be at the Sermets Corner restaurant, 276 King Street, and begin at 6:30 PM. There will be a very brief meeting at 6:30, followed by dinner at approximately 7:00 PM. Family members and guests are welcome to attend. Youll be contacted by 10 June to confirm your attendance. Please plan on being there! It was with great pleasure that I administered the oath to four new members at our May membership meeting. Congratulations and welcome aboard to our newest Auxiliarists: Joe DeVillier, Jane Orenstein, Bob Wieland and Henry Wolf! I know everyone will do their share in getting to know them, sharing

the ins and outs of our many mission areas, and getting them involved. Its great to see Flotilla 128's continued growth. Also at the May meeting, LTJG Dean Milne, the Commanding Officer of the 87-foot cutter Yellowfin (which is homeported in Charleston) gave a very inspiring talk. Dean discussed his background with the CG, the missions of the Yellowfin since it was commissioned two years ago, and some of the current challenges facing the CG. He also showed some unedited video footage of the Yellowfins/CGs search and rescue role while responding to the helicopter crashes off the coast of Savannah earlier this year. A big thanks to Dean for being a great guest speaker! Our Flotilla remains quite busy on many fronts. Weve just completed the third Boating Safely program of the year, were close to almost doubling the number of Crew qualified members through the current training program, and weve already held five

Vessel Safety Check blitzes this year throughout Charleston. The Seventh District Director of Auxiliary recently recognized the diligent efforts of our two Marine Dealer Visitors, FSO-MV Barbara Yeatman and Donald Smith, in getting the word out about safe boating and the Auxiliary to many points of contact with the public. Our on-water operations are going strong, and the CG continues to increasingly ask for our involvement from working with Group Charleston missions and assets (routinely including the Dauphin helicopter), to operations with the 378' Cutters Dallas and Gallatin, to operations and ATON support of the crew of the 225' Cutter Oak, theres a constant need for Crew and Coxswains. Our five new Communications Specialists, which brings the total up to twelve, are able to help in a variety of ways, from simply monitoring the VHF and providing assistance to Group as a situation presents itself, to becoming a

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.

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qualified Watchstander and holding radio watches under orders. Id like to make a plea for each boat owner to offer his or her vessel for use as an Operational Facility. Please strongly consider doing so. Youll not only have a safer boat as a result, but youll feel a great deal of satisfaction in giving much-needed support to the operations program. Contact FSO-OP Tom Schmidt with any questions about Operational Facility requirements, status and use, and FSO-VE David Beaudrot to arrange your inspection. Quite simply, our flotilla needs you and your boat! MARK YOUR CALENDAR AGAIN! Id like to see every member of our Flotilla attend the next Division 12 meeting. It is Saturday 27 July 2002, from 0900-1200, at the Mt. Pleasant Waterworks Commission building on Rifle Range Road in Mt Pleasant. Were fortunate to have such a good Division Captain, our own Ellen Kreiling, and she always arranges a worthwhile meeting. In closing, I believe the Auxiliary is an outstanding organization because it offers such a good balance of service, fun and fellowship. You are one of the 34,000 Auxiliarists who, I trust, find it rewarding and take pride in supporting safe boating and serving our country. Our spring raft-up in Capers Inlet on what turned out to be a perfect day was a wonderful opportunity to share food and fellowship among friends and families. I only wish I had seen more of you out there. But, alas, our next social event is right around the corner (and on land): the dinnerin-lieu-of-meeting on 12 June. Come and share a story or two. When asked if youll be there, say Yes!

The Scuttlebutt PUBLIC EDUCATION

Richard Daniel, FSO-PE Public Education offered a Boating Safely Course on 11 and 18 May with 16 people signed up. With the completion of this BSC Course, Public Education will take a break so Operations and Vessel Exams can be focused upon using the resources we have. Boating Skills and Seamanship will be offered starting on 10 September. The BS&S course will run for about 14 weeks. Class time will be 1900 at the Charleston Coast Guard Base. An Advanced Coastal Navigation Course will be starting on 11 September also at 1900 and will run for at least 20 weeks. Cost for this course is $75.00. This class will be held next door to the BS&S Class. The Advanced Coastal Navigation Course is an outstanding course that builds on the BS&S or BSC Courses. This course is one of the most exciting courses you can ever take and will greatly enhance the present Crew and Coxswain Training Program going on now. That being said, anyone can take this course as long as either the BS&S or BSC Course has been completed. If you would like to take the Advanced Coastal Navigation Course in September please contact me. Editors note: The ACN course is free for members working on the AUXACN Specialty course. On behalf of Public Education we wish you a wonderful summer on the water.

June 2002 MEMBER TRAINING

Bob Lovinger, FSO-MT T h e C r e w Qualification class is winding down in the dockside or shoreside phase and should be completed before Memorial Day weekend. FSO-OP Tom Schmidt has done a yeomans work in getting people out to practice the on-the-water tasks. Some mentor signoffs have already begun in May. We hope to have a QE brought in to check out the diligent work done by the class members. Although we began with about 20 people, including quite a number from 12-6, we have lost all of them except for one diligent and earnest 12-6er. We are down to about half of our start group but hope to see eight or nine class members earn their Crew Qualification status soonand then perhaps on to Coxswain.

COMMUNICATIONS
Marguerite Bishop, FSO-CM I am going to task each of you this Summer to listen carefully to any and all radio broadcasts. When you hear a problem write it down and try to find out who the facility owner is. If the transmission is faulty, scratchy, broken or anything, try to contact the owner and tell him/her about it so that it can be fixed! Try to keep your radios in good shape and use proper procedures. You seem to be doing a good job, so keep up the good work. Out.

No person was ever honored for what he received; honor has been the reward for what he gave.
Calvin Coolidge

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
Henry David Thoreau

Page 3 AIDS TO NAVIGATION

Dan Cowley, FSO-AN LT. Brian Donahue, XO of the Madrona, the Guest Speaker for the regularly scheduled Flotilla meeting Wednesday 10APR02, was also Guest Speaker at the Division 12 meeting in Mt Pleasant on Saturday 27APR02. LT Donahue reiterated that there was an unprecedented opportunity for the Auxiliary and the Coast Guard to work more closely together in the future, especially over the next year or so in the Aids to Navigation Program, due to the absence of the Madrona. LT Donahue hopes that the Auxiliary will help fill that void by offering our Operational Facilities as platforms for ANT crew to work from and by learning how to repair small Aids and serving alongside Regulars on their facilities. He stressed again how much more our role as Aids Verifiers would be needed during this critical time, before the arrival of the Oak, the replacement for the Madrona. We had scheduled the second of four quarterly ATON/PATON-related Saturday classroom training events for Saturday 11MAY02. We were unable to secure an OPFAC, so the event was cancelled. As you may recall, the OTW part of the training for the last workshop had to be cancelled because we were unable to secure Mustang suits. At this rate the Oak may be in service here before the Auxiliary does much good on this front! No matter, we will try to continue with workshops on 17AUG02 and 16NOV02, hopefully combining classroom lectures with on-the-water training, providing every interested Auxiliarist an opportunity to qualify as an Aids Verifier. Chief Martin has issued us an open invitation to join his crew on the water at ANT HQ, with a promise that any Auxiliarist who wants to will be able to gain all of the

The Scuttlebutt
hands-on experience necessary to work on small aids. You are also reminded that the Aids Verifier course will be offered during the Spring Conference at the Ft. Lauderdale Marina Marriott, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, 23-26MAY02 by our own Mark Ratliff, DSO-AN7. In order to prepare yourself for such a workshop, you are encouraged to go to t h e w e b s i t e a t http://www.cgaux.org/cgauxweb/ope rations/aton2000.pdf and study those materials. If you are a Coxswain and are not a qualified Aids Verifier, I would like to ask you to seriously consider strengthening your credentials afloat with this training. If you are Crew qualified, I would suggest you consider adding this credential to your Auxiliary rsum. Please join us in this effort to help keep those lights on out there. Please contact me at cowleyrd@knology.net or 843-2257053 or 843-906-2852 if you have ANY interest in meeting this challenge.

June 2002 VESSEL EXAMINATIONS

Dave Beaudrot, FSO-VE As per Frank Leister, how to dispose of flares is not a straight forward process. Many of the various fire departments have received flares from individuals in the past, but they really do not have any set program. Frank recently contacted Linda Slater of the Charleston County Solid Waste Department. Miss Slater arranged the disposal of flares to be handled by the Charleston County Sheriffs Office. One only needs to call 554-4700 and request a pickup. The Sheriff will dispatch either the Marine Patrol or the Explosives Unit to retrieve the unwanted flares. I do not know how long this system will last when the WORD gets out, but at least we have a good start. Thank you, Frank, for your efforts! The boating season is in full swing and I hope that by now all the VEs have their required number of safety checks. With the completion of the recent blitz at Duncans Boat Harbour, I do not plan to schedule another blitz this year. Any Vessel Examiner who wishes to go to any of the local marinas to do any safety checks will be greatly appreciated. Editors note: Make sure and give Dave a call to let him know youre going so youll be covered the same as being under orders. If you cant reach Dave, contact Dean or Brett.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Dick Clarke,, FSO-PA On 14 May I gave a 20 minute safe boating class at the Southern Division Naval Command which was broadcast to their 26 field offices located in 10 states. I was told we reached about 500 people. The presentation was part of an annual SAFETY EVENT that the Navy gives to their employees. What an easy way to reach a large audience. Remember that although NSBW technically runs 18-25 May, anything we do during May and even June can be reported under this activity.

OPERATIONS
Tom Schmidt, FSO-OP Operation Harbor Shield was wrapped-up with a very gracious, delicious, and deeply appreciated, BBQ picnic thrown by Coast Guard Group Charleston at the Sullivans Island Fire Departments Fish Fry Tent. The bash was attended by all of the good guys and bad guys and the overseers of the war games. This amalgam was comprised of

I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.
Thomas A. Edison

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approximately 200 personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard (Active & Reserve), USCGAUX, U.S. Marine Corps, Special Operations, Local Law Enforcement, S.C. Department of Natural Resources, and doubtlessly unknown, unidentified, and possibly unseen additional Agencies. The celebration was punctuated by some brief comments from on high, specifically the Commander of Harbor Shield and our esteemed Commander Tunstall, both of whom paid special tribute to the AUXILIARY, for our valued and appreciated participation. To steal a quote from our FC Dean Creed .... a great payday! I humbly and sincerely thank all of you other bad guys that assisted DCP Ellen Kreiling, SO-OP Bob Kreiling and me, by not only being in the war for hours and hours; but for also being some of the baddest of the bad guys. We made a difference! Crew/coxswain training class were substituted on Wednesday, 15 May, by the required Operations Workshop 2002. The workshop was also held on Monday, 20 May. To my knowledge, anyone that wanted to become crew and/or coxswain qualified or retain their current level currency had to have certifiably attended one of these sessions. If you have any after the fact questions, please contact our Flotilla Commander, Dean Creed. On 7 May, several members of our Flotilla Bob Mathewes, Brett Grooms, Richard Daniel, Tom Schmidt, and crew trainee Agnes Wright of Flotilla 12-6 conducted an Emergency SAR. After hearing third party COMMS concerning a lost and confused skipper heading his sailboat into shallow near what he believed to be Bulls Island, we contacted Group, offered to assist, and were dispatched by Group to head offshore and search for the vessel in the area of last coordinates furnished by the distressed vessel. Initiating the SAR in the Mt Pleasant reach at 1715, we ran for approximately 40 minutes at 25 mph,

The Scuttlebutt
out the jetty line, then turning port to a heading of about 085 degrees, and closed in on the GPS waypoint representing the LKP. At 1753 we located the vessel, approximately three miles offshore of Dewees Island, and obtained Groups permission to proceed with a stern tow. Employing well-learned Coast Guard techniques, our crew, within a few minutes, working in 3 foot seas, took the distressed vessel into stern tow and began the tedious tow to the requested destination, the anchorage across the Ashley River from the City Marina. At 2215 we disengaged the formerly Bermuda bound, single masted, 24 feet, one man crewed, sailing vessel, at the anchorage. Our crew remains grateful for the long day spent as a team, the real life training, and especially for the safe delivery of the life and property of a USCGAUX appreciative sailor. 2.

June 2002
frequently use were revised in March 2002. Read the instructions for the form you are using and fill it out accordingly. The instructions will answer 95% of your questions. Complete and submit your ANSC7029 Member Activity Log (the Form 99") monthly. That means once per month. All preparation and travel time go on the ANSC7029. (As you know, thats the form you submit once per month.) If youre doing a mission which involves more than one member, determine who is going to complete and submit the ANSC7030 Activity Report Mission form. You only have one membership number, and that is your new Employee ID number. Please write legibly. If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask me!

3.

4.

5.

6.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Dean Creed, FSO-IS Contrary to popular belief, dealing with forms and information systems is not the most exciting portion of the Auxiliary. It is, however, one of the most important. One item determining the Coast Guards resource allotment is the hours Auxiliarists serve. It is in everyones best interest to submit your hours even if you personally arent concerned with receiving credit for them. The forms are actually fairly easy to complete in most instances. Please make note of a few important requirements on how we can all help make the new Auxiliary Information System work best for all concerned: 1. Submit only the current forms. You can get them on the net at http://www.uscgaux.org/~forms/ forms.html or you can let me know what you need and Ill be happy to mail them to you. Please note that most forms we

7. 8.

A SAILORS RULE OF THUMB

The original Rule of Thumb is thought to be the principle adopted by shipmasters to avoid dangers. They would never allow their vessel to approach a danger nearer than the distance that corresponded to a thumbs width on the chart. On a large-scale chart with plenty of detail they could navigate closer to potential dangers than on a small-scale chart with less detail.

No one that ever lived has ever had enough power, prestige, or knowledge to overcome the basic condition of all life - you win some and you lose some.
Ken Keyes, Jr

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The Scuttlebutt June 2002 FLOTILLA 12-8 MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES 8 MAY 2002
Dean Creed Richard Daniel Joe Devillier Mike Ethridge Brett Grooms Bob Kreiling Ellen Kreiling Frank Leister Bob Lovinger Bob Mathewes Lou Mintz Bob Orenstein Jane Orenstein Tom Schmidt Donald Smith Robert Wieland and Henry Wolf Dom Zito Guests: Jerry Benson Anne De Muth Charles Harris Dean Milne May at 1900 and 20 May at 1900. Tom also reported that Richard Daniel was signed off for his Coxswain qualification and Richards vessel has been designated as an operational facility. Brett Grooms mentioned that the Aviation program is progressing. Anyone interested see Brett. Bob Mathewes reported that some changes in POMS (Patrol Order Management System) that will facilitate payments would be implemented next week. Bob also reported that Auxiliarists will be able to go to the POMS website and print patrol orders. Dean encouraged members to submit articles for the upcoming edition of Scuttlebutt. Ellen Kreiling provided an update from the Division Quarterly Meeting. Among the highlights was the fact that Tom Schmidt was awarded Auxiliarist of the Quarter at that meeting. Brett reported on a SAR performed by a12-8 patrol last night (7 May) in which the patrol rescued a sailboat floundering several miles off shore. Excellent performance by all! Dean reviewed the calendar for May and June. Junes membership meeting will be a dinner meeting and will be held at a local restaurant. Details to follow. Dean discussed the idea of approaching local boat dealers and inquiring as to whether they would consider paying for anyone buying one of their boats to attend a USCGAUX BSC course.

The meeting was called to order at 1910 by FC Dean Creed. Frank Leister led the Pledge of Allegiance. Members present: Bobby Baker Tom Beauchemin Dave Beaudrot Jerome Bishop Marguerite Bishop Joey Bokern Dan Cowley

Following the introduction of visitors, Dean presented Richard Daniel, Tom Beauchemin, Frank Leister, and Mike Ethridge with Communications Specialists designations. Brett Grooms was presented the Performance Service Award for education. Ellen Kreiling was presented the Annual Service Award for Operations service. Tom Schmidt was presented the Annual Service Award for Operations service. Donald Smith was presented the Annual Service Award for Vessel Examinations and Marine Dealer service. Following these presentations, Ellen Kreiling presented Donald Smith with a National Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Marine Dealer Program. Joe Devillier, Jane Orenstein, Robert Weiland and Henry Wolf were sworn in as new members. LTJG Dean Milne, Commanding Officer, USCGC Yellowfin provided a presentation on some of the operational highlights of Yellowfin. Yellowfin is an 87-foot vessel with state of the art navigation and electronic systems. It was commissioned in June, 2000, and (among other activities) has been involved in providing security detail for the raising of the Hunley, conducted over 120 law enforcement boardings of fishing vessels, and has conducted numerous SAR missions. LTJG Milne showed footage of the SAR mission of the helicopter crash off the coast of Savannah this past March. Group Charleston was SAR mission

controller for that mission, Yellowfin was involved.

LTJG Milne stated that Auxiliarist Dan Cowley has been extremely helpful to the crew and operations of Yellowfin. LTJG Milne also said that the Auxiliary could best support Yellowfins work through the Auxiliarys own operations and communications facilities. Dan Cowley wants to start a training program for those Auxiliarists interested in doing some work on Yellowfin. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Minutes of the April Membership Meeting were approved and accepted as written. The following staff officer reports were given: ANThere will be an ATON workshop and patrol at 1400 this Saturday (5/11). MATom Beauchemin demonstrated the new lightweight, self-inflating PFD. Anyone interested in purchasing one can see Tom. PETwo instructors are needed for the upcoming BSC class. The Advanced Coastal Navigation class has been rescheduled for September. PADick Clark reported that on 18 May at Brittlebank Park the USCG Dolphin helicopter would be on display. National Safe Boating Week is 18-25 May. OPTom Schmidt stated that anyone who wants to maintain his or her onthe-water qualification must attend a 2hour Operations Workshop. The workshop will be offered twice15

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Dean reported on the recent fire at DIRAUX in Miami. This fire has significantly slowed down processing of many items. Dean discussed the CG Mutual Assistance program to provide financial assistance to CG members, and distributed materials regarding that program. Upon a motion made and seconded, the Flotilla agreed to make a contribution of $1 per member to the CG Mutual Assistance fund. Meeting adjourned at 2103. Respectfully submitted, Mike Ethridge FSO-SR

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in Biscayne Bay to watch a terrific sunset. The next day we set off for Ft. Lauderdale and the downtown marina where we shopped and watched the megayachts putter up and down the New River. We put our guests on an airplane and spent a day preparing for the last leg of our trip, departing on the 15th. The first day we made it to Hobe Sound where we anchored for the night, then the next day made it through the eastern half of the Okeechobee canal to Port Mayacca lock on the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. The next day took us across the lake and through half the western canal/river to a tie-up at the Ortono Lock. The next day we cruised through Ft. Myers to an anchorage in Glover Bight a delightful, wellprotected hole just off the waterway at the beginning of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The trip across the Okeechobee canal this time was uneventful, but disappointing. There is more and more development of the waterway with the loss of green space and the unspoiled beauty of the swamps and rivers. You know I'm not a tree-hugger, but I'm glad we have seen it in its more pristine state before there is a house and dock on every foot of it. Departing Glover Bight, we returned to a handy and protected anchorage at Englewood Beach and the next day we departed for Bradenton where we now reside at the wonderful Twin Dolphins marina. We had planned on anchoring in the Manatee River just out of Tampa Bay, but approaching weather chased us into the marina. We prepared to leave for Clearwater the next day, but were delayed by a bad starting solenoid. By the time it was repaired, the nice folks and great facilities here convinced us to stay and market the boat from here. Serendipity is listed with Bayside Yacht Sales and we have had several lookers and dockside admirers, but no buyers yet. It's OK though because we need time to wean ourselves away from this lifestyle it will be bittersweet. As part

June 2002
of the weaning process, we bought a car. Carol now has a Sebring convertible to take some of the sting out of her last birthday. We have been house-hunting with lukewarm enthusiasm (made so by the high prices, failure to find a floor plan that suits all our needs and whims, and angst against leaving the boating life). As always before, however, it will all work out and we will open the next chapter of our lives. The good news is we now have two grandchildren (Kenneth Edward III arrived on February 21) and have the time and opportunity to visit them often (as much as the parents can stand, anyway). Como Dios manda our voyage through life will continue and we will again cross wakes with all of you. Things we have learned along the way: There are no: 1. Sea serpents, mermaids, or sea sirens 2. 24 hour gas docks 3. The guy who fixed everything on his boat and now it runs perfectly 4. Dry bilges 5. Cheap marine stores 6. Cigarette boat owners who aren't middle aged and divorced 7. Single ply TP that's strong enough 8. Metals that float 9. Leaks that fix themselves 10. Free tows home Things we will miss: 1. Celebrating fabulous Key West sunsets by blowing my Conch horn. 2. The wonderful cruising people we have and haven't met 3. The ability to change our scenery and neighbors at a whim 4. Marveling at the variety of scenery along our seacoast 5. The challenge of going from Point A to Point B without incident Things we won't miss: 1. Single ply TP 2. Diesel smudge on the transom 3. Manatee and no wake zones 4. M a r i n a s t h a t d i s c o u r a g e liveaboards 5. Ducking through every doorway

TALES OF THE SERENDIP

Ken Krause When last I wrote, we were in St. Augustine awaiting the holidays. OK, the holidays are over (even though we are still paying the Visa charges) and we have moved considerably. We left St. Augustine December 30 and anchored at Daytona Beach, leaving the next day for Cocoa where we watched the fireworks all along the beach from our quiet anchorage. Next was a return to our favorite mooring at Vero Beach where we stayed and shopped and exercised for six days. Our next anchorage was in Hobe Sound then on to Ft. Lauderdale and a three-day stay along the waterfront of the New River where we watched boats from 15' to 120' glide by--electric boats, tour boats, mega-yachts, and every other shape and size. What fun! We then made the short run to Miami's North Bay Landing Marina for an extended stay, joining Don and Dinah, a Canadian cruising couple we first met in Waterford, NY waiting for the NY harbor to open after 9/11. A fun stay with good facilities and a good price. Ken, Jr. was working in Miami then and we had a chance to visit with him often. We departed Miami February 10 with Carol's brother and sister-in-law on board and spent the first night anchored

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The Scuttlebutt

June 2002

Flotilla 12-8 Calendar June 2002

Sunday May26 FM 27 Monday 28 Tuesday Wednesday 29 Thursday 30 31 Friday Saturday June 1

Memorial Day 2 LQ 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 Spoleto Finale, Middleton Place Gardens 16

10

NM

11

12 Membership Dinner mtg, 1830,Sermets Corner Restaurant

13

14

15

Flag Day 20 21 22

17

FQ

18

19

Fathers Day 23 24 FM 25 26 27

First Day of Summer 28 29

30

July 1

LQ

4
Independence Day

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June 2002

The Old Salt

NAUTICAL TERMINOLOGY The Old Salt has a fair collection of nautical books, including When a Loose Cannon Flogs a Dead Horse Theres the Devil to Pay by Olivia A. Isil and published in 1996 by International Marine in Camden, Maine. Last months excerpts were influenced or checked against this source, although I did not always follow Isils ideas as I heard other explanations when I was a Young Salt. This month I will draw more from Isils book. The Real McCoy is one such expression that has an uncertain source. Some suggest that a well-known prize fighter in the 1890's, Kid McCoy, was being dissed by a barfly, whereupon Kid McCoy explained to him the error of his ways with a left hook to the jaw. The barfly, upon regaining consciousness exclaimed Thats the real McCoy. The nautical version comes from the Time of Prohibition, The Great Experiment, when a Canadian boat builder named Bill McCoy, would bring in whiskey and other spirits in fast speedboats. Unlike others whose hooch could put your life at risk, McCoy did not dilute or adulterate his product and it became known as the real McCoy. Hunky-dory is not a handsome, muscular male, or Hungarian small boat. Rather it comes from the Honkidori street in Yokohama, Japan where a sailor on shore leave could find anything he wanted, and sometimes take home some things he really did not ever want. Perhaps if the sailor was not able to gain shore leave, or had already spent all his money, he could stay aboard and Splice the Main Brace. This activity did not involve actually weaving together two lines to replace a worn main brace, the loss of which would mean the loss of the mast. Rather it meant a nautical happy hour. Rum and tobacco were two creature comforts provided to sailors who had a hard life and few other comforts at all. One of the comforts sometimes available in the British Navy was allowing wives to accompany their sailor husbands on voyages. If the wife became pregnant, the only available room to give birth might be between the cannons on the gun deck. That is Isils explanation. Another, more scandalous one I read was that women were sometimes allowed on board but it might be an arrangement where a gun crew of several men might share the comfort provided by a single woman. If she became pregnant, the father could not be determined in that pre-DNA era and so the child, if a boy, might be entered on the ships books as son of gun number so-and-so, hence the expression Son of a Gun. But if the child was a girl. . . .? Perhaps we will save that for another time.

ON-THE-WATER TOWING ASSISTANCE CALLS ON THE RISE UPWARD TREND FORECAST FOR MEMORIAL DAY
DATELINE-May 15, 2002, from BoatU.S. BoatU.S. reported today that the number of year-to-date breakdowns and requests for on the water towing assistance is up over 9% from last year. And with Memorial Day around the corner, the trend is expected to continue for this second busiest boating day of the year, behind July 4th. TowBoatU.S. has handled well over 8,000 calls for assistance so far this year, and we predict that over 3,000 cases will come into our nationwide 24-hour call center from Friday May 24 to Monday, May 27, said Jerry Cardarelli, assistant vice president of towing services for BoatU.S. Most of these cases are thankfully non-emergency, but everyone needs to take some extra steps to ensure their Memorial Day doesn't go awry, he continued. More than half of the problems are related to incomplete spring commissioning and mechanical failures. These include failure to inspect cooling and exhaust systems, dead batteries and fuel system problems. Topping off your tanks with clean, fresh fuel and not trusting your fuel gauge would save a lot headaches for boaters, Cardarelli said. Above all, BoatU.S. strongly recommends having an operable VHF radio to call TowBoatU.S., the Coast Guard, or other nearby vessels who may able to provide immediate assistance. Cell phone reliability can be an issue for boaters, especially when a breakdown turns into a more serious situation. Cardarelli also reports that On the West Coast, Northeast and Great Lakes the majority of TowBoatU.S. assistance calls are related to fuel and overheating. Down South, submerged object strikes and groundings are big, he said. BoatU.S. established its towing services in 1983 and today is the nation's largest with more than 400 commercial towing vessels coast-to-coast.

Would you like me to give you a formula for...success? Its quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure... Youre thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isnt at all. You can be discouraged by failure - or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember thats where youll find success. On the far side of failure.
Thomas J. Watson, Sr.