Rescue at Sea for Dummies

On a routine safety patrol from Wiggins Pass, you come upon a man in the water who has been injured and needs help.  He is exhausted or unconscious and unable to help you bring him aboard your vessel.  This is the emergency our coxswains and crewmembers at Flotilla 96 have been training to handle with Herman, our life-size rescue dummy.

Herman joined the flotilla early last year at the invitation of Larry Urbanek, then Flotilla 96 Commander.  Larry says the purpose of training with the rescue dummy is to make conditions more realistic and to make the rescue operation safer for both the victim and the crew who haul him aboard.  Nicknamed Herman by the flotilla, he was bought from Dummies Unlimited Inc., a California company that specializes in manikins for law enforcement and fire rescue.

Herman awaits his fate at the dock

The manikin takes on weight by filling up with water through small holes drilled in the legs and arms.  The torso may be filled with water by opening a valve at the shoulder.  When filled with water, it sinks to neck level.  It can be water-filled to weigh up to 140 pounds and additional weight can be added.

Learning to save Herman has not been easy.  Besides Larry, who is now Staff Officer for Member Training, the rescue team includes John Gaston, Ned Herrmann (no relation to the dummy), and Michael DiPierro.  They tried different methods, consulted with the Coast Guard, worked with other crewmembers, and finally came up with a system that works.

The Minutes in a Minute

April 18, 2012

Thirty-seven members attending and four guests

After preliminaries and the presentation of awards, our Flotilla Commander, Dave Shuster, and Vice Commander, John Gaston, swore in new members Peter Wallace and Steve Gates. 

Swearing in Peter Wallace and Steve Gates

David Crockwell, Commander of Division 9, commended Flotilla 96 for its performance on the activities measured by the Dashboard, saying that we compare favorably to many other flotillas in the Division.

Shuster introduced guest speaker Ray Jahn, sales manager for Fish Tale Marina, who spoke about the outlook for boat sales locally and addressed many of the safety issues important to the Auxiliary and to boat owners.  He said his marina is eager to help our flotilla promote boating safety.

Guest speaker Ray Jahn

Gaston reminded members that National Safe Boating Week is May 19 – 25 and distributed a sign-up sheet for volunteers to participate in our flotilla’s activities.

We will begin having patrols three days of the week (Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday) instead of the usual twice-weekly patrols.

Awards, awards, awards!

At the April 18 meeting:

Mike DiPierro received his Coxswain certification.

Phill Smith received his Crew certification.

Gus Karlsen receives his interpreter certification

Gus Karlsen received his Interpreter certification.

Peter Holsten received his Program Visitor certification.

Neil Arnal received the District 7 Mentor certificate.

Auxiliary membership service awards went to:

Jim Mayer for 5 years and Mel Milstein for 15 years

Sustained Auxiliary service awards went to:

Dave Shuster, 8^th award

Max LeFevre, 7^th award

Gene Richardson, 2^nd award

The Auxiliary Performance Award in Public Education:

Awarded to John Tyson

Meet Our New Member

Peter Wallace

Peter Wallace is a former “coastie”.  He served as a Lt. JG in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1965 to 1969.  He was an industrial officer based in San Juan.

Most recently, Peter was an associate professor of Business Administration at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass. He is the author of “Life 101: Real-World Advice For Graduating College Seniors."

Peter had an extensive business career prior to becoming a professor. Beginning at General Motors, he held positions in several other American and international companies before retiring as a senior vice president at ITT Corporation in 1997.  He and his wife traveled extensively and he speaks several languages.  They have lived in Switzerland, Belgium and Brazil.  Today they split their time between Florida and Hingham, Mass.

King of the Kitchen

If you put together all the cups of coffee and pieces of cake that Len Jadrych has served to the flotilla, they would probably reach from Clam Pass to Matanzas Pass.

Len is king of the kitchen, a job he took over years ago because, he said, “no one else was doing it.”  He makes sure that all the supplies are ready and available for flotilla meetings and public education classes, and that he is there to dispense them.

It’s a far cry from the successful printing business he owned and operated for 25 years in Cleveland.  Len’s biggest customers there were baseball teams and racetracks, where he printed daily programs in the basement before computers revolutionized the printing business.  His racetrack connections earned him free trips to Las Vegas, where he hobnobbed with the rich and famous.

In his younger days, Len graduated from high school and spent two years on a scholarship at the Cleveland Institute of Art.  He learned the printing business by working for his brother.  He joined the Army Reserves for six years in 1959 and was a musician in the Army Band.  He married Natalie in 1963 and they moved to Florida full-time in 2006.  A few years ago he won a jaw-dropping jackpot at the Seminole Casino.  Today he says he’s “living happily ever after,” and Flotilla 96 feels lucky to be a part of it.

May Calendar

DATE	EVENT	LOCATION
May 2 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM	Operations Group Meeting	Flotilla Building
May 3 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM	GPS for Mariners	Flotilla Building
May 7 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM	Local Waters Knowledge	Flotilla Building
May 9 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM	Staff Officers Meeting	Flotilla Building
May 12 - 9:00 AM to Noon	Vessel Inspections	Wiggins Pass & Lovers Key Boat Ramps
May 16 - 6:00 to 7:00 PM	Members Social Hour	Flotilla Building
May 16 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM	Members Meeting	Flotilla Building
May 19 - Noon to 2:00 PM	Safe Boating Week Events	Fish Tale Marina
May 26 - 9:00 AM to Noon	Vessel Inspections	Wiggins Pass & Lovers Key Boat Ramps

June Calendar

DATE	EVENT	LOCATION
June 6 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM	Operations Group Meeting	Flotilla Building
June 9 - 9:00 AM to Noon	Vessel Inspections	Wiggins Pass & Lovers Key Boat Ramps
June 13 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM	Staff Officers Meeting	Flotilla Building
June 20 - 6:00 to 7:00 PM	Members Social Hour	Flotilla Building
June 20 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM	Members Meeting	Flotilla Building
June 23 - 9:00 AM to Noon	Vessel Inspections	Wiggins Pass & Lovers Key Boat Ramps

July Calendar

DATE	EVENT	LOCATION
July 11 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM	Staff Officers Meeting	Flotilla Building
July 14 - 9:00 AM to Noon	Vessel Inspections	Wiggins Pass & Lovers Key Boat Ramps
July 18 - 6:00 to 7:00 PM	Members Social Hour	Flotilla Building
July 18 - 7:00 to 9:00 PM	Members Meeting	Flotilla Building
July 28 - 9:00 AM to Noon	Vessel Inspections	Wiggins Pass & Lovers Key Boat Ramps

Get Ready for National Safe Boating Week

The mayor of Bonita Springs, Ben Nelson, has already issued a proclamation calling for local boaters to put on their life jackets and celebrate National Safe Boating Week from May 19 to May 25.

Mayor Ben Nelson, Dave Shuster, John Tyson, Mike Clukey

A delegation from Flotilla 96 was on hand to receive the document at City Hall recently and help kick off a variety of safe boating events beginning on Saturday, May 19, at Fish Tale Marina.

The festivities will include free vessel examinations, handy booklets with safe boating tips, and demonstrations by the Coast Guard’s 33-foot rapid response boat.  The flotilla’s communications trailer will be on the site with a certified telecommunications operator in regular contact with a safety patrol from Wiggins Pass.

If you haven’t made arrangements to participate in these activities at Fish Tale, Lover’s Key and Wiggins Pass, please contact Greg Guederian (gguederian@comast.net)  or Jim Mayer (jmayer@embarqmail.net).  

Dave Shuster, Flotilla Commander

Our flotilla remains very active as we begin the second quarter of 2012. Our speaking engagements continue at a very brisk pace.  We have made presentations at nine different associations, clubs and agencies.  We’re reaching out to hundreds of people every month; talking about the Coast Guard Auxiliary, its missions and the importance of boating safety.  Our goal was to make no less than one presentation each month. So far we’re averaging more than two presentations per month.  In May we’re scheduled for four engagements and two National Safe Boating Week pubic affairs events.  Much of the credit goes to Jim Mayer, our presentation booking agent, and Neil Arnal our “front man” who provides answers to questions and informational materials to our audiences.

As a result of our vigorous speaking schedule, we are well ahead of our new member projections.  We’ve sworn in eight new members since the first of January, 53% of our annual goal of fifteen new members.  We’ll be swearing in a ninth new member at the general membership meeting later this month.

We have performed exceptionally well in the recreational boating area.  We’ve taught more Public Education students in the first four months of the year (95 students), than we taught for all of 2011 (91 students).  This places us at 80% of our annual goal of 119 students. 

Vessel safety checks and program visitations are also doing well.  VSCs are at 46% of last year for the first four months of the year.  If we can maintain this rate of inspections we could hit more than 600 VSCs for the year.

Larry Urbanek, Member Training

April was a busy member-training month, culminating in Crew requalification for Phillip Smith and Coxswain qualification for Michael DiPierro.  Training continues for another Coxswain candidate and we hope it will be completed in late May.

Ten members, six of whom are new members, attended the Aids to Navigation training session in Fort Myers to learn the new rules for becoming a certified ATON verifier.  Although the process now takes longer than it used to, those who qualify will have a stronger base for training and advancement in other Auxiliary activities.  We hope this effort will add to the ranks of our certified verifiers.

Mike Murphy has completed his final training for Telecommunications Operator and needs only to get some time in the radio room to become a certified TCO watchstander.  Ray Mino and Laly Santiago are not far behind as both are working to complete their final TCO exam.

New members are directed to the Vessel Examination and Program Visitation programs to involve them quickly in flotilla activities.  These newcomers will help us reach our current goals and make Flotilla 96 Semper Paratus.

Michael Clukey, Public Education

April was a good month for Public Education classes, with a total of 23 students. Twelve attended About Boating Safely, four attended the GPS for Mariners class, and seven attended Local Knowledge.

Our courses will be on hold until October as many people head north for the summer.  We hope to be very active again in the Fall.