Our Program Visitors team reached a record under Staff Officer Michael DiPierro with 136 visits and services to marine dealers and seven new certified program visitors. Mike charted new territory with partnerships with Bass Pro Shops, West Marine, and others.
How many Vessel Examinations does it take to set a record? Our VE team under Staff Officer Neil Arnal performed 516 exams and added nine new Vessel Examiners to our rolls.
Flotilla 96 reached another milestone
with three new vessels approved for safety patrols in 2010, bringing our total facilities to thirteen. Owners of the facilities approved this year are Mike DiPierro, Neil Arnal, and Jim Mayer.
Member Training under Jim Mayer gave us six new Crewmembers and a new Coxswain to fill those new facilities.
Public Education has undergone some changes in the past year, eliminating the old Boating Skills and Seamanship program in favor of a new and shorter About Boating Safely. Besides old standbys like Lines and Knots, GPS, and Local Knowledge, PE Staff Officer Phill Smith also introduced Suddenly In Command, which will appear again in 2011 along with the new Boat Shoppers Prep and On Water Training.
Thanks to all who sent in those pesky 7029s, the Flotilla logged more than 12,000 hours in the “99” categories. The new email version of the 7029H allows you to record and save your hours as you go along and email them directly to your IS Officer, Bob Morrison.
Statistic of the Year: The number of “hours underway” out there on the water is a telling indicator of a flotilla’s readiness in case of emergency. That’s where coxswains and crewmembers learn to work with each other and with the Coast Guard to respond when needed. If you add up all the hours the coxswains and crewmembers of Flotilla 96 spent underway in 2010, you will come up with more than 1,400 hours. A record we should all be proud of!
