THE SCUTTLEBUTT

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY FLOTILLA 12-8, 7TH DISTRICT CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA VOL 28, NO 7, JULY 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 Ahoy! With both the calendar and the reliable Lowcountry heat proving summer has arrived, the boating season is in full swing. Take a minute to remember how your service in the Auxiliary makes it safer for all. A big thank you to Dean Milne, the Commanding Officer of the Cutter Yellowfin, for giving such a nice talk at our May membership meeting. Dean briefed us on several of the Yellowfins recent missions, including all their Search and Rescue efforts in responding to the helicopter crashes off Savannah earlier this year. He also shared his high regard for Auxiliarists due to the support hes seen the AUX provide the Gold Side throughout his USCG career. The Yellowfin change of command occurred on 14 June, and

well sure miss Deans friendship. Best wishes to him as he assumes his new command! Crew training has progressed to the point that Qualification Examiners will be requested soon for the shoreside tasks, with on-water sign offs to follow soon behind. Due to the combined efforts of FSO-MT Bob Lovinger and FSO-OP Tom Schmidt, we expect to have seven additional Crew Qualified members in 12-8 before summer is over. With the continued high level of support the CG is asking for, this extra help will be most welcome! FSO-PE Richard Daniel completed the final public education event of the spring with a Boating Safety program that concluded on 18 May. A big thanks to all the Instructors that supported this program. If youre not already qualified as an Instructor, please consider becoming one. Please contact Richard directly for more information. Remember, theres nothing like teaching something if you

truly want to learn it! Quite a number of our Vessel Examiners have been active in supporting the agenda established by FSO-VE Dave Beaudrot. Members that actively supported three VE blitzes in May include Examiners Tom Beauchemin, Frank Leister, Bob Mathewes and Bob Orenstein. Bravo Zulu folks - your efforts make a big difference! Thanks to the dedication of several of our Crew and Coxswains, 12-8 has hardly missed a beat in meeting our obligation to provide Group Charleston with an on-water presence every Tuesday. Group has personally extended their appreciation for our efforts in supporting their helicopter operations (which typically are on Tuesday evenings). Bob Kreiling, Bob Lovinger and particularly Tom Schmidt have been most generous in providing their boats as Operational Facilities for these patrols. If you want to get involved on the water on Tuesdays or any other day please

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.

contact FSO-OP Tom Schmidt or our Patrol Order Management System (POMS) coordinator Bob Mathewes, and theyll get you out there. On the social front, Jane and FSO-PS Bob Orenstein hosted a delightful dinner at their home for our new and recently sworn-in members. What a great, relaxed way to share fellowship and get to know a bit more about all the opportunities the Auxiliary provides. Thanks, Bob & Jane! Also, about 25 members, families and friends got on 5 boats and rafted-up in Capers Inlet on 5 May for a great afternoon of food, drink and stories. We were blessed with picture-perfect weather and all agreed that the fall raft-up is too long to wait to get together again on the water. To that end, Richard Daniel is in the process of organizing a trip down the ICW to Beaufort, SC later this summer. Youll be hearing more about that at the July meeting. Finally, in lieu of the June membership meeting, we met at the Mongolian Restaurant and enjoyed food that apparently exceeded most everyones expectations! About 35 members and spouses shared an evening where the main agenda item was answering the question Mild, Medium or Spicy? I close with one request: Please attend the Division 12 meeting on Saturday 27 July 2002. Yes, that means you! It will be held from 0900-1200 at the Mt. Pleasant Waterworks Commission building on Rifle Range Road. This is simply one of the best ways to learn about all thats going on with not only your entire Division, but the Coast Guard Auxiliary overall! Mark your calendar, and Ill see you there!

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.

Crew Qualification ribbon and certificate. For some, I hope the next step will be to prepare them to qualify for Coxswain.

COMMUNICATIONS
Marguerite Bishop, FSO-CM While you are out there doing all the very essential work for the Coast Guard, be sure that you keep all your equipment in good working order! If you hear a radio that seems to be breaking up or not performing in the correct manner, let the operator know. Remember YOU are the Coast Guard to the public, so you must do everything in a correct manner. KEEP SAFE and have fun!

INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Dean Creed, FSO-IS Thanks to all those who have made a concerted effort to learn about the changes to forms required by AUXDATA. Your humble FSO-IS greatly appreciates it! I will be conducting another (very brief, I promise) forms workshop at the July meeting. I encourage all members to attend and would particularly appreciate seeing the new members at the meeting. Those present will learn how to properly complete and submit their paperwork. For those who have been around a while, this will be a refresher on whats expected of them regarding paperwork and forms. Many have changed qualifications and offices. Its important that you be correctly listed in the CG email d i r e c t o r y . P l e ase l o g o n t o http://safetyseal.net/directory/directo ry.htm and add or update your listing.

MEMBER TRAINING
Bob Lovinger, FSO-MT The Crew Qualification class has completed the dockside phase. Many of the ten students who persisted through the class have been out on the water with Tom Schmidt, FSO-OP, to practice the onwater tasks and receive some mentor sign offs. As well, many people have either completed or made major progress on the dockside mentor sign offs. I want to thank everyone who contributed to the progress we have made so far, including mentors Dean Creed, Bob Mathewes, Bob Orenstein and John Rogers. We are now looking to assemble a group of people from the Crew class to prepare for their QE examinations, and hopefully to be approved for their

PUBLIC EDUCATION
Richard Daniel, FSO-PE Boating Skills and Seamanship will be offered starting on 10 September. The BS&S course will run for about 14

AIDS TO NAVIGATION
Dan Cowley, FSO-AN Instead of repeating myself from earlier newsletters, I thought it might be interesting to reprint a Letter to the Editor that appeared in the 20 FEB 02 Post and Courier by Fred Wichmann. He has graciously consented to our reprinting his letter and expresses his appreciation for what we do. If you keep up with the news on the Morris Island Light and what some folks are trying to do to save it, then Im sure you have heard of Mr. Wichmann. So, here is the voice of a local and how he feels about Keeping Those Lights on Out There! Although I have only been around Charleston Harbor a little more than 70 years, I would certainly not want to assume any image of being an expert or authority. It has, however, been common knowledge that the Port of Charleston has blossomed into international significance. Of necessity it has been essential to develop a deepwater channel much farther out to sea towards the 50-mile drop-off at the edge of the Gulf Stream. This is important not only to enable these ocean-going, deepdraught vessels to access our port but also to avoid going aground and breaking up. Oil tankers fall into this category, and we all remember what happened in Alaska a few years ago. Now the U.S. Coast Guard has produced a guide to enable the pilots to bring these important ships safely into our harbor, and the plan includes a skeleton tower, which will show lights far enough out to sea to facilitate prudent navigation. With all the modern electronic aids to navigation, some neophytes may question the urgency of a visible aid of this stature; however, to anyone who has done very much deepwater traveling, the answer is self-evident. I have spoken with several worldfamous sailors. None object to this

great asset to safe navigation. And water-working professionals express strong support for the Coast Guard. While it may seem fashionable to oppose various projects of development, there should also be a school of support, to build, rather than to obstruct, and certainly this community owes our Coast Guard our warmest support. They stand by us when we need them. They even permit our sailing regattas around some of the shipping channels, and they speed to our rescue when we are in trouble. While I do not pretend to be an authority, I was born at Cape Romain Lighthouse where my father was a 30year lighthouse keeper. I have also been a commander and am an honorary life member of the United States Power Squadron as well as commodore of the James Island Yacht Club and also an honorary life member. I have been sailing all my life, racing as well as cruising, and still own several boats, going out on the waters regularly. I can definitely testify there is nothing more reassuring than a beacon when coming in from seaward. Morris Island Light fills that void during daylight hours but it cant be seen at night. Sullivans Island helps but it is not a range that is being proposed. I am frequently available for patrols, even during weekdays, so if you have an OPFAC and want to verify some Aids and do some other AN type things, please give me a call. I look forward to seeing you on the water!

The Old Salt

NAUTICAL TERMINOLOGY Although this column is being written early in the day, I know some of our readers are waiting until the sun is over the yardarm. This term for happy hour arose from the practice of officers on ships in the North Atlantic to wait until the sun was above the main yard (about 1100) to nip below for a tot of rum. This term is related, in spirit at least to splicing the main brace referred to in last months issue. Not only the officers but perhaps the skipper might partake in such refreshment. The skipper comes from the Dutch word schipper for captain that was derived from the Dutch word schip, for ship. Now, lest anyone have any doubts about these explanations, and would like to tell it to the marines, this term arose with King Charles II who had great confidence in the skill and truthfulness of his Marine infantry regiment. He is quoted as saying henceforth, ere we cast doubts upon a tale that lacks likelihood, we will first tell it to the marines. As the phrase spread, its meaning changed to the current one of skepticism and might be applied to rumors one heard through scuttlebutt. Water was a precious but vital commodity aboard sailing ships. A cask or butt of water was placed on deck for the sailors use but to prevent excess use a small hole or scuttle was cut in the side so that it could only be filled half way. This precursor to the office water cooler was a good place for sailors to exchange gossip. And now we come to the bitter end. The anchor line on a ship was attached to a heavily reinforced post on the bow, known as a bitt. As the anchor line was paid out, the part nearest to this bitt was naturally referred to as the bitter end. This term came ashore and was recruited to have another meaning because of another meaning to the word bitter.

VESSEL EXAMINATIONS
Dave Beaudrot, FSO-VE

THE LATEST REGARDING FLARES

The following Police Marine Patrols will accept outdated flares on the water or at the marine patrol office located on old Navy Base: Charleston County Police Department, Sullivans Island Police Department, North Charleston Police Department, Mt Pleasant Police Department and soon Charleston City Police Department.

Flotilla 12-8 Calendar July 2002

Sunday June 30 Monday July 1 2 Tuesday LQ Wednesday 3 4 Thursday 5 Friday 6 Saturday

Flotilla 12-8 on-water day Independence Day 7 8 9 Flotilla 12-8 on-water day 10 NM 11 12 13

Staff mtg, 1730, Membership mtg, 1900 17 18 19 20

14

15

16

FQ

Flotilla 12-8 on-water day

21

22

23 Flotilla 12-8 on-water day

24

FM

25

26

27 Division 12 meeting, Mt Pleasant Waterworks building, 0900-1200. Aug 3

28

29

30 Flotilla 12-8 on-water day

31

Aug 1

LQ

Aug 2

There was no business meeting in June, therefore there are no minutes for the month.

OPERATIONS
Tom Schmidt, FSO-OP Thanks to Bob Lovinger, the classroom portion of the Crew/Coxswain qualification process has been completed. Approximately eight members of the Class of 2002" Crew/Coxswain trainees have also completed the dockside and singlevessel on the water (OTW) tasks. We are now in the process of beginning the two-vessel tasks of stern tow and side tow. Scheduling continues to be difficult due to lack of working OPFACS. For this reason, combined with summer vacation season, our goal for having completed this training and certification by a Qualified Examiner (QE) is now Labor Day. One of the OTW highlights of the month was the three day training that several of us from 12-6 and 12-8 spent with the crews from the rescue boats held in bay on the Coast Guard Cutters GALLATIN and DALLAS. Those young Coasties are extremely skilled, dedicated, brave, and also lotsa fun! Watta Gaaaass!