Sounds Of 1 Fall 2006 Blog Edition

Late Breaking Information: The room rates at Courtyard by Marriott in Cromwell are $95.00 plus tax. USPS Block .Contact data: Courtyard by Marriott @ 860-635-1001 . This is good until Oct 10th.

Below is an excerpt of the Fall Edition 2006 of D/1's Sounds Of 1 Newsletter. It contains the major articles in the publication, but does not include the graphics and photos in the printed pub. A PDF version of the Sounds of 1 will be available for download from the Sounds of 1 Library, linked from the D/1 Events Log and the D/1 Website. Bob Payette, Editor, Sounds of 1

Commanders Message, Fall Edition, Sounds of 1 United we stand, divided we fall

Popularized by the former state motto of Kentucky from 1768 and a 1970 song by the same name, the phrase “United we stand, divided we fall” has been a slogan for solidarity for centuries. It’s a phrase that has been used by Americans during good times and bad. I use this phrase often because I believe in what it means. You heard me say that together everyone accomplishes more. I don’t think any person would argue when we work together as team, we have a better chance of succeeding. This philosophy holds true as to what we do as members of USPS, and what we do in our “real lives”. Teamwork is essential. USPS is bigger than one person, one goal, and one Squadron. But in order for us to survive and thrive, we must stand together.

Fraternal organizations have serious membership and leadership issues facing them and will have greater challenges in the future unless the leaders of these organizations can provide excellent reasons and opportunities for people to join them. We have so many options today as to how we spend our time, it is tough for fraternal organizations to compete with a busy schedule. The USPS has seen this in the last ten years as we have diminished to just fewer than 40,000 members strong in USPS from a peak of 80,000+ in the 1970’s. The Great Generation is no longer in prime leadership roles in our Order. They were instrumental in making fraternal and civic organizations thrive for some 30+ years. Therefore, it is up to subsequent generations to carry the torch and build a stronger USPS.

As I stated we must provide excellent reasons and opportunities for people to become an active member and give their time. In order to do this, we must keep negativity and politics to a minimum. We have lost a good person or two because of this type of behavior. We can not afford to lose a single person from the active roles. While it is nice to reminisce on the way things used to be, whether good or bad, it does very little to solve our issues today. While history does give us a blueprint to call upon to potentially solve today’s problems, it must be kept in the proper perspective. The way it worked twenty years ago may not work today. We must focus on real issues and solve them. Prudent business practice and use of the Operations Manual are guidelines to effective Squadron operations. Why complain about something the way it is done? Get involved and become part of the solution.

While this message may seem to dwell on the negative, it is not a negative message. It is a call to action. Fellow members, we must put aside our differences, our likes and dislikes, and work together for the good of our organization. We are working on reengineering USPS for the 21st century that embraces the use of technology, modularizes course offerings to fit into a member’s active schedule, and provides some excellent reasons to belong and stay with USPS. The work is not done and, thank goodness, will never be. So please get involved and make it happen! Remember those words…United we stand, divided we fall.

Fraternally,

D/C John F. Mancini, AP
___________________________________

Morning Mates Program, Fall Conference. MEET MRS. HANNAH ASHBY

Mrs. Hannah Ashby, the widow of Captain Henry Ashby, accompanied her husband on five whaling voyages into the Pacific between 1841 and 1862. They raised their three children aboard the whaler. Hear her talk about her life at sea, the problems and satisfactions of creating a family life on board a whale ship. Mrs. Ashby now lives in Mystic in 1876, the centennial year of the United States.

Afternoon Mates Program

We will be hosting a Mystery Host Tupperware party for our Mates Program attendees.

We'll be featuring Laurie Sirois, Tupperware Executive Director for CT. She will be demonstrating the latest in Tupperware storage and serving solutions. There will be a free gift for everyone in attendance and we'll pick a mystery host from all the purchasing guests to receive at least $50 in FREE Tupperware of their choice.

Submitted by Christine Gwicz
__________________________________

CHAPLAIN’S CORNER Paul Bialecki, District Chaplain

The most perfect prayer and the one that I always guarantee an answer to is: "Thy Will be done".
_________________________________

From the Education Department

GPS is Great! So How Come Ships Still Run Aground?
On June 10, 1995, the 32,000 ton cruise ship Royal Majesty, on route from Bermuda to Boston, grounded on Rose and Crown Shoal about 10 miles east of Nantucket Island and some 17 miles from where the watch officers thought the vessel was located. This despite the fact that it was clear weather and the ship’s bridge had a fully integrated Navigation and Command System including GPS, Loran C, Chart Plotter, Depth Sounder, Three Radars, an Autopilot, and much else. The National Transportation Safety Board’s accident report on the incident (see www.ntsb.gov) holds many lessons for those of us in the boating safety business. One conclusion was that the bridge officers did not have adequate training, even though they all held the proper Coast Guard licenses and had substantial sea time. Another conclusion was that they relied solely on GPS and therefore, “A feeling of complete security, the most fatal delusion a seaman can entertain, fell upon the bridge.”

Now that our new courses emphasize the use of GPS as the primary means for navigation, it is up to us to make our students aware of the pitfalls accompanying the use of these highly accurate but complex systems. For example, GPS can be accurate to a few feet, BUT, no currently available charts are anywhere near as accurate as GPS and it is the chart that tells you whether or not you are about to run onto a rock. So we must not only teach the basics of GPS but also teach the limitations of electronic charting systems all of which begin as scans of paper charts and are therefore never better than, and usually not as good as, paper charts. Students must be familiarized with the depth sounder, radar and other systems that are vital for validating GPS and Chart Plotter results. And of course we must also teach the classic methods for piloting using bearings, ranges, and dead reckoning because these are the ultimate check when all else fails.

Automation presents another challenge. When the human being is removed from the process, caution deteriorates and complacency reigns. There is a tendency to believe the computer and ignore everything else. Here are some of the numerous mistakes made by the bridge officers of the Royal Majesty.

• They didn’t cross check the Loran C and GPS positions and notice that they were diverging. The GPS antenna lead had failed.

• They didn’t check the depth sounder readings against the charted depths as they approached the coast, in fact they didn’t even have the depth sounder turned on.

• They looked for the first buoy marking the southern entrance to the Boston ship channel on their radar. They observed a buoy on radar but didn’t pass close enough to identify it. It was the wrong buoy.

• They were not monitoring VHF channel 16. Two nearby fishing vessels were trying to contact them to tell them they were headed toward dangerous shoals.

• They were so preoccupied with the GPS plot that they even ignored their own lookout’s reports of white water ahead (breaking waves on the shoal).

The general problem described above is coming to be called, “loss of situational awareness”. It is a problem on land, at sea and in the air. It was involved in the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989, perhaps the most expensive oil spill so far in the history of the planet, and in the groundings of the nuclear submarines USS Hartford off Sardinia in 2003 and USS San Francisco on a South Pacific seamount in 2005. For USPS instructors, the challenge is how to teach these new techniques for finding your position at sea, given the great diversity and complexity of systems available to recreational boaters and, at the same time, to instill the instinct to continuously strive to learn, to improve, to rapidly detect and respond to malfunctions and to always check your navigation by every available means.

As part of our Fall Conference in Cromwell on November 11. we will again have a Teaching Aids Exhibit. We are very anxious to have course instructors share with us the methods they are using to drive home the basics of the courses they teach. We’d like to show examples of the physical aids being used for teaching the use of plotting tools, navigation lights, rules of the road, etc. and we are especially interested in ideas for the new USPS Electronic Teaching Aids category. Hands-on demonstrations of the use of GPS and Chartplotters would be great. Or how about digital images taken from your own on-board radar display?

The challenge of teaching USPS courses has never been greater. Let’s talk about it at the Fall Conference. Bring your ideas. Bring a teaching aid.

Gil Alwang, N, Meriden

Teaching Aids Chair

wgalwang@cox.net
__________________________________________

District 1 Sail Race Submitted by: P/C Jack Kurrus, SN— Race Chairman 2006

The D-1 Sail Race went off as scheduled on August 26th in Fishers Island Sound. The race was virtually a repeat of last year's race except we had one less boat racing The weather was overcast and rainy up to the start of the race with strong winds at the race start. The cloudy and windy weather didn’t hinder the race, over a 8.5 NM course, from being completed in two and a half hours. All the participant deserve a strong “Atta Boy” for expert Seamanship in finding their way thru a fleet of fifty eight sailboats form the Masons Island Yacht Club, who were conducting races and sharing the same water course with D-1. The final race results are as follows:

Yacht Name Skipper SQUADRON FINISH

RELIANT MIKE IOVANNA MERIDEN 1st
LEGACY ART CLINTON HARTFORD 2nd
LIBERTY BOB BORDEN MIDDLETOWN 3rd
PERFECTLY NORMAL MIKE CAMARATA WATERBURY 4th

Following the race, several motor boaters joined the sail boaters for a great picnic held on the docks at the Fishers Island Yacht Club.

Again many thanks to Steve & Lisa Cyr of New Britain Power Squadron for providing his boat “Stella Blue” for duty as D-1 Sail Race“Committee Boat”.

Race Trophies will be formally awarded at the District Fall Conference. A full photo album from this event has been uploaded to our Web Log and D/1 Website.
_______________________________________

Elaine Williams,

District Executive Officer…..

As the District Executive Officer, I have few matters to inform the District Membership of as I have great chairpersons. However, this issue is different. I do have something significant to report. A member of our District Bridge was nominated for and elected to the position of Staff Commander at the National Governing Board meeting in New York City last month. This bridge member has been a member of the National Instructor Development Committee for the past year. His talents were recognized - (I guess?) - thus his elevation to Staff Commander. As S/Cmdr on the Instructor Development Committee, his responsibilities will include Teaching Aids, and oversight of the National Teaching Aids Exhibit at the USPS Annual Meeting. Also he will be attempting to generate interest in both manual and electronic aids used by instructors and attempt to get instructors to submit the aids they are using to their District Conference for recognition and subsequent submittal to the National Exhibit. His complaint is that since the advent of PowerPoint, as good as it is, manual aids have fallen by the way side. He is a visual aid "nut". Good job for him. I can say that because the D/Lt/C who was elected to this position is my one and only (husband that is), Les Williams, DEO. He claims with the raise in pay that was offered, he could not refuse the offer. Oh well, the more he has to do, the less time he'll have to bug me! Yep, he's going to continue as your DEO also. He's a glutton for punishment. On a serious note, Les works hard at anything he does and gives it his all. I know he'll do a great job at both the District and National level "jobs" and I'm especially proud of his dedication to USPS educational programs.

Keep up the good work honey, love you!
____________________________________

Attention USPS Instructors and Personal Watercraft Operators

As of October 1, 2006 passengers are no longer permitted to ride in FRONT of the operator on a personal watercraft in Connecticut. In addition, no passenger is allowed to ride on a personal watercraft unless the passenger is able to securely hold on to the person in front of them or to the handholds on the personal watercraft. A passenger must be able to keep both feet on the deck of the personal watercraft so as to maintain balance while the personal watercraft is in operation. (CT Public Act 06-76)

The change is intended to keep small children from riding in front or behind the operator of a PWC. If the personal watercraft is one of the larger models, others may be restricted from riding as well, if they are unable to reach the deck with their feet.

The fine for each violation is up to $250.

Please be sure to pass this information on to your students.

Removal of Abandoned Sunken Vessels

Are you aware of a sunken or derelict vessel that is a problem in your boating area? CT Public Act 06-121 now authorizes harbormasters and other law enforcement officials to determine if a vessel is a derelict vessel and to cause derelict vessels to be removed at the owner’s expense. A derelict vessel is defined as any vessel, scow, lighter or similar floating structure or part thereof, whether or not moored, anchored or made fast to the shore that is broken or altered to such an extent that it will not keep afloat with ordinary care. The owner of record of the vessel is responsible for the vessel and the costs of removal. The owner must be notified in writing and be allowed for time for repair or removal. The vessel must be marked with a notification sticker for a specific period of time prior to removal. If the vessel is removed, the owner must be notified, and after 90 days the vessel may be sold at auction. For additional information on this bill, visit www.cga.ct.gov and search on PA 06-121.
__________________________________________________

Battery Mysteries

My wife Karen and I have had the pleasure of using our 26’ Maxum express cruiser for three seasons so far. I have over 350 hours on the boat and have anchored out and stayed the weekend probably twenty times, plus or minus.

We have always used our refrigerator that runs on battery voltage while at anchor. We used to shut it off at nighttime since it makes noise, until we forgot to turn it back on one day and that spoiled the food inside. Now we just leave in on at all times. While we do use a cooler for refreshment and such, we like having the refrigerator also.

When others learned that we use our refrigerator while at anchor they shrug their heads in amazement. I even had an electrical engineer look at me like I had a hole in my head. I am constantly told that this would kill their battery in just one day and should be killing mine. How can I stay a weekend and not have a dead battery? Does our refrigerator use less amperage than all others? What is going on? Should I find out why mine is superior?

This is where the unknown meets reality! When we were at Block Island in August of this year we stayed at anchor for one day more than usual. Towards the end of the third night I noticed that the cabin lights were going dim. We immediately shut everything down. I then attempted to start the engine to recharge the battery. The starting battery was dead, so I switched to the house battery, only to find that battery was dead also.

What caused both batteries to go dead? When the boat was assembled at the factory the wire that feeds the forward bilge pump and connects to terminal one on the battery selector switch had accidentally been squished under the battery two terminal. This caused all functions on the boat to run off both batteries. This explains why my refrigerator lasts at least twice as long as all others. It was draining on two batteries and not one.

Paul Rosa, P Cdr.
____________________________________________

Pre-conference Dinner

1900 Friday, 10 November

Saybrook Fish House 2165 Silas Deane Hwy (Rt 99) Rocky Hill

I-91 Exit 24, 1 mile South on Rt 99

For reservations call Jack Nason @ 860-561-2377

Post-conference Dinner

1700 Saturday, 11 November

Dakota Steak House 1489 Silas Deane Hwy (Rt 99) Rocky Hill I-91 Exit 24, at the exit

For reservations call Jack Nason @ 860-561-2377
__________________________________________

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER D/Lt/C John R. Nason, SN

Looking back on our summer activities, the weather was not our friend. It started in June, with a rainy Saturday in Essex. In spite of the rain, we had a great cookout with over 200 turning out. This was followed in July with a mini-cruise to Greenport, Long Island. Again, the weather played a role, with high winds, heavy seas and rain. Eleven boats braved the elements and the weekend was not a total loss.

The third planned event was a predicted log contest. However, there wasn’t enough interest to hold the event. We concluded that not many members know what a predicted log contest is and we need to do a better job of promoting it. At the spring conference, we will have a seminar to inform members with power boats of the contest procedures and rules.

In August, we had two events and the weather finally cooperated for both. The first was a cruise to Mystic Seaport. We had a good turn out with a pot-luck on Friday and a pasta dinner on Saturday. The second was a sail race at Fisher’s Island, with four boats entering. The race was followed by a cookout.

I am writing this just prior to the final event – the poker run at Hamburg Cove. After the weather we had for our first two events, I was sure we would be having a hurricane that weekend. At this point, it looks OK.

At the New York Governing Board Meeting in August, two of the main topics of discussion were the decrease in membership and member retention. We will have an open discussion of these issues during a breakout session at the fall conference.
________________________________________

USPS D/1 Fall Conference

Luncheon Reservation Form

Saturday, 11 November 2006 1200

Mail reservation: P/D/Lt/C George Gwizd, JN 19 Buckingham Avenue Old Saybrook, CT 06475

Meal choices: Chicken Marsala

Baked Scrod

Price: $18 per person paid by November 1

$21 per person after November 1 and walk-ins

Walk-ins the day of the event will receive Chef’s choice

All reservations must include payment

Name: _____________________________________ Meal Choice _______________


Name: _____________________________________ Meal Choice _______________


Total Amount enclosed: $ _______________ Reservations Use only: Date Rec’d ____________

___________________________________________

“No Discharge Area” in Connecticut Extended West to Guilford…...

Long Island Sound waters from Eastern Point in Groton to Hoadley Point in Guilford are designated as Connecticut’s newest "No Discharge Area." The designation makes it illegal for boaters to discharge treated or untreated sewage from their vessels into coastal waters and expands Connecticut’s existing "No Discharge Areas" which previously stretched from the Rhode Island state line on the Pawcatuck River and Little Narragansett Bay to Eastern Point in Groton. In a No Discharge Area, boaters are required to use pumpout facilities or pumpout boats. Currently, the release of untreated boat sewage is prohibited in all of Connecticut’s coastal and inland waters. This No Discharge designation, like the ones that preceded it, will result in substantial water quality improvements in the waters all along the Sound. And that means cleaner beaches, cleaner shellfish beds and cleaner boating for the many Connecticut residents and out-of-state visitors who visit this region throughout the year and especially in the summer. To qualify for a No Discharge Area (NDA) designation, an area must have enough pump-out facilities where boaters can get their holding tanks pumped out. The area designated today has 36 pumpout facilities, 29 shore-based facilities, four portable facilities, three pumpout boats and ten dump stations. The EPA approved the Stonington NDA, extending from the Rhode Island state line to Wamphassuc Point in Stonington Harbor in 2003 and approved a No Discharge Area from Wamphassuc Point to Eastern Point in Groton in 2004. DEP has submitted an application to the EPA for approval of a NDA to cover the remainder of Connecticut's coastal waters, from Branford to Greenwich. It is anticipated that by the start of the 2007 boating season that this application will be approved and all of Connecticut's coastal waters will be a designated No Discharge Area.

For more on exact location of Connecticut’s No Discharge Areas go to the DEP website www.state.ct.us and Click on “Long Island Sound Programs” and then “No Discharge Areas”. You can then click on “Pumpout Facilities Directory” to download all the pumpout locations in Connecticut. Or You can also call DEP Boating Division (860-434- 8638) for a brochure listing all the pumpout stations in Connecticut.

Reprinted from New London Power Squadron’s August 2006 Yardarm (Eleanor Mariani, Editor). Used with permission.
____________________________________________________

Boat U.S Hurricane Resource Center

Boat owners from Maine to Texas have reason to become edgy in the late summer and fall: Each year, on average, two hurricanes will come ashore somewhere along the Gulf or Atlantic coasts, destroying homes, sinking boats, and turning people’s lives topsy turvy for weeks, or even months. This year, who knows? Florida is struck most often, but every coastal state is a potential target.

Experts predict that in the next 20 years there will be much more hurricane activity than has been seen in the past 20 years. Experts also fear that after a number of storm-free years, people in some of the vulnerable areas will be less wary of a storm’s potential fury. But to residents of Charleston, South Carolina, crippled by Hugo in 1989, and people in Dade County, Florida, ravaged by Andrew in 1993, the hurricane threat won’t soon be forgotten.

Visit http://www.boatus.com/hurricanes/brochure.asp for more information.
The above information was obtained from the “News and Announcements” page of the Educational Dept home page at http://www.usps.org/ .
_______________________________________________________

The Chief Commanders representative for our 2006 Fall Conference is none other then our own P/C/C Robert L. Woods, SN

National History of P/C/C Robert L. Woods, SN

1972 & 1973 National Administrative Officer

1974 & 1975 National Executive Officer

1976 & 1977 Chief Commander

1978, 1979 & 1980 Assistant Chairman National Planning Committee (Stf/C)

1981, 1982 & 1983 Chairman National Planning Committee (R/C)

1978 to Present Merit Mark Area Monitor

1978 to 1994 Assistant Chairman Area Monitors

1995 to 2002 Chairman Area Monitors

1978 to Present Member National Governing Board

P/N/F/Lt Arthur Coggins, N, New Britain Squadron was my aide from 1972 to 1976 and was my National Flag Lt during the two years I was Chief. He was a past commander of New Britain.
_____________________________

Still Looking back……….

The announcement of Bob Woods assuming top post in USPS………

Woods Assumes Top Post in National Organization

Robert L. Woods of Plainville, Connecticut, was installed National Commander of the U.S. :Power Squadrons in “change-of-watch” ceremonies held one Saturday night in January, at the Fontainbleau Hotel, Miami, Florida.

Woods, 47, is one of the youngest men to be elected to the national post in the largest fraternity of boatmen in the world.

More then 2,200 persons from across the country attended the event which marked the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the organization.

Woods, who has served as national vice-commander since 1972, joined the New Britain Power Squadron in 1958. He served as commander of District 1, which encompasses half of Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, from 1969 to 1971. As an artillery officer in Korea and Japan, Woods earned American and Korean presidential citations as well as 13 merit marks, service earned, and was awarded several medals.

A private fraternal organization, the U.S. Power Squadron boasts a membership roster of close to 80,000 persons. One of its major national programs is a free course in boating safety which is offered to the public on a regular basis. Through the education program, men, women and children, ages 12 and over, are given instructions in safe boating. Boat ownership is not a prerequisite.

Estimates are that members of the power squadrons have donated more then 750,000 hours in a single year to teach the public boating course. National headquarters of the U.S. Power Squadrons in in Raleigh, N.C., with a paid staff of 18 persons.

Six admirals, representing the U.S. Coast Guard, its auxiliary, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Assn. (NOAA) and representatives of the Canadian Power Squadrons led the list of dignitaries at the Saturday ceremony.

Woods, who is associated with the Hatch Realty Co., New Britain, was accompanied to Florida by his wife, Polly. Other members of the family who attended the national ceremony were their daughter Dianne and husband, David Bronkie of Newington; daughters Gail and Laura Woods and son, Gary Woods, all of Plainville.
Woods is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter W. Woods of Plainville.

Photo's from the September 2006 Poker Run and Picnic Click this link to view a small photo album from this D/1 Annual Poker Run.

Sounds of 1 is the official publication of District 1, United States Power Squadrons® and is published in the Spring, Summer and Fall of each year. Text Registration Notice: USPS, United States Power Squadrons, The Ensign, Jet Smart, Boat Smart, Americas Boating Course, are registered trademarks. The Squadron Boating Course is a service mark of United States Power Squadrons. Articles, opinions, and advertisements do not necessarily reflect USPS policy or endorsement unless so designated. Any article may be reproduced in any USPS publication when credit is given to both the author and the Sounds of 1.
Edited by: D/1st/Lt Robert R Payette, P, 196 Branch Hill Road, Preston CT 06365 (860) 892-5484 r.payette@snet.net
Labels: P/C/C Robert L. Woods, SN