America's Volunteer
Lifesavers

            

Flotilla 8-6 Venice, FL             www.cgauxvenice.org           7th District

Denis Keyes, Commander            Judi Bidwick, Vice-Commander

Flotilla Commander's Message

 

We have locked in a date and location for this year's Change of Watch.

The affair will be Saturday November 11th and it will be on the Marina Jack's Dinner Cruise. The price is $55.00 per person and it will include a pre-Dinner Cocktail Party. Our plans are to have about 6-7 of our Boats stay overnight at the Marina and hold the cocktail party where they are moored which is right adjacent to the Dinner Boat. Because the location is close we will not have a bus this year.

We have arranged for the entire upper deck which holds a maximum of 80 people. The boat is brand new and has not yet been delivered. Please make your checks out to Flotilla 86 and send them to Lou Magyar FSO-FN. Reservations will be on a first paid first served basis. When we have 80 people including those we invite, we will no longer take reservations.

As May approaches, we bid farewell to our winter visitors who help this Flotilla in so many ways during the busy season. Have a safe trip home and we look forward to your return later in the fall.

Hurricane Season is fast approaching and we all need to take inventory of our homes and the supplies we hope we'll never need. Our Hurricane Plan was submitted weeks ago and we plan to review it at OWT and our monthly meetings.

And finally I wish to extend my appreciation to all for a successful PE. VE. and MT season. The winter months are particularly busy for these activities and a special thanks for the many hard hours put in.

Denis Keyes
FC

Denis Keyes, FC

Contents

 

Important Notice Best Viewed With Windows Internet Explorer Flotilla Staff Officers                CM - Juan Hernandez                CS -  Denis Keyes                FN -  Janet Heijens                IS   - Harry Bruno                MA - Richard Markwitz                MS - Roman Gzyl                 MT -  Lou Magyar                OP - Jim Sleichert                PA - Al Bidwick                PB - Judi Bidwick                PE - Judi Bidwick                PS - John Kandes                PV - Jerry Mitchell                SR - Ruthanne Bruno                                       General Meeting:               First Tuesday - 1930                  Training Center               On The Water Training               Every Thursday - 0830                Marine Max, Venice

Vice Commander's Message
Judi Bidwick, VFC

Congratulations to the members who passed Advanced Coastal Navigation and the Patrol course, and who are currently enrolled in Search and Rescue! We had a blitz of member training courses this spring. In addition, we are preparing seven members for boat crew with heavy training on Tuesdays and the weekends.

Our fellowship picnic, in lieu of our next meeting, will give us a chance to see our "traveling members" before they leave to go north. We'll start setting up at 1600 for those who would like to assist us. The grill won't begin to glow until 1730 so bring your best recipe to add to our burgers and belly busters! We look forward to an enjoyable afternoon.

I want to remind those who are going north and anticipate working with other flotillas-- your original qualification for crew or coxswain must take place in your home flotilla's district. Those in Flotilla 86 must qualify "at home"in District 7. Any flotilla up north is fortunate to receive the assistance of those in our flotilla-whatever services are given.

We continue to take our Boating Skills and Seamanship graduates into our On-The Water-course. Two hours in the classroom followed by four hours on the water give them an introduction to 40 objectives and an orientation to the ICW in the Venice area.

Our flotilla continues to be a leader in District 7 and I am proud of each of you who volunteer many hours to help us achieve our goals. Our Staff Officers set high expectations for all members and continue to assist whenever needed.

Please remember to turn in your 7030s when you teach, mentor, deliver materials to stores, or perform a boat safety check. Consider the 7030 as your IRA-something you will receive a return on at the end of the year. In addition, keep your 7029 on your desk so you can add to it each time you attend a meeting, help out on maintenance, drive somewhere on flotilla business, spend time sending emails or making calls, doing paperwork, or getting dressed for a meeting. These hours add up and help our flotilla and the Coast Guard with funding.


Judi Bidwick
VFC

Communicationss
Walt Jennings, FSO-CM

 

 

Watchstanders are reminded that when a vessel exits the Venice Jetties and enters the Gulf of Mexico, they are required to report their position in lattitude/longitude, direction of travel, and operational status every 15 minutes.

Click here for the revised watchstander protocol for patrols. Please use this guide when you are on radiowatch.

Walter Jennings
FSO-CM

Information Services
Harry Bruno, FSO-IS

 

 

 

Thank you to all the members who are submitting their forms to me on a regular basis; it is of great help. Also thank you to those who have been submitting 7029's in support of mission hours.

 

Be sure to get your 7030's to me also, and please send them in a timely manner. If I do not receive these, they will not get entered and you will not receive credit. Holding the form and sending large batches at one time makes it very difficult for me to enter and may cause errors.

Take note-- if you do radio watch, the mission code is 20B. Be sure the form includes the appropriate patrol order number.

For those going "up North" have a safe trip and a great summer! If you have any problems or questions please contact me.

Harry Bruno, FSO-IS

Marine Safety
Fred Shaneyfelt, FSO-MS

 

Prior to our Flotilla meeting on April 4, CPO Mullins presented America Waterway Watch/ Sea Partners to 14 members and one Auxiliary guest.

MS on April 7th, assisted in getting our Shark's Tooth booth ready for the weekend's event.

April 8th & 9th American Waterway Watch (AWW) pamphlets w/ decal were handed out to the public with a short explanation of the program.

Our Vessel Examiners are doing a great job of seeing that every boat Captain/Owner during their examination is made aware of AWW.

All of us must keep in mind that America Waterway Watch is just not for the boat Captain/Owner, but passengers, beach goers; anyone who goes near or close to the water and this program is throughout the United States.

Fred Shaneyfelt
FSO-MS

Materials
Ruth Bruno, FSO-MA

 

REMINDER TO NEW MEMBERS:

 

If you choose to make a trip to the 7th District Materials store remember they are usually open Monday and Thursday from 10am to 2pm. It is my suggestion you call them ahead as they often change their hours. The address and phone number is:

7th District Materials Center, 18210 Paulson Drive, Unit 7, Port Charlotte, FL 33954 Phone: 941-625-0060 (They carry all items from the belt up, no trousers)
 

Their website can be accessed at: www.cgaux7.org/d7store.

 

If you need any assistance or would like me to order any items for you please contact me at harryb86@comcast.net or by phone at 941-496-9574.

Ruth Bruno,
FSO-MA

Member Training
Bud Beeman, FSO-MT

MEMBER TRAINING has highlighted crew-candidate preparation, and AUXOP classes. Seven potential crew members have had extensive land task and OWT exercises in preparing for QE exams.

AUXOP courses completed are Advanced Coastal Navigation, Patrols, Seamanship, and Search and Rescue. Weather class will begin May 11.
Bob High set up all the AUXOP courses and instructors and made major contributions to the success of training FL86 members this year.

In Crew Training, special thanks and appreciation go to the generous use of facilities by five of our boat owners. Using their Facilities on a regular basis were Bidwicks' and Sleichert's Partner-ship, Hernandez' Sea Angel, Russ' Double Deuce, Keyes' Acerta, and High's Bomar.

Crew trainees made special efforts to attend regular OWT classes, special classes and weekend patrols to sharpen their skills. Trainees included Stan and Jean Ozimek, Fred and Betty Shaneyfelt, Garland "Russ" Russ, Ron Roth, and Roland Couture.

Active coxswain candidates are John Harrison, Henry Reynolds, and John Kandes. Coxswain training will proceed in earnest this summer, with the addition of other crew and new crew members.

Many "Training Teams" for boat crews and watchstanders, and current crew members contributed to the intensive effort of recent weeks. Class instructors Al Bidwick for his four-week GPS course, Charley Dulany for his navigation class and exercise, and Lou Magyar for his boat handling class get special notice.

Bud Beeman,
FSO/MT

Operations
Juan Hernandez, FSO-OP

 

We are on our way to achieving the Operations goals for 2006. For instance, a significant number of members are actively engaged in team efforts to maintain and enhance the level operational readiness of crew members, facilities, procedures and resources. Effective teamwork led to our first group of trainees being ready for the crew qualification QE mission scheduled for April 25th; several members are completing the SAR course, and our first Operations Workshop was held March 28, 2006.

The "TOP" (Training on Patrols) Program is underway. We are now training on weekends to facilitate completion of ACM missions, one-on-one training, area familiarization and SAR exercises. TOP also provides training opportunities for members that cannot train during week days.

The first seminar for the Incident Command System (ICS) courses has been scheduled for Thursday, May 4, 2006, from 0900 -1100 at the Training Center. Members that participate in direct operations must take these courses and pass the corresponding tests to be eligible to participate in CG exercises, drills or response events.

Finally, the OPEX weekend has been scheduled for the May 19th weekend, more detailed information to come by the end of the month.

Juan C. Hernandez,
FSO/OP

Public Affairs
Al Bidwick, FSO-PA

Shark's Tooth Festival Saga…

Thanks to everyone who helped make our Sharks Tooth Festival appearance so successful. More people than we needed volunteered to help, and as it turned out, we could have used everyone. Next year we will try to enlist the same group. Maybe one of us will remember how to erect the "Easy Up" tent. Jim says I lost the directions, but Monica and I know better.

Anyway, the set-up crew this year consisted of the always-willing-Sleichert-team of Jim and Monica, Fred Shaneyfelt, Garland Russ, Harry Bruno and me. In the "old days" when we had something like a pup tent, the set-up was a rather simple matter. Now, however, it's a lot more complex. One of the biggest problems is the wind that constantly blows across the area, not to mention the rain which occasionally rears its head. We anchored the ends of our tent with cinder blocks as usual, but this year we needed to contend with the huge Waterway Watch display, which you saw at the last meeting. Thanks to Russ and his ingenuity, we (meaning Russ) erected supporting braces that could endure hurricane force winds. How to erect our flags was solved through the generosity of Andre at Marine Max. He provided us with 2 rebars to hammer into the ground and sleeves to fit over them to hold the flags. When we finally finished about 4 hours later, the tent looked stupendous! Be sure to look at the photo of the tent and others that we took over the course of the two days.

On Saturday, Harry and Ruth Bruno, Stan and Jean Ozimek, and Patti and Art Sperling opened the booth and held forth until Jim and I took over. I was supposed to get back from the Division Meeting by 1300, but I was delayed by an accident on Route 41. A tanker rolled over and spilled fuel all over the road causing a huge backup. When I finally arrived, Jim, Monica, and the Shaneyfelts had everything under control. Paul Corcoran joined the group later and helped us close up the tent. The prediction of rain forced us to dismantle the Waterway Watch display, remove most literature from the tables, push all the tables inside the perimeter of the tent and put up the sides. The rain indeed came during the night, but we stayed pretty dry, except for a few wet spots where the rain managed to slip through.

Sunday morning brought out the Brunos again for round two. They were joined by Denis and Fred who helped dry out a few soggy things and set up our displays. Later we welcomed Officer Snook (Chief Mullins), who greeted youngsters and posed for photos. Officer Snook was able to last about an hour in her bulky costume in spite of the temperature which had climbed to the mid 80s by mid-day. Bill Cabana, Juan, Patrick, and Bob Chapman arrived for the second shift around 1200, but we still could not get rid of Harry and Ruth who hung in until they needed to leave for their crew assignment. In addition to Bill and Patrick, the closing team consisted of Henry Reynolds and Russ, who boxed up everything, took down displays and flags and transported everything to the facility.

I am so proud of everyone who helped this year. You are a great group of folks, always willing to put forth the effort to get the job done, and done well. Thousands of people came to the Shark's Tooth Festival, and at least 500 stopped by our booth!

National Safe Boating Week, May 20-26 is just around the corner. We have a number of activities planned including a Vessel Exam Blitz over the weekend. Look for posters that we will display in libraries, stores, marinas, etc. We have a large banner that we will display at the Moorings and smaller banners to hang around town. Our GPS class will partly coincide with the occasion as will a visit that Judi and I make annually to the Venice Island Montessori School. Although we haven't received an invitation yet, I expect the Mayor to issue a proclamation to us recognizing our efforts to help citizens boat safety.

Al Bidwick,
FSO-PA

Vessel Examiner
Henry Reynolds, FSO-VE

Recently, I came across an article in the local newspaper titled "Boating Deaths in State Climb to Highest in Decade." The article states that in 2004 eighty people lost their lives in some form of boating accident. None of the eighty victims was wearing Life Vests. Of these, 53% died from falling overboard and of these 79% were from what the Auxiliary calls SUBs, sport utility boats.

I mention this article not only because it is a shocking trend, but because we as members of the Auxiliary and specifically the Vessel Examiners, VEs, can help reduce the number of boating accidents through our contact with the boating public. It is important that the VEs not only provide the vessel safety inspection service to the boating public, but they should take the opportunity to educate the boater on boating safety.

This brings me to the reason that I have brought the above to your attention. The National Safe Boating Week is May 20-26. This campaign is sponsored by the National Safe Boating Council and is conducted every year at the beginning of the summer season. It is our Auxiliary opportunity, to extend the extra effort to meet and educate the boating public. This year the slogan remains the same "Boat Smart, Boat Safe, Wear It." The emphasis is on "Wear It", your Life Vest.

Over the next few weeks we will be forming plans to man as many boat ramps as possible on May 20 and 21st. Information on our plans and request for volunteers will be forthcoming.

Henry S Reynolds
FSO-VE

 

MINUTES-APRIL 4, 2006
USCG AUXILIARY, FLOTILLA 8-6
(These are abbreviated Minutes- full Minutes available in Secretary's Manual)
 

Flotilla Commander, Denis Keyes called the meeting to order at 1930 with 39 members in attendance. He introduced Richard Putnam, new member.

I. FC Denis Keyes announced Bud Hines is appointed Chairman of the Nominating Committee. Any member interested in running for office should let Bud know. Denis reminded members to submit their 7029 forms as our hours benefit the auxiliary.

II. VFC Judi Bidwick reviewed her experiences at the recent District conference. She noted that our Division received more awards than any other Division, of which Flotilla 86 received 21. Awards will be given on April 8 at Division meeting. All invited to attend.

III. Minutes approved as they appear in the Fore and Aft. The Finance Report was approved.

IV. STAFF OFFICERS' REPORTS:

FSO-PA: Al Bidwick reviewed plans for the Sharks' Tooth Festival this Saturday.

FSO-CM; Walter Jennings reminded everyone to use 5 numerals when communicating with our boats, as well as reporting direction of travel, landmark locations and ops normal.

FSO-IS: Harry Bruno reminded membership to submit their 7029 forms.

FSO-MS: Fred Shaneyfelt asked for volunteers to help distribute AWW on Saturdays at the Venice Train Station.

FSO-MT: Bud Beeman announced SAR course begins 4/6 and Weather on 5/11. QE qualification is April 25 and two boats available on 416 and 4/23 for training.

FSO;OP: Juan Hernandez that an ICS training workshop will be held in May. He plans for an operation excellence training day the second weekend in May.

FSO:PE: Judi Bidwick stated the BS&S and ACN courses are complete. She may plan a three day boating course for the summer. GPS course scheduled for May 17.

FSO:VE: Henry Reynolds reported 205 vessel inspection completed with 63% passing rate. Henry asked for volunteers for National Safe Boating week at end of May. He also reported he and his assistants have processed many new/renewal captains and masters licenses in support of the Regional Examination Center. Henry thanked members for the good wishes sent to his wife.

FSO;CS: Bill Cabana announced that he has added links to current information on the website.

MENTOR: Jerry Hopfengardner noted some updates to the program and said it was going well.

V. AWARDS:
Auxiliary Annual Service Award (10 years):

• John Meyer

Auxiliary Annual Service Performance Award:

• VE:  Judi Bidwick, Patrick Wheeler

• PE:  Lou Magyar, Bill Cabana, Harry Bruno, Denis Keyes, Al Bidwick, Julia Bidwick, Paul Corcoran.

• OP:  Bud Beeman, Al Bidwick, Julia Bidwick, Harry Bruno, Ruth Bruno, Bill Cabana,  Charlie Dulany, Bob High, Walt Jennings, Lou Magyar, Mike Marmion, Henry Reynolds, Art Sperling, Patrick Wheeler.

VI. NEW BUSINESS: A motion was made and seconded that at our next meeting, May 2, we will have a fellowship meeting with covered dish at 6 pm. All members agreed. More details to follow.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2005.

Respectfully submitted,
Ruthanne Bruno, Secretary