FALL 2009

NAVIGATOR
NAVIGATOR
THE U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY MAGAZINE
2
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NAVIGATOR
CG Auxiliary operational vessels in Juneau, Alaska, work with CG Station Juneau during two-boat training evolutions in Gastineau Channel.
The Auxiliary provides the vessel-in-distress so the active duty can practice working with pleasure boats. Juneau Auxiliarists Rich Liebe and
Jack Brandt, aboard Auxiliary vessel Noreen Kay, hook-up and prepare to be towed by Station Juneaus 47-foot motor life boat.
Photo by Noreen Folkerts, Flotilla 11, Juneau, Alaska
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Telephone numbers and address-
es of members are protected
by the Privacy Act of 1974. As a
matter of policy, rosters of names,
addresses and telephone num-
bers shall not be made available
to the general public or any out-
side organization. Privacy of all
rosters shall be safeguarded and
the page clearly labeled. The pub-
lication of these rosters, addresses
and telephone numbers on any
computer on-line service includ-
ing the Internet is prohibited by
the Privacy Act of 1974.
Guidelines for
submissions of
editorial and
photographic con-
tent are online at
www.auxpa.org/
navigator. Please
send editorial
and photographic
submissions to:
navigator@
auxpa.org
ON THE COVER: In gold-rush days thousands of hopeful miners reached the Yukon by ships that brought them to
Skagway at the northern end of Lynn Canal. The passage was treacherous and in 1900, Congress allocated funds for a
lighthouse to be built on Sentinel Island in Favorite Channel where it joins Lynn Canal, a natural waterway to Alaskas
interior. The original lighthouse complex consisted of a square wooden tower attached to a large, two-story keepers
house. The lantern room was steel and glass, with a xed, fourth-order Fresnel lens. The focal plane of the lens was forty-
two feet above the island, and eighty-two feet above the water at high tide. Auxiliary personal watercraft operational
vessels are invaluable during shoreline searches, where they are able to check shallow areas other vessels cannot
navigate. Juneaus personal watercraft operator Dan Logan checks the shallow waters around Sentinel Island during a
practice search on a calm fall afternoon. Photo by Noreen Folkerts, Flotilla 11, Juneau, Alaska
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COMO Kcrigan
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O thc Prcss
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70 Ycars and Counting
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Lclivcring thc Faglc
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Happy Annivcrsary
16
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Mcmbcr Survcy
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\c arc thc Coast Cuard
20
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Back to High School
21
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Rccipc or Troublc
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200: NACON
27
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Bringing Tcamwork
to thc Tablc
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Awards Honor thc Bcst
32
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BASRA and thc Auxiliary
34
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Can You Hcar Mc Now`
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Rip Currcnt Rcscuc
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Our Piccc o History
DEADLINES
SUMMER: July 1
FALL: October 1
WINTER: December 31
SPRING: April 1
NAVIGATOR
CONTENTS
Karen Novo Doug Kroll Jeff Brooks
Anne and Ray Evans Phil Bailey
WHOS
READING
YOUR
NAVIGATOR?
DONT TOSS
IT, PASS IT.
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
Tim Hale George Hagerty
4
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NAVIGATOR
COMMODORE
NICHOLAS
KERIGAN

NATIONAI
COMMOLORF
ON THE WEB
You can go to the
National Commodores
page at www.auxnaco.org
and i-naco.blogspot.com/
for more information on the
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
R
eadiness is a loose term that defines
our ability to take on something and
deliver. So Readiness is a measure of
preparation. If we are ready, we have made
the preparations necessary to do what we
say we will do.
Living requires Readiness. As I said,
Readiness is a measure of preparation.
What can we measure?
Adequacy of training and manuals
Budgets
Communications within and outside
of the Auxiliary
Resources
Buy-in and motivation
Change management
Facilities
A number of measures are qualitative,
so its difcult to actually assign a score.
This is why Readiness is hard to measure
and plot on a scale, as several of these fac-
tors are qualitative. Budgets are all about
numbers; resources and facilities can be
counted. The other items defy an easily-as-
signed point on a graph. This is why many
people really struggle with the concept of
Readiness.
All the same, there are deliverables:
response time, classes taught, RBSVP vis-
its, etc. However, what tends to happen is
that Readiness is considered a low priori-
ty, an afterthought. Preparedness requires
planning, training, and practice.
A lack of Readiness (by whatever mea-
sure) can be disastrous. If we are not pre-
pared, we can experience:
Disrupted operations
Complaints
Low morale
Wasted effort
Increased costs
We recently announced significant
changes to our organization. As the Coast
Guard modernizes we must re-orient the
Auxiliary so that it more closely supports
the Coast Guards new direction. The
Coast Guard is positioning itself to answer
the call, to remain always ready, and to
execute the mission. The Coast Guard has
never been relied upon by our nation more
than today. The service is strong, howev-
er, as we face new challenges we need to
be organized more efciently, and manage
our business practices more ef fectively.
While we honor our past, we cannot oper-
ate in it. Our future lies in a exible, agile,
and responsive force, backed by a trans-
formed command and control structure
and a mature mission support organiza-
tion. Our future lies in Readiness.
The Auxiliary has already taken a major
step in aligning districts, divisions, and o-
tillas with sectors. Now we have adjusted
the organization at the national level. We
have been, and will be, challenged to pro-
vide more and more support to the active
duty force. To do so, we must become
more integrated with Coast Guard orga-
nization and practices while at the same
time staying balanced in our RBS missions
along with operational missions. It is up
to the Auxiliary leadership with support
of Coast Guard leadership at all levels to
maintain the proper balance of RBS pro-
grams as we move forward with our mod-
ernization of the Auxiliary.
Its rather fitting that as we begin our
71st year, we are evolving into an organiza-
tion that resembles more the Auxiliary of
1943 than the Auxiliary of 1993. We must
really be part of Team Coast Guard and
always ready to meet the call. Its a chal-
lenge we need to meet. We must be ready.
Readiness needs to be at the forefront in
all we do.
Ask yourself What does Ready look
like?
Consider the impact and dependen-
cies across the organization.
Review mentoring of new members.
Work with neighboring fotillas.
How many people are qualified as
crew/coxswai n, Instr uctor, VE,
RBSVP, aircrew, etc.?
Understand our active duty colleagues
and how we can support their efforts
more effectively.
Utilize the national staff as a resource.
Balance the resources available with
mission requirements.
Our members need to be personally
ready to accept the challenges we face.
Being as prepared as possible in your per-
sonal life allows you to focus appropriate
attention on our missions. So take care of
yourself and your family rst. Maintain an
appropriate balance.
Semper Paratus
Readiness is all
FAL L 2009
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5
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6
|
NAVIGATOR
A
n Auxiliarist since 2005, Sheila Seiler
Lagrand joins the Navigator staf f as
Assistant Editor. She is a member of Flotilla
2-10, Huntington Beach, California, serving as
as administrative assistant to the district com-
modore. She is also active in the Interpreter
Corps. Her work has appeared previously in
Navigator. She won the district award for best
otilla newsletter of 2006. As part of her duties
as operations manager of Towneley Capital
Management, Inc., she edits corporate commu-
nications such as newsletters, marketing mate-
rials and web content. She and husband Rich, who is also an Auxiliarist,
share their Trabuco Canyon home with J.D., a black Labrador retriever,
and Doc, a smallish mutt. They enjoy spending time together aboard
their 25-foot Boston Whaler, Tohora Iti.
Sheila Lagrand
New Assistant Editor of the Navigator
Copyright 2009
Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.
All rights are reserved. No portion of this publication
can be copied or otherwise be used without written
per mi ssi on of t he edi tor. Navi gator i s an of f i ci al
informational and educational tool for the U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary and is intended to keep the membership
and the U.S. Coast Guard apprised of the activities of the
Auxiliary. Accordingly, all articles published in Navigator
must be consistent with the stated policies of the U.S.
Coast Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. All
articles and pictures submitted to Navigator become the
property of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.
EXECUTI VE COMMI TTEE
National Commodore
Nicholas Kerigan, NACO
Vice National Commodore
James Vass, VNACO
Deputy National Commodore -Operations & Atlantic Area East
Thomas Venezio, DNACO-O
Deputy National Commodore
Operations Policy & Atlantic Area West
Thomas Mallison, DNACO-P
Deputy National Commodore Mission Support
Stephen H. McElroy, DNACO-S
Deputy National Commodore Force Readiness & Pacic Area
Victor Connell, DNACO-R
Immediate Past National Commodore
Stephen Budar, NIPCO
Chief Director of the Auxiliary
Captain Mark Rizzo, USCG
Assistant National Commodore Government & Public Affairs
Jackson Gumb ANACO-GP
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLI C AFFAI RS
Director-Public Affairs
Robert E. Nelson II, DIR-A
Deputy Director-Public Affairs
Tom Nunes, DIR-Ad
Chief, Publications Division
Robert T. Westcott, DVC-AP
Navigator Magazine, Editor
Judy M. Darby, BC-APN
Navigator Magazine, Assistant Editor
Sheila Seiler Lagrand, BA-APN
NAVIGATOR
The ofcial magazine of the
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
www.cgaux.org
Sheila Seiler Lagrand
Off the Press
One Tough Hombre,
One Smart Boater
By FrAnk DAnnenBerg, Jr.
Flotilla 74, San Antonio, Texas
D
istrict 8 Public Affairs had a long list of possible spokesmen for a
public service announcement to be produced through a boating
safety grant from the BoatUS Foundation. The target audience was
young, strong males who say they do not need a lifejacket because they
know how to swim or they dont look cool in a lifejacket or it will mess
up their tan. Their best excuse: I dont care if I drown.
A tough athlete was needed as a role model for this hard-to-sell mar-
ket and Jesse James Leijas became that tough hombre. A two-time
World Boxing Champion from San Antonio, Texas, Leijas is a success-
ful businessman, community leader and family man who always wears
his lifejacket. In the words of his brother, Jesse swims like a rock! The
champ came through, delivering a strong message, Wear it! Pontelo!
Do it for your family.
Two-time
World
Boxing
Champion,
Jesse James
Leijas, stars
in a safe
boating PSA
targeting
young men.
FAL L 2009
|
7
Editors Note: Doug Kroll is Branch Assistant for Research and Publication, Public Af fairs Department, Community Relations
Division. He is the author of Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf: First Commandant of the Coast Guard (U. S. Naval Institute
Press, 2002) and Friends In Peace and War: The Russian Navys Landmark Visit to Civil War San Francisco (Potomac Books,
2007). His third book, A Coast Guardsmans History of the Coast Guard, will be published by the Naval Institute Press in 2010.
7 0 Y E A R S A N D C O U N T I N G
T
he 1915 act creating the Coast Guard described it as an
armed service, but by the 1930s it dif fered from the
Army and the Navy in at least one fundamental respect:
The Coast Guard had no peacetime reserve.
This fact was on the mind of Commodore Malcolm Stuart
Boylan of the Pacifc Writers Yacht Club, Los Angeles Harbor,
when he had occasion to invite Lieutenant Francis C. Pollard,
Commanding Of ficer of the USS Aurora which was in the
same harbor, for a sail in August of 1934. That day, Boylan and
Pollard had a meeting of the minds and a few weeks later what
is now known as the Founders Letter arrived on the desk of
Lt. Pollard in San Pedro, California. It said:
My dear Lieutenant:
I have been dwelling on our recent conversations concern-
ing the Coast Guard and your most informative explanation of
its origin, traditions and functions. Out of this the thought has
come to me that the Coast Guard alone of all armed services has
no organized reserve, whereas the Navy, the most comparable
service, has in reserve sixty-ve hundred of cers and seventeen
thousand enlisted men!
Sincerely,
Malcolm Stuart Boylan*
The proposal was pushed relentlessly by Admiral Russel R.
Waesche until Bill No. 5966 was introduced by Congressman
Schuyler Otis Bland of Virginia on April 24, 1939.
On June 23, 1939, Congress passed The Coast Guard
Reserve Act . . . in the interest of (a) safety to life at sea and
upon the navigable waters, (b) the promotion of efciency in
the operation of motorboats and yachts, (c) a wider knowledge
of, and better compliance with, the laws, rules and regula-
tions governing the operation and navigation of motorboats
and yachts, and (d) facilitating certain operations of the Coast
Guard. . . . The membership was open to volunteers who
were citizens of the United States and most of its territories
who owned motorboats or yachts.
Groups of boat owners were organized into flotillas and
these into divisions within Coast Guard Districts around the
country. Members initially conducted safety and security
patrols and helped enforce the provisions of the 1940 Federal
Boating and Espionage Acts. In some respects it was like the
U.S. Power Squadron, which was founded in 1917 as a non-mil-
itary reserve for the Navy.
The growing danger of war in the Pacific and in Europe
alerted the Coast Guard to the need for a military Reserve,
as well as the existing non-military Reserve. On February
19, 1941, Congress amended the original Reserve Act. The
Coast Guard Auxiliary and Reserve Act created a new mili-
tary Reserve and renamed the original non-military Reserve
the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The original purpose of the non-
military Reserve was retained.
In the early years of the Auxiliarys existence, a frequent-
ly voiced criticism concerned the organizations name.
Suggested replacements included Coast Guard Reserve-
Volunteer, Coast Guard Temporary Reserve, and Coast
Guard Reserve-Class T. Commodore Boylan supported drop-
ping the name Auxiliary and replacing it with Coast Guard
Temporary Reserve.
In August 1944, Auxiliarists from the First, Third, Fourth,
Fifth, and Ninth Districts held an Inter-District Conference at
Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts. They went on record favor-
ing a name change for the organization on the grounds that
that the word auxiliary was too closely allied with womens
organizations which are adjunct to military or church groups.
The Commandants Offce was fexible with regard to many
subjects, but not on the change of the name of the organiza-
tion. The name Coast Guard Auxiliary, as authorized by the
Congress in 1941, was retained.
*U.S. Coast Guard. Public Information Division. The Coast Guard at War:
Auxiliary. Volume XIX. Washington, DC: U.S. Coast Guard, 1 May 1948.
Photo: Waesche
Admiral Russell R. Waesche, Commandant of the Coast Guard from
1936 to 1946, courtesy of USCG Historians Ofce.
By DOug krOLL,
Flotilla 11-10, Palm Desert, California
WHATS IN
A NAME?
8
|
NAVIGATOR
7 0 Y E A R S A N D C O U N T I N G
A
lmost since the inception of the
Auxiliary, Yachting Magazine car-
ried more-or-less regular columns
on Auxiliary news under several titles,
one of which was Under the Blue
Ensign. In 1956 the Chief Director
of the Auxiliary, Captain Harold B.
Roberts, began issuing bimonthly
press releases on letterhead with
Under the Blue Ensign printed on
it. These documents became the basis
for the columns published in Yachting
Magazine.
Other volunteer groups had discov-
ered that national journals helped to
keep the membership intact. During
the 1950s the Auxiliar ys National
Board seized on that medium as a
means of not only disseminating
information but of strengthening the
feelings of camaraderie that kept the
organization alive. In the winter of
1959-60 the Auxiliary mailed its first
national publication: a nine-page jour-
nal bearing the masthead Under the
Blue Ensign. This title was a source of
some confusion, since Yachting was
still using it for its monthly Auxiliary
news columns.
In the summer of 1960 the Auxiliary
journal was renamed the U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary National Publication.
The editors immediately began solic-
iting suggestions for a catchier title,
and finally settled on The Navigator.
The first issue under that masthead
appeared in October 1961. The first
issues featured the Auxiliary emblem
on a Navy background in the top sec-
tion of the front page with the title in
white lettering. The bottom part con-
tained a cover photo on a white back-
ground. Initially issues were fewer
than ten pages in length.
By Doug Kroll, Flotilla 11-10,
Palm Desert, California
Photo: USCG Auxiliary archive, Joyner Library, East Carolina University.
The cover of the rst issue of the Navigator October, 1961.
THE BIRTH OF THE
NAVIGATOR
FAL L 2009
|
9
I
n testifying before the House of
Representatives about the need for
a volunteer Coast Guard Reser ve
in 1939, Admiral Russell Waesche, the
Commandant of the Coast Guard, said
that among the privileges af forded,
owners will be given a Coast Guard
Reserve flag to fly.. The idea being
that a motorboat or yacht going down
the Potomac River, or the Detroit
River, or elsewhere, flying that flag, is
serving notice to have been examined
and passed on; I know the rules of the
road; I know how to operate a motor-
boat; I have a seaworthy craft, properly
equipped, in compliance with the law.
When Congress authorized the civil-
ian, volunteer Coast Guard Reser ve
in 1939, someone at Coast Guard
Headquarters designed an ensign for
it: a blue rectangular flag bearing the
Coast Guard emblem in white, with
United States Coast Guard Reserve in
the circle around the shield. When a mil-
itary reserve was created on February
19, 1941, the former civilian, volunteer
reserve became the U.S. Coast Guard
Auxiliar y. This new Coast Guard
Auxiliary changed its existing ensign
by merely changing the word Reserve
to Auxiliary in the circle around the
shield on the rectangular blue ensign.
In 1966 the National Board estab-
lished a Flag Etiquette Committee to
design a modernized Auxiliary ensign.
The committee soon discovered that
proposing a new design for a govern-
mental agency was a complex pro-
cess. They had to gain the approval of
Coast Guard headquarters and of the
U.S. Armys Institute of Heraldry. The
Commandants Offce rejected several
proposed designs because they were
too similar to the ensign of the U.S.
Power Squadron.
In 1967, Grover A. Miller, the National
Commodore, conceived the idea of bas-
ing an ensign design on a simple shape
associated with the Coast Guard: a
diagonal white band, reminiscent of
the slash recently painted on Coast
Guard vessels and aircraft, centered on
a blue rectangular background. In the
middle of the white slash would be the
Auxiliary logo, in a new, slightly simpli-
ed form similar to the one the Institute
of Heraldry had recently approved for
the Coast Guard. The Army and the
Commandant approved the design, and
the new blue ensign went into use in the
summer of 1968.
The Auxiliary ensign ies on inspect-
ed surface facilities that display a cur-
rent facility decal and on vessels owned
by Auxiliarists that have passed a vessel
safety check and display a current VSC
decal.
It is flown both day and night when
the Auxiliarist is aboard, at the main
truck if the vessel has a mast or at the
bow staff if it does not. Boats equipped
with a radio antenna but no mast may
fy the Auxiliary ensign on it, about two-
thirds of the way up.
When the Coast Guard takes an
Auxiliary members boat into service
for a mission under Coast Guard orders,
the vessel displays the Coast Guard
Auxiliary patrol boat ensign in place
of the normal Auxiliary blue ensign.
The patrol boat ensign is based on the
so-called racing stripes painted as an
identifying insignia on the hulls and
fuselages of Coast Guard cutters and
aircraft. If a Coast Guard offcer or petty
of ficer is aboard, however, this patrol
flag is replaced by the normal Coast
Guard ensign.
By Doug Kroll, Flotilla 11-10,
Palm Desert, California
THE BLUE ENSIGN
Photo: USCG Auxiliary archive,
Joyner Library, East Carolina University.
T
he Veterans History Project is sponsored by the American
Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. Since the
spring of 2003, the Auxiliary has been a participant in this
enormous undertaking which seeks to record the histories
of Coast Guard and other armed service veterans, as well as
Auxiliarists.
In 2005, at sites including Tampa, Boston, San Antonio, San
Diego and Seattle, the Auxiliary joined forces with others to
train volunteers in interviewing veterans and recording their
histories. As a result, the Auxiliary collected several hundred
histories at celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the
end of WWII.
The Veterans History Project honors our nations veterans
like Mr. Albert Nicarelli whose incredible story aboard the
USCGC Eagle in 1946 begins on page 10. Doreen M. Kordek,
7
th
District Historian and national staff offcer for the Veterans
History Project, serves as Auxiliary liaison to the Library of
Congress. Currently, the program needs two volunteers from
each district to help the branch chief in reaching out to vet-
erans. Training is available. For more information on the
Auxiliarys role in the Veterans History Project or to obtain an
interview kit, please contact Doreen at [email protected],
or call her directly at 813/431-4157. Information is also avail-
able at www.loc.gov/vets.
THE VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT
10
|
NAVIGATOR
M
y name is Al Kid Gonski Naccarelli. Ill tell
you about that Gonski name later. I was born
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 18, 1928.
I am Italian, through and through. I grew up in
Philadelphia and fnished high school there.
I also learned to fight. Thats where the Gonski comes
in. Those were Depression days and my family didnt have
any money. I found out you could earn money for ghting.
I heard that the Poles all got higher ratings than the rest of
us, so I changed my name to Gonski to make me sound
Polish. I guess that worked because I ended up the best
amateur, almost a professional boxer, and won the Golden
Glove Award.
While I was growing up, I never thought about joining the
military; but when I turned seventeen-and-a-half, I joined the
Coast Guard, August 15, 1945. I attended the Academy in
New London, Connecticut, and eventually became a Seaman
First Class.
My most memorable duty in the service was my time
on the Eagle. About March of 46, we got orders to be
shipped from Brooklyn to Germany to pick up a vessel. We
were on the SS Central Falls Victory. We didnt know the
ship we were picking up was the Eagle. When we got to
Bremerhaven, the Eagle was in dry dock. [It] was painted
white and did not have that stripe on it the way it does today.
I have an article from a newspaper, The Reporter, May 24,
1946, describing the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Eagle. You can
see me in the photograph there during the commissioning
on May 22. The commander was G.P. McGowan. The Eagle
had been called the Horst Wessel by the Germans. She shot
down ve Russian airships during the war.
We stayed at a compound, some naval building the
Germans had built, while the Eagle was getting readied to
sail. I was trained in tacking, but that was a lot of work. I
remembered the guys at the Academy working their butts
off. Then I saw the military cooks and thought that looked
like a good job. I asked to be a cook and that was that. At
least as a cook you got to eat. Oh, the food was good aboard
ship. All the food was fresh. I improvised with the dry stuff
and I made pancakes, spaghetti and meatballs, whatever, but
I did hate peeling potatoes. You started with this big potato,
and after peeling you had almost nothing. I had learned to
cook from my mother. I entered service at 150 pounds and
came home two years later at 215 pounds.
When I saw the galley on our visit to the Eagle in 2008, it
looked smaller than I remember.
Well, there used to be two galleys, one for the enlisted and
one for the ofcers. I mainly worked in the enlisted galley,
but sometimes I cooked in the other one for a special meal
for the captain.
Only problem in Bremerhaven was the snipers. Yes, the
war had ended, but there were still snipers. I dont know, but
maybe they were shooting at people trying to leave or maybe
the shooters didnt know the war was over. Even though I
was a cook I carried a .45. The snipers stopped when the
Army came and cleaned things up.
Bremerhaven was completely flat. The city had been
bombed by the Allies and was just a pile of bricks.
Interestingly enough, the Nazi navy compound that we were
staying in had not been touched. We had the German pris-
oners of war going around gathering up bricks for rebuild-
ing the city.
On our way back to the U.S. with the Eagle, we stopped
in various ports: Plymouth, England; Madiera, Portugal; Le
Havre, France; Bermuda; the Hudson Bay; and then New
London at the end of the year.
I was scared when I frst started going up [in the rigging]
to do the tacking. We went up like monkeys. Then once I
almost fell off the Eagle. [We were in] a heavy storm. There
was a line stretched across the vessel. When we were on
deck, we put one arm over the line and then put that same
hand in our pocket so we could walk without being swept
overboard. During that storm they put everyone, even
cooks, to do seaman duties. I was scared but I never thought
of death. Somehow we never had time to think of dying.
We just came running out of our rooms to help, all the time
afraid we would fall overboard. There were no lifejackets
like there are today. Also, there were only four or ve life-
boats in all.
One day we had a boxing match on board. We had fty
German POWs on board and I fought one of them who was
a boxer. I won, of course. I always won. The German spoke
perfect English and he told us he hated Hitler, saying, He
made us do it.
I remember a few of the U.S. crewmen. There was
Ambrose Burrows. Then there was BM3 Mac DiMatto and
Bill Bodine. One crew member spoke French. We picked up
a French boy about 12 or 14 on our way back to the U.S.
The French-speaking crewman wanted to adopt the kid so
we took him with us on the Eagle.
After we brought the Eagle back we were sent to Europe
again. We were on the Dexter which had once been the SS
Biscayne.
I liked the service. I was honorably discharged on June
30, 1947. Harry S. Truman sent me this letter. To you who
answered the call of your country and served in its Armed
Forces to bring about the total defeat of the enemy, I extend
the heartfelt thanks of a grateful nation. I am proud of that.
People today are not as patriotic as we all were back then. I
am very patriotic.
By ALBert gerArD nAccAreLLi
From an interview on July 2, 2009, with Anne and Ramon Evans,
Flotilla 15-8, North Orange County, California The Eagle waiting to sail to the U.S.
from Bremerhaven, Germany, in 1946.
Albert Naccarelli on the left.
The deck of the Eagle in 1946
Delivering
the Eagle
FAL L 2009
|
11
M
y name is Al Kid Gonski Naccarelli. Ill tell
you about that Gonski name later. I was born
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 18, 1928.
I am Italian, through and through. I grew up in
Philadelphia and fnished high school there.
I also learned to fight. Thats where the Gonski comes
in. Those were Depression days and my family didnt have
any money. I found out you could earn money for ghting.
I heard that the Poles all got higher ratings than the rest of
us, so I changed my name to Gonski to make me sound
Polish. I guess that worked because I ended up the best
amateur, almost a professional boxer, and won the Golden
Glove Award.
While I was growing up, I never thought about joining the
military; but when I turned seventeen-and-a-half, I joined the
Coast Guard, August 15, 1945. I attended the Academy in
New London, Connecticut, and eventually became a Seaman
First Class.
My most memorable duty in the service was my time
on the Eagle. About March of 46, we got orders to be
shipped from Brooklyn to Germany to pick up a vessel. We
were on the SS Central Falls Victory. We didnt know the
ship we were picking up was the Eagle. When we got to
Bremerhaven, the Eagle was in dry dock. [It] was painted
white and did not have that stripe on it the way it does today.
I have an article from a newspaper, The Reporter, May 24,
1946, describing the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Eagle. You can
see me in the photograph there during the commissioning
on May 22. The commander was G.P. McGowan. The Eagle
had been called the Horst Wessel by the Germans. She shot
down ve Russian airships during the war.
We stayed at a compound, some naval building the
Germans had built, while the Eagle was getting readied to
sail. I was trained in tacking, but that was a lot of work. I
remembered the guys at the Academy working their butts
off. Then I saw the military cooks and thought that looked
like a good job. I asked to be a cook and that was that. At
least as a cook you got to eat. Oh, the food was good aboard
ship. All the food was fresh. I improvised with the dry stuff
and I made pancakes, spaghetti and meatballs, whatever, but
I did hate peeling potatoes. You started with this big potato,
and after peeling you had almost nothing. I had learned to
cook from my mother. I entered service at 150 pounds and
came home two years later at 215 pounds.
When I saw the galley on our visit to the Eagle in 2008, it
looked smaller than I remember.
Well, there used to be two galleys, one for the enlisted and
one for the ofcers. I mainly worked in the enlisted galley,
but sometimes I cooked in the other one for a special meal
for the captain.
Only problem in Bremerhaven was the snipers. Yes, the
war had ended, but there were still snipers. I dont know, but
maybe they were shooting at people trying to leave or maybe
the shooters didnt know the war was over. Even though I
was a cook I carried a .45. The snipers stopped when the
Army came and cleaned things up.
Bremerhaven was completely flat. The city had been
bombed by the Allies and was just a pile of bricks.
Interestingly enough, the Nazi navy compound that we were
staying in had not been touched. We had the German pris-
oners of war going around gathering up bricks for rebuild-
ing the city.
On our way back to the U.S. with the Eagle, we stopped
in various ports: Plymouth, England; Madiera, Portugal; Le
Havre, France; Bermuda; the Hudson Bay; and then New
London at the end of the year.
I was scared when I frst started going up [in the rigging]
to do the tacking. We went up like monkeys. Then once I
almost fell off the Eagle. [We were in] a heavy storm. There
was a line stretched across the vessel. When we were on
deck, we put one arm over the line and then put that same
hand in our pocket so we could walk without being swept
overboard. During that storm they put everyone, even
cooks, to do seaman duties. I was scared but I never thought
of death. Somehow we never had time to think of dying.
We just came running out of our rooms to help, all the time
afraid we would fall overboard. There were no lifejackets
like there are today. Also, there were only four or ve life-
boats in all.
One day we had a boxing match on board. We had fty
German POWs on board and I fought one of them who was
a boxer. I won, of course. I always won. The German spoke
perfect English and he told us he hated Hitler, saying, He
made us do it.
I remember a few of the U.S. crewmen. There was
Ambrose Burrows. Then there was BM3 Mac DiMatto and
Bill Bodine. One crew member spoke French. We picked up
a French boy about 12 or 14 on our way back to the U.S.
The French-speaking crewman wanted to adopt the kid so
we took him with us on the Eagle.
After we brought the Eagle back we were sent to Europe
again. We were on the Dexter which had once been the SS
Biscayne.
I liked the service. I was honorably discharged on June
30, 1947. Harry S. Truman sent me this letter. To you who
answered the call of your country and served in its Armed
Forces to bring about the total defeat of the enemy, I extend
the heartfelt thanks of a grateful nation. I am proud of that.
People today are not as patriotic as we all were back then. I
am very patriotic.
By ALBert gerArD nAccAreLLi
From an interview on July 2, 2009, with Anne and Ramon Evans,
Flotilla 15-8, North Orange County, California The Eagle waiting to sail to the U.S.
from Bremerhaven, Germany, in 1946.
Albert Naccarelli on the left.
The deck of the Eagle in 1946
Delivering
the Eagle
12
|
NAVIGATOR
District 1 South
E
lizabeth Young, Director of Auxiliary for District 1-South, and
Flotilla Commander Jay Millard presented a commendation to
Flotilla 72, Norwalk, Connecticut, for 65 years of service to to the
Coast Guard.
On June 27 New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly
presented a proclamation from New York City Mayor Michael
Bloombergs ofce to the Coast Guard Auxiliary in recognition
of the 70th anniversary. The proclamation was accepted by First
District Commodore Steve Ackerman and USCG Commander
Elizabeth Young, District 1 Southern, Director of Auxiliary. The cer-
emony was held on the deck of the 82-foot Coast Guard Auxiliary
vessel Lady B, owner Stewart C. Sutherland. A eet of 16 Auxiliary
vessels surrounded the Lady B along with the Auxiliary tug Long
Splice. Following the presentation the vessels displaying custom
70th anniversary banners lined up and passed in review.
District 1-South also celebrated the Auxiliarys 70th anniver-
sary with a ceremony and review on the parade ground at Fort
Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York, on June 23. Captain of the
Port of New York/New Jersey, Captain Robert R. OBrien, USCG,
presented numerous awards. George Reilly, First Southerns Sector
Coordinator, District Staff Ofcer-Operations, and Bernard Reiner,
First Southerns Congressional Liaison Ofcer, accepted Coast
Guard Auxiliary Medals of Commendation. District 1 Commodore
Steve Ackerman and National Commodore Atlantic East Tom
Venezio were also present.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
,

USCG AUXILIARY
T
his summer Auxiliarists celebrated the
70th anniversar y of the Coast Guard
Auxiliary with public affairs events, vessel
examination days, fellowship, and more.
Commander Elizabeth Young DIRAUX, D1-South, and Flotilla
Commander Jay Millard at 65th Birthday Dinner of Flotilla 72 at
Shore and Country Club, Norwalk, Connecticut.
Photo by Rande Wilson.
Photo by Dee Thompson
The 82 Auxiliary operational vessel, Lady B.
Photo by Dee Thompson
Review on
the parade
ground at Fort
Wadsworth,
New York.
FAL L 2009
|
13
District 8 Western Rivers
T
o help celebrate the 70
th
anniversary of the Auxiliary, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) teamed up with Des
Moines Flotillas 33-4 and 33-6 to make water safety fun by having a water safety beach
party at Sandpiper Beach at Saylorville Lake. The event was designed to teach families
with children about water safety in a fun way. Several activity stations provided enjoy-
ment to kids both big and small. Kids and parents got to learn how to toss a throw bag to
a person in the water at one station. At another, kids were tted for a life jacket so they
knew what size they needed. Kids also enjoyed the Sink Fast station where they learned
what to do if their boat is sinking and how to react quickly. Finally, the Iowa DNR provided
t-shirts for kids to design and make up with water safety themes. Over 50 children from
central Iowa participated in the event. Brandon Butters of Flotilla 33-4 served as the Coast
Guard Auxiliary Project Ofcer for the event. Auxilarists Mary Kimmich, Jim Berry, Steve
Johnson, Vic Voskans and Francis Meyrat participated.
District 7
E
ighty-four-year-old Seaman Third Class
Winford Williams was recognized at
a ceremony held at the Seneca Health &
Rehabilitation Center in South Carolina.
The ceremony was coordinated by Jim
Rudy, Flotilla 25, Hartwell Lake, Georgia. Mr.
Williams was presented with personal letters
from the Commandant of the Coast Guard,
Admiral Thad Allen, and the Master Chief
Petty Ofcer of the Coast Guard, MCPO
Charles Bowen. Seaman Williams is a World
War II veteran (1941-1945) who manned the
20 mm gun on a landing tank ship. He served
in the Pacic and participated in the battles
of Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and in the Philippines.
He made ve beach landings under re and
shot thousands of rounds during his combat
experiences.
Flotilla 14, Destin, Florida, had an awards
dinner, where 70
th
anniversary cups and
70
th
anniversary keepsake brochures
were presented to members by Flotilla
Commander Anne del Bello. The history of
the local Auxiliary was related in speeches
by Immediate Past District Commodore
Bill Crouch, District Commodore Larry
Richmond, and BMSC Jeff Patton of Coast
Guard Station Destin and Commander del
Bello. Nancy Kenaston, an original member
of Flotilla 14 recalled pre-Station Destin days.
Flotilla 14 is in its 51
st
year.
The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 14-7 worked together
to participate in several St. Augustine,
Florida, summer events. Expos containing
boating safety information were located at
both Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor as well
as the St. Augustine Municipal Marina. Vessel
safety checks were offered at both locations
in addition to the Vilano Boat Ramp. USCG
response boats visited both locations and
an Auxiliary patrol visited the St. Augustine
Municipal Marina.
Bertram 28, Catherine II, was on standby at
Station Miami Beach as part of a terrorist drill
about 1983. Note the VHF-RDF. One of the
rst in the Coast Guard, I believe, said owner
Bill Petritz, Flotilla 14, Destin, Florida.
District 5 North
A
llison Revy, Flotilla 72, Tuckertown/Egg Harbor, New Jersey,
reported that CG Station Barnegat Light and District 5-North,
Division 7, held an open house to promote safe boating and allow
the citizenry of Long Beach Island a peek inside Station Barnegat
Light. Attendance was estimated at over 800 people. Display booths
encouraged the use of lifejackets and provided information on pre-
serving the marine environment. Members handed out safe boating
class schedules, informed boat owners on how to arrange for a ves-
sel safety check and gave practical demonstrations on how to use
a marine radio, GPS and ares. Coastie gave out candy to young
visitors. A representative from the Academy Introductory Mission
provided information about the CG Academy and lifejackets donated
by Division 7 were rafed off to the public. The active duty at Station
Barnegat Light gave tours of their operations area, repair facilities,
and CG vessels. The Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team, Fort Dix, New
Jersey, gave tours of their mobile emergency response unit and dem-
onstrated a robotic search unit. A Coast Guard recruiter answered
questions about the Coast Guard and Air Station Atlantic City pro-
vided a ground display featuring a rescue swimmer and equipment.
Photo by Rande Wilson.
Auxilarist Jim Berry with the Corps of
Engineers mascot Bobber the Water Safety
Dog and Susan Stocker of the Iowa DNR
during the Water Safety Beach Party. Iowa
DNR photo used with permission.
14
|
NAVIGATOR
Flotilla 3-13, Lihue, Kauai, set up a display at the Kauai Veterans Center
District 11 South
T
he Ventura Maritime Museum at Oxnard, California,
was the location for a celebration on August 1 for the
Coast Guards 219
th
anniversary and the Coast Guard
Auxiliarys 70
th
anniversary. Guests included active duty
from Coast Guard Station Channel Islands, members of
Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 7, museum members and
invited guests.
The Commander of Coast Station Channel Islands,
Lieutenant William McGhee, gave a presentation on
Coast Guard operations in Southern California. He
acknowledged the Auxiliarys 70
th
anniversary and its
efforts helping the Station succeed in its mission.
The museum presented the Station with a model of the
USCGC Point Carrew.
The model depicts the ship, an 82-foot steel-hull cut-
ter commissioned in 1970 that served at San Pedro,
California, and nally at Station Channel Islands, Oxnard,
California. In 1987 during a major storm she towed a sail-
boat and rescued ve individuals from a sinking pleasure
craft off Point Mugu.
Guests sang Happy Birthday and a large, delicious
birthday cake was served.
Left: Master Ship Builder Richard Walton; center, Ventura County Maritime
Museum Executive Director, Bill Conroy; and right, Commander of Coast Guard
Station Channel Islands. Lieutenant William McGhee. The museum presented a
model of the USCGC Point Carrew to the Coast Guard.
District 9 Central
R
ick Ives, president of the National Association
of Commodores and member of Flotilla 17-6,
Lansing, Michigan, reported that a highlight of
the summer in District 9 was the Michigan Senate
passing Resolution 64, commemorating the 70
th

anniversary of the Auxiliary.
District 9 West
T
he members of Division 9 in Southern
Wisconsin gathered in Madison, Wisconsin,
with the local chapter of the Navy League to cel-
ebrate the Coast Guards 219th birthday with a day
of education, fun and fellowship.
Organized by the Navy League, with the Auxiliary
taking an active role, the day began with vessel
safety checks on the docks of Lake Waubesa, and
Auxiliary members talking about vessel safety and
invasive species and providing tips on safely enjoy-
ing Madisons short boating season.
Inside, guests and members listened to Coast
Guard Senior Chief Tom Rau (ret.), syndicated
boating safety columnist and author, share his
many experiences as a rescue responder and writer of humor-
ous boating stories. His colorful, moving stories had the crowd
alternating between laughter and
tears. Tom conducted hundreds of
search and rescue cases over his
27-year Coast Guard career and
is recognized nationally as a lead-
ing authority on boating safety
and mishaps. He is a member of
Flotilla 20-8, Manistee, Michigan.
The remainder of the evening
was spent in fellowship, invit-
ing members of the public to
learn more about the role of the
Auxiliary and the Navy League in
promoting boating awareness and
safety on the Wisconsin waters.
Said Command Master Chief
Denny Behr (Navy ret.), president
of the Madison Navy League
Council, Madison Navy League
was pleased to work with the
United States Coast Guard and
the local Coast Guard Auxiliary to
offer our community and its boat-
ers an educational event with an
emphasis on water safety. Thanks
to an overall can-do spirit and
team effort, the event was successful what a great way to cel-
ebrate the Coast Guards 219th birthday!
District 8 Coastal
C
ity ofcials in Bogalusa, Louisiana,
honored Captain James Montgomery,
Eighth District Director of Auxiliary; Chief
Warrant Ofcer David Mulford, com-
mander of Station New Orleans; and
Commander Edward Cubanski, command-
er of Air Station New Orleans, with the
title of co-Grand Marshals of the 2009 July
4th parade. A Coast Guard truck towed a
25-foot response boat in the parade and
the Coast Guard Auxiliary towed one of
its patrol boats. A total of 1,300 coloring
books were distributed to children along
the parade route.
The recognition came about as a result
of the Coast Guards spectacular rescue
of Jessie Powers from 330 feet above the
ground after he suffered a heart attack
while servicing a radio antenna near
Bogalusa. After no local rst responders
were able to reach Powers an HH-65 helo
was dispatched from Air Station Belle
Chasse near New Orleans.
Just as there are concerns with rig-
ging and masts when lowering a rescue
swimmer on to the deck of a ship being
tossed by heavy seas, the rescue heli-
copter made several passes surveying
the scene. Guy wires stabilizing the tower
could be negotiated, but the worker was
under a dome that protected the radio
equipment from the weather.
The locals could not believe how
steady the pilot held the helicopter as the
rescue swimmer was lowered towards the
heart attack victim, Montgomery said.
They said it was like the helicopter was
nailed to the sky above the tower, but
what they dont know is that pilot is trained
to hold the helicopter steady in 30-knot
gusts.
With the helicopter hovering peril-
ously close, the crew chief lowered the
rescue swimmer to the proper height
where he began to swing back and forth,
gaining momentum and swing radius until
he could swing under the dome and grab
the tower.
The victim was secured to a stretcher
and own to a local hospital where he fully
recovered.
Co-grand marshall, Capt. James Montgomery, DIRAUX, Eighth District-Coastal Region tosses a
treat to a young parade-goer on the 4th of July in Bogaulsa, Louisiana. The Coast Guard was
honored for its daring rescue of a local man from a radio antenna.
District 17 Hawaii
F
lotilla 3-13, Lihue, Kauai, held an open house at the Kauai
Veterans Center. The program opened with Kauai veterans
raising the ag and Miss Kauai Veteran, Dominique Pascua, sing-
ing the national anthem. This was followed by remarks from Kauai
Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. and special recognition to the crew
of Coast Guard Station Kauai and its Auxiliary. The Center has a
museum of WWII military vehicles which was supplemented for
the occasion with Coast Guard Station Kauais 25-foot response
boat and a safe boating exhibit by Kauais Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Annie Leighton and Larry Richardson joined Jim Jung in explaining
the safe boating exhibit. Among the attendees were Lieutenant
Gordon Hood, commander of the 87-foot USCGC Kittiwake, Lihue
Mayor Carvalho and Councilman Tim Bynum.
In another event, ten members of Flotilla 3-15, six members of
the newly organized Kauai Sea Scouts and families of the crew
enjoyed a patrol circumnavigating the Island of Kauai onboard the
USCGC Kittiwake on July 1. The sun shone brightly and the seas
were at. Lunch was provided in the galley while underway.
P
h
o
t
o

b
y

R
o
n

S
a
m
,

u
s
e
d

w
i
t
h

p
e
r
m
i
s
s
i
o
n
.
FAL L 2009
|
15
Flotilla 3-13, Lihue, Kauai, set up a display at the Kauai Veterans Center
District 11 South
T
he Ventura Maritime Museum at Oxnard, California,
was the location for a celebration on August 1 for the
Coast Guards 219
th
anniversary and the Coast Guard
Auxiliarys 70
th
anniversary. Guests included active duty
from Coast Guard Station Channel Islands, members of
Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 7, museum members and
invited guests.
The Commander of Coast Station Channel Islands,
Lieutenant William McGhee, gave a presentation on
Coast Guard operations in Southern California. He
acknowledged the Auxiliarys 70
th
anniversary and its
efforts helping the Station succeed in its mission.
The museum presented the Station with a model of the
USCGC Point Carrew.
The model depicts the ship, an 82-foot steel-hull cut-
ter commissioned in 1970 that served at San Pedro,
California, and nally at Station Channel Islands, Oxnard,
California. In 1987 during a major storm she towed a sail-
boat and rescued ve individuals from a sinking pleasure
craft off Point Mugu.
Guests sang Happy Birthday and a large, delicious
birthday cake was served.
Left: Master Ship Builder Richard Walton; center, Ventura County Maritime
Museum Executive Director, Bill Conroy; and right, Commander of Coast Guard
Station Channel Islands. Lieutenant William McGhee. The museum presented a
model of the USCGC Point Carrew to the Coast Guard.
District 9 Central
R
ick Ives, president of the National Association
of Commodores and member of Flotilla 17-6,
Lansing, Michigan, reported that a highlight of
the summer in District 9 was the Michigan Senate
passing Resolution 64, commemorating the 70
th

anniversary of the Auxiliary.
District 9 West
T
he members of Division 9 in Southern
Wisconsin gathered in Madison, Wisconsin,
with the local chapter of the Navy League to cel-
ebrate the Coast Guards 219th birthday with a day
of education, fun and fellowship.
Organized by the Navy League, with the Auxiliary
taking an active role, the day began with vessel
safety checks on the docks of Lake Waubesa, and
Auxiliary members talking about vessel safety and
invasive species and providing tips on safely enjoy-
ing Madisons short boating season.
Inside, guests and members listened to Coast
Guard Senior Chief Tom Rau (ret.), syndicated
boating safety columnist and author, share his
many experiences as a rescue responder and writer of humor-
ous boating stories. His colorful, moving stories had the crowd
alternating between laughter and
tears. Tom conducted hundreds of
search and rescue cases over his
27-year Coast Guard career and
is recognized nationally as a lead-
ing authority on boating safety
and mishaps. He is a member of
Flotilla 20-8, Manistee, Michigan.
The remainder of the evening
was spent in fellowship, invit-
ing members of the public to
learn more about the role of the
Auxiliary and the Navy League in
promoting boating awareness and
safety on the Wisconsin waters.
Said Command Master Chief
Denny Behr (Navy ret.), president
of the Madison Navy League
Council, Madison Navy League
was pleased to work with the
United States Coast Guard and
the local Coast Guard Auxiliary to
offer our community and its boat-
ers an educational event with an
emphasis on water safety. Thanks
to an overall can-do spirit and
team effort, the event was successful what a great way to cel-
ebrate the Coast Guards 219th birthday!
District 8 Coastal
C
ity ofcials in Bogalusa, Louisiana,
honored Captain James Montgomery,
Eighth District Director of Auxiliary; Chief
Warrant Ofcer David Mulford, com-
mander of Station New Orleans; and
Commander Edward Cubanski, command-
er of Air Station New Orleans, with the
title of co-Grand Marshals of the 2009 July
4th parade. A Coast Guard truck towed a
25-foot response boat in the parade and
the Coast Guard Auxiliary towed one of
its patrol boats. A total of 1,300 coloring
books were distributed to children along
the parade route.
The recognition came about as a result
of the Coast Guards spectacular rescue
of Jessie Powers from 330 feet above the
ground after he suffered a heart attack
while servicing a radio antenna near
Bogalusa. After no local rst responders
were able to reach Powers an HH-65 helo
was dispatched from Air Station Belle
Chasse near New Orleans.
Just as there are concerns with rig-
ging and masts when lowering a rescue
swimmer on to the deck of a ship being
tossed by heavy seas, the rescue heli-
copter made several passes surveying
the scene. Guy wires stabilizing the tower
could be negotiated, but the worker was
under a dome that protected the radio
equipment from the weather.
The locals could not believe how
steady the pilot held the helicopter as the
rescue swimmer was lowered towards the
heart attack victim, Montgomery said.
They said it was like the helicopter was
nailed to the sky above the tower, but
what they dont know is that pilot is trained
to hold the helicopter steady in 30-knot
gusts.
With the helicopter hovering peril-
ously close, the crew chief lowered the
rescue swimmer to the proper height
where he began to swing back and forth,
gaining momentum and swing radius until
he could swing under the dome and grab
the tower.
The victim was secured to a stretcher
and own to a local hospital where he fully
recovered.
Co-grand marshall, Capt. James Montgomery, DIRAUX, Eighth District-Coastal Region tosses a
treat to a young parade-goer on the 4th of July in Bogaulsa, Louisiana. The Coast Guard was
honored for its daring rescue of a local man from a radio antenna.
District 17 Hawaii
F
lotilla 3-13, Lihue, Kauai, held an open house at the Kauai
Veterans Center. The program opened with Kauai veterans
raising the ag and Miss Kauai Veteran, Dominique Pascua, sing-
ing the national anthem. This was followed by remarks from Kauai
Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. and special recognition to the crew
of Coast Guard Station Kauai and its Auxiliary. The Center has a
museum of WWII military vehicles which was supplemented for
the occasion with Coast Guard Station Kauais 25-foot response
boat and a safe boating exhibit by Kauais Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Annie Leighton and Larry Richardson joined Jim Jung in explaining
the safe boating exhibit. Among the attendees were Lieutenant
Gordon Hood, commander of the 87-foot USCGC Kittiwake, Lihue
Mayor Carvalho and Councilman Tim Bynum.
In another event, ten members of Flotilla 3-15, six members of
the newly organized Kauai Sea Scouts and families of the crew
enjoyed a patrol circumnavigating the Island of Kauai onboard the
USCGC Kittiwake on July 1. The sun shone brightly and the seas
were at. Lunch was provided in the galley while underway.
P
h
o
t
o

b
y

R
o
n

S
a
m
,

u
s
e
d

w
i
t
h

p
e
r
m
i
s
s
i
o
n
.
16
|
NAVIGATOR






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FAL L 2009
|
17
Member Survey
2009
Special Note: there are fve questions where
the total response is more than 100%. This is
because on those questions, the member was able
to select more than one response to a question.
18
|
NAVIGATOR
By JuDy DArBy,
Flotilla 42, Mandeville, Louisiana
A
n hour sout h of Laf ayt t e,
Louisiana, La. 319 abruptly dead-
ends at Cypremort Point on a
sliver of marsh jutting between
West Cote Blanche and Vermillion Bays.
When the reds and specks are hitting in
Southwest Pass and the seas are calm,
the line to launch at Quintana Landing
is long. Thats when Tim Hale, Flotilla
44s new coxswain, Mike Clayton, Cal
Eschete, and Jimmy Sibille grab their
gear, hookup and head for the Point.
In Flotilla 44s remote area of respon-
sibility (AOR) this Auxiliary crew is
the only search and rescue team to
serve several thousand square miles
of marshland. From Vermillion Bay
to Point Au Fer, and the near coastal
waters of the Gulf of Mexico, they are
the Coast Guard. Chartered in October
2003, the team traveled 60 to 150 miles
(to Baton Rouge, Covington, and Slidell,
Louisiana) to train and qualify. What a
commitment they have made very
ambitious, and very proficient, said
qualifier Bill Wellemeyer in May 2009
when Hale became the units rst cox-
swain and Jimmy Sibille outfitted his
boat as an Auxiliary patrol vessel. Their
orders come from Station New Orleans
and the closest Coast Guard support
unit is at Grand Isle more than 100
miles away by air, Wellemeyer added.
On July 25, 2009, the flotilla per-
formed its rst patrol. Their investment
in training paid dividends on that inau-
gural patrol. Coxswain and crew did not
expect to come home heroes after that
inaugural patrol, but they did.
In the morning the crew launched at
Quintana Landing and after patrolling
the launch ramp and beach area, they
crossed Vermillion Bay to Southwest
Pass at Marsh Island and headed out
into the Gulf of Mexico. At 1400, Station
Grand Isle called to advise that a storm
was moving their way, so they headed
back, reaching Quintana Landing at
about 1445.
Near the end of their patrol, Sector
New Orleans called with a report by
the Iberia Parish sheriff that a boat had
lost engine power and was adrift. A cell
phone call to the Iberia Parish deputy to
obtain a description of the disabled boat
and the number of people on board also
yielded a passengers cell phone num-
ber.
The boat didnt have a GPS to give an
accurate position, Hale said, but they
were in a gray 17-foot runabout and
thought they were near Bayou Patout,
WE ARE THE
COAST GUARD
In the marshes of Louisiana
PhOtOS By cAL eSchete,
Flotilla, 44, Lafayette, Louisiana
Tending the lines and keeping watch, the crew tows in a disabled boat on Vermillion Bay,
Louisiana.
FAL L 2009
|
19
six or more miles away in Vermillion
Bay.
Sector said to locate the disabled ves-
sel and tow them back, so we headed
for Bayou Patout. In the search area we
spotted several boats that matched the
description, but none was the disabled
boat. Since they did not have a signal-
ing device either, they tried to describe
their location and some nearby land-
marks. We began moving more wester-
ly and after searching about eight miles
of coastline we nally spotted them up
in the marsh in about one foot of water,
Hale said.We would have found them a
lot sooner if they had had a are, said
Sibille, but at least they had a working
cell phone.
One of the two onboard was seasick
and deer flies were attacking both of
them, said Hale. Working together, the
Auxiliary crew pulled the boat out of the
mud.
The wind and seas had built to 22
knots with a 2-3 foot chop, making it too
rough to cut across the bay with a small
boat in tow, and the patrol boat didnt
have enough fuel to return to Cypremort
Point. The Auxiliarists identied a land-
ing south of Delcambre as the nearest
safe harbor with fuel, so they towed the
disabled boaters there.
You wont find your average family
cocktail cruisers out here, said Hale,
but serious shallow-water bay fisher-
men, blue-water sportfshers, commer-
cial crew boats going back and forth to
the oil rigs, tugs, pushboats, and com-
mercial fishers. In a normal patrol we
are required to stay within one mile of
the shore of the actual Gulf, but you will
see all those types of craft in our AOR.
Hale explained that search and rescue
on the Louisiana Gulf Coast has unique
challenges. A guy who shes the marsh
regularly knows it well and doesnt see
the need for a VHF or GPS, but if he
gets into trouble he has no way to call
for help. His cell phone is no good just
eight miles south of Cypremort Point
and thats not even across Vermillion
Bay, Hale said. Clayton, Sibille and
Eschete agreed that the most common
problem for boaters is equipment fail-
ure.
The other major cause of a search and
resuce is unfamiliarity with the area.
Mud flats and sandbars appear when
the wind blows from the north; where
your GPS shows solid land, you are look-
ing at water; your GPS shows water, but
in fact it may only be a few inches deep,
said Clayton. Vermillion Bay is over 20
miles long and 10 miles wide, but the
average depth is only about seven feet.
There are no trees and few structures
or distinguishing landmarks in the
bay or along the coast; it just appears
as a vast grassy plain. When you are in
the marsh, it all looks the same, said
Eschete. The guys we towed in thought
they were eight miles east of their actual
location, said Hale The locations of
crab traps change daily, he added, and
there are unmarked wrecks and obstruc-
tions everywhere that change location
with every storm. Being able to read the
water no matter what the chart says is
critical to your own safety as a respond-
er or a sherman. The most important
pieces of safety gear, after your lifejacket,
which is mandatory, is a signaling device
and a VHF radio. A VHF can defnitely
save your life, said Hale.
The right boat is impor tant too.
Our boat is a 21-foot center-console
Fishmaster, said owner Jimmy Sibille.
Its the right boat for our AOR, because
we can run in 18 inches of water. It has
a 200-hp engine and holds 72 gallons of
fuel which lets us run back and forth
across the bay, or spend hours search-
ing for someone whos lost. It also
handles well in rougher water just off-
shore, said Hale. VHF reception is
good over a very long distance and a
repeater at the otillas base in Lafayette
enables us to keep open communication
with Station New Orleans and Grand
Isle.
Of fshore oil rigs are important for
both commercial and recreational sh-
ermen. The rigs form a reef habitat that
draw fish in abundance. If someone
reports on his VHF that the reds are
hitting in the Marsh Island block, youll
have dozens of guys heading offshore
into deep water in 17-foot fat-bottomed
boats that should never leave the bay,
Hale said.
I grew up on the bayou, said Cal
Eschete, and its a feeling of accom-
plishment to be able to do something I
am good at and that I enjoy and know
that at the end of the day there are some
results. Our goal is to get more people
trained because theres a lot of water
to cover and there are just not enough
patrols. Coxswain Hale explained that
he and the crew underwent the train-
ing and qualication process and began
patrolling, just so we could be there
in a time of need; to provide an overall
safe environment so people can be out
there enjoying despite the hazards of
the remote area and the perception of
self-suffciency that fosters a disinterest
in radios, signaling devices, and other
safety equipment. The people wave to
us and smile. They know we are there
to help, not give them a ticket, and they
appreciate our presence Its a good feel-
ing.
Modest words from modest volunteer
heroes.
Photos by Judy Darby
The south Louisiana swamp.
20
|
NAVIGATOR
StOry AnD PhOtOS By PhiL BAiLey,
Flotilla 55 Shell Knob, Missouri
W
ho in their right mind would want
to take 16 high school students
for a boat ride? Flotilla 55 of Shell
Knob, Missouri, thats who.
It began when the flotillas public
education officer, Bob Tippett, had an
idea. He heard that every year the sum-
mer school class at Cassville in south-
west Missouri, near Table Rock Lake,
goes on a field trip. He suggested the
Auxiliarys boating course to the school
administrators. Cassville is a farming
community where the typical boater on
Table Rock is a retiree from Wichita,
Kansas City, or Chicago. Young people
generally do not have the money or the
time to go boating. What kid would turn
down a chance to go on a boat ride?
In February 2009 Flotilla 55 instruc-
tors taught About Boating Safely at
Cassville High School in Cassville. It
was a week-long course with a test at the
end. The students heard all about boats,
but it didnt seem real to them since they
had never been aboard one. They want-
ed some hands-on experience. Tippett
found the Auxiliarys program called
On-Water Training and, after speaking
with Ann Lockwood, Department Chief
of Education, decided it would be a valu-
able reward each student could earn by
passing the About Boating Safely test.
After the flotilla boat crews spent a
day practicing crossing, passing, and
overtaking maneuvers the boats were
ready to rendezvous at 0700 at Big M
Marina on Table Rock. Permission slips
were collected and the kids were fit-
ted with life jackets. They boarded the
boats according to colored name tags
and listened to a thorough brieng that
included an explanation of safety and
emergency procedures. They also learned the parts of a boat
and how equipment aboard a boat is used.
Before getting underway, the students checked the engine
room for leaks and gasoline fumes; they checked whether
engine blowers were on and conrmed that all instruments
worked. Then the dock lines were released and the instruc-
tors explained how to leave the dock safely at idle speed.
Sixteen students were aboard two Auxiliary operational boats
with one demonstration boat and one boat for the otillas pub-
lic affairs team. Lessons were taught by qualified Auxiliary
instructors and each boat was manned by a qualied crew. The
coxswains radioed one another to advise of the maneuvers they
were about to perform. They demonstrated the proper way to
meet another boat and
pass to starboard, then
they crossed from star-
board and port. Proper
sound signals were also
explained.
Man Overboard! was
the next lesson. The kids
were taught to keep visu-
al contact with the object
in the water by pointing to
it while the boat returned
to retrieve it. Auxiliarists
demonstrated anchor-
ing and how to retrieve
a stuck anchor. The last
lesson was on marine radio use. Frequencies were discussed
and each student got a chance to talk over the radio to crew
aboard the demonstration boat.
When the class was nished, the boats headed back to the
marina where the kids and crews enjoyed box lunches provid-
ed by the high school. The excited youngsters talked about
what a great time they had. Its true most of them wont ever
own a boat, but if someday they go boating again they might
remember what they learned. The summer school teacher at
Cassville High, Bonnie Cox, was so impressed with the Coast
Guard Auxiliary she decided to join. The event was so suc-
cessful Flotilla 55 expects to repeat it with another group of
high schoolers soon.
BACK TO HICH SCHOOI
Above, summer school students get tted for lifejackets.
Below, students learned to sniff for gasoline fumes and check
for oil leaks before starting the engine.
FAL L 2009
|
21
Rsctrs
roa Taousts
T
ake about 400 recreational boats 20-45 feet in size and
carrying over 1,000 boaters, cram them into a very small
basin adjacent to a major commercial waterway, add a
party atmosphere, hot weather and thunderstorms. Let
the brew steep three or four days and you have the festival
known as Canal Day in Chesapeake City, Maryland.
This annual event is held the last Saturday of June to com-
memorate the 1829 completion of the Chesapeake and
Delaware Canal linking the Chesapeake Bay with Delaware
Bay, thus shortening the distance for commercial shipping
between Baltimore and Philadelphia by almost 300 miles.
Canal Day began as a land-based festival, but over the last
15 years a growing number of boaters have begun converg-
ing on the city a few days before the festival, rafting up inside
Engineers Basin adjacent to the canal.
For several years, Auxiliary and active duty boats from
Station (Small) Stillpond and Station Curtis Bay had conduct-
ed routine patrols in the basin during the events peak hours
Friday and Saturday. In 2006, as the festival continued to grow,
organizers requested that Sector Baltimore assist the stations
by providing support during the planning sessions, followed
by sustained on-site support and incident management during
the event.
Canal Day is the largest annual event in which personnel
of Sector Baltimore participate. In 2009, under the leadership
of Lieutenant Josh Blocker, Chief, Incident Management, at
Sector Baltimore, over 80 members of the active duty, Auxiliary
and other partner agencies provided twenty-four-hour support
for fve days using an Incident Command System (ICS) with
input from all participating agencies.
In late April, all stakeholders met in Chesapeake City to
begin planning. Representatives from Chesapeake Citys Canal
By geOrge J. hAgerty,
Flotilla 21-4, Chestertown, Maryland
Keeping The Lid on Canal Day
U
S
C
G

p
h
o
t
o

b
y

P
A
3

B
r
a
n
d
y
n

H
i
l
l
Auxiliary patrol vessel
Joy Sea, coxswained by
Gene Olson, underway
with two guests from U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers
on the right at the stern.
22
|
NAVIGATOR
except one Coast Guard response boat.
On Sunday morning, after most of the
participants had left, Auxiliar y units
retrieved the mooring buoys from the
basin.
Canal Day 2009 was a success for
both recreational boaters and Sector
Baltimore. A total of fve Auxiliary ves-
sels with 22 Auxiliarists on patrol over
the entire period supported Sector
Baltimore proving their ability to work
ef fortlessly and seamlessly alongside
their active duty teammates. Auxiliary
operational vessels included those
of owners Les Turner, Flotilla 21-5
Chesapeake City, Maryland, and Ken
Peregoy, Flotilla 21-4 Chestertown,
Mar yland; coxswain Don Merrill,
Flotilla 14, Middle Newark, Delaware;
and coxswains Alan MacKinnon and
Jeff Patrick, Flotilla 21-4, Chestertown,
Maryland. Involved in planning were:
Larry Smith, Flotilla 21-8, Northeast,
Maryland; Gene Olson, Jeff Patrick and
George Hagerty. Larry Smith is also on
the Chesapeake City Canal Day plan-
ning committee.
Day planning committee, local police,
fire and other emergency responders,
the Army Corps of Engineers (which
owns the C&D Canal and Engineers
Basin) and personnel from Sector
Baltimore, Station Curtis Bay, Station
(Small) Stillpond and the Auxiliar y
attended.
Auxiliarists from Divisions 21 and
22 District 5 South, and Division 1
from District 5 North, working with
the Coast Guard incident commander,
began on-site activity on the Wednesday
before the event, placing buoys within
the basin to dene the safe anchorage
area. The layout allowed adequate room
for patrolling Coast Guard boats and
emergency access during the event.
Auxiliary patrols were scheduled from
0800 through approximately 0200 the
following morning. To comply with
operational restrictions, Auxiliarists fol-
lowed a staggered schedule. A moored
operational vessel provided food, water
and rest facilities.
The Auxiliary team had two distinct
roles: one team, in larger Auxiliar y
boats, provided a picket at the east and
west ends of the C&D Canal (which is
less than 200 feet wide) to limit speeds
of recreational boaters who were en
route to the event or transiting the canal.
They also alerted boaters to oncom-
ing commercial trafc in the canal and
assisted in keeping the canal clear of
kayaks and other small boats. A second
team of Auxiliarists in boats under 22
feet patrolled within the basin to ensure
moored boats stayed within the estab-
lished boundaries, to watch for hazards
such as carbon monoxide exposure,
and to provide whatever other services
and support the incident commander
needed.
Recreational boaters looking for
prime anchoring locations began arriv-
ing on Thursday. Friday and Saturday
the party intensified as more boats
arrived to raft up in groups of up to
25 or 30. The great majority of partici-
pants behaved well and once anchored,
stayed either on their boats or in the
water. Active duty vessel boarding
teams from Sector Baltimore rode
aboard the Auxiliar y boats and pro-
jected a law enforcement presence.
As the weekend wore on and people
swam, paddled their inflatables and
drove their PWCs, it became increas-
ingly hazardous for both active duty
and Auxiliary boats to navigate within
the basin. Whole rafts of boats shifted
on their anchors with changes in the
tide and wind. By noon on Saturday, it
was evident to the incident commander
that the basin was becoming dangerous
and, under the authority of a Regulated
Navigational Authority for Canal Day
in the Code of Federal Regulations,
closed the basin to additional boats.
This status change meant the Auxiliary
boats on picket duty in the canal were
reassigned to blockade duty to help
enforce the basin closure. Auxiliarists
marshaled a great deal of tact and diplo-
macy in this assignment, having no
authority to actually enforce the basins
closure. The smaller boats continued
their patrols within the basin, working
into the late hours of Saturday and the
early hours of Sunday, long after the
departure of all other support boats
Supporting Sector Baltimore at
Canal Day, Auxiliarists exercise
a variety of skills as they serve
the public. For example, the
Auxiliary this year:
Was frst on scene to render frst aid
to an assault victim with a serious
bleeding head injury.
Well after dark, assisted a disabled
boat in the unlighted C&D Canal by
towing it into the basin just a few
minutes before two tugs and barges
transited the position where it had
been disabled and adrift.
Transported Sector Baltimore
VIPs such as Captain Mark
OMalley and Commander Brian
Penoyer (Commander and Deputy
Commander, respectively, Sector
Baltimore) to meetings and tours of
the basin.
Provided food, drink and an air-
conditioned rest facility for active duty
crews.
Provided frst aid to an active duty
crew member who became ill.
Took soundings and then guided a
62-foot Army tugboat into the shallow
basin to safe mooring.
Had a boat and crew in ready status
24 hours per day, from Wednesday
through Sunday morning.
USCG photo by PA3 Brandyn Hill.
Auxiliary patrol vessel with Ken
Peregoy on watch and George
Hagerty in the coxswains chair.
FAL L 2009
|
23
except one Coast Guard response boat.
On Sunday morning, after most of the
participants had left, Auxiliar y units
retrieved the mooring buoys from the
basin.
Canal Day 2009 was a success for
both recreational boaters and Sector
Baltimore. A total of fve Auxiliary ves-
sels with 22 Auxiliarists on patrol over
the entire period supported Sector
Baltimore proving their ability to work
ef fortlessly and seamlessly alongside
their active duty teammates. Auxiliary
operational vessels included those
of owners Les Turner, Flotilla 21-5
Chesapeake City, Maryland, and Ken
Peregoy, Flotilla 21-4 Chestertown,
Mar yland; coxswain Don Merrill,
Flotilla 14, Middle Newark, Delaware;
and coxswains Alan MacKinnon and
Jeff Patrick, Flotilla 21-4, Chestertown,
Maryland. Involved in planning were:
Larry Smith, Flotilla 21-8, Northeast,
Maryland; Gene Olson, Jeff Patrick and
George Hagerty. Larry Smith is also on
the Chesapeake City Canal Day plan-
ning committee.
Day planning committee, local police,
fire and other emergency responders,
the Army Corps of Engineers (which
owns the C&D Canal and Engineers
Basin) and personnel from Sector
Baltimore, Station Curtis Bay, Station
(Small) Stillpond and the Auxiliar y
attended.
Auxiliarists from Divisions 21 and
22 District 5 South, and Division 1
from District 5 North, working with
the Coast Guard incident commander,
began on-site activity on the Wednesday
before the event, placing buoys within
the basin to dene the safe anchorage
area. The layout allowed adequate room
for patrolling Coast Guard boats and
emergency access during the event.
Auxiliary patrols were scheduled from
0800 through approximately 0200 the
following morning. To comply with
operational restrictions, Auxiliarists fol-
lowed a staggered schedule. A moored
operational vessel provided food, water
and rest facilities.
The Auxiliary team had two distinct
roles: one team, in larger Auxiliar y
boats, provided a picket at the east and
west ends of the C&D Canal (which is
less than 200 feet wide) to limit speeds
of recreational boaters who were en
route to the event or transiting the canal.
They also alerted boaters to oncom-
ing commercial trafc in the canal and
assisted in keeping the canal clear of
kayaks and other small boats. A second
team of Auxiliarists in boats under 22
feet patrolled within the basin to ensure
moored boats stayed within the estab-
lished boundaries, to watch for hazards
such as carbon monoxide exposure,
and to provide whatever other services
and support the incident commander
needed.
Recreational boaters looking for
prime anchoring locations began arriv-
ing on Thursday. Friday and Saturday
the party intensified as more boats
arrived to raft up in groups of up to
25 or 30. The great majority of partici-
pants behaved well and once anchored,
stayed either on their boats or in the
water. Active duty vessel boarding
teams from Sector Baltimore rode
aboard the Auxiliar y boats and pro-
jected a law enforcement presence.
As the weekend wore on and people
swam, paddled their inflatables and
drove their PWCs, it became increas-
ingly hazardous for both active duty
and Auxiliary boats to navigate within
the basin. Whole rafts of boats shifted
on their anchors with changes in the
tide and wind. By noon on Saturday, it
was evident to the incident commander
that the basin was becoming dangerous
and, under the authority of a Regulated
Navigational Authority for Canal Day
in the Code of Federal Regulations,
closed the basin to additional boats.
This status change meant the Auxiliary
boats on picket duty in the canal were
reassigned to blockade duty to help
enforce the basin closure. Auxiliarists
marshaled a great deal of tact and diplo-
macy in this assignment, having no
authority to actually enforce the basins
closure. The smaller boats continued
their patrols within the basin, working
into the late hours of Saturday and the
early hours of Sunday, long after the
departure of all other support boats
Supporting Sector Baltimore at
Canal Day, Auxiliarists exercise
a variety of skills as they serve
the public. For example, the
Auxiliary this year:
Was frst on scene to render frst aid
to an assault victim with a serious
bleeding head injury.
Well after dark, assisted a disabled
boat in the unlighted C&D Canal by
towing it into the basin just a few
minutes before two tugs and barges
transited the position where it had
been disabled and adrift.
Transported Sector Baltimore
VIPs such as Captain Mark
OMalley and Commander Brian
Penoyer (Commander and Deputy
Commander, respectively, Sector
Baltimore) to meetings and tours of
the basin.
Provided food, drink and an air-
conditioned rest facility for active duty
crews.
Provided frst aid to an active duty
crew member who became ill.
Took soundings and then guided a
62-foot Army tugboat into the shallow
basin to safe mooring.
Had a boat and crew in ready status
24 hours per day, from Wednesday
through Sunday morning.
USCG photo by PA3 Brandyn Hill.
Auxiliary patrol vessel with Ken
Peregoy on watch and George
Hagerty in the coxswains chair.
24
|
NAVIGATOR
2010 Conference in Scottsdale
The important things that will endure and provide us con-
tinuity the things that will ensure the watch is stood the
Coast Guard Auxiliary is already doing. Admiral Thad Allen,
Commandant of the Coast Guard
I
ts an honor to be here tonight. Ive worked with Nick Kerigan
over the last year as we both proceeded with modernization.
I want to publicly thank Nick for his leadership. I also want to
thank all of you for your leadership, your innovation and fore-
sight. You understand the power of creating an organizational
structure that can be more responsive to mission support and
mission execution. When we look at the innovations that are
taking place - whether the Citizens Action Network in the 13
th

District, the linguists you are providing all over the world, or
your food service folks--there is nothing that we request that
you wont do, and the only things you dont do are the things
we didnt know you were capable of or forgot to ask.
In a modernized Auxiliary, you have a better alignment from
the otilla through the sector, up to the district and now at a
national level, to better identify those skills and talents the
Coast Guard needs. This is especially critical in a budget-con-
strained environment. It puts you in a place where your pas-
sion, skills, and talents can be brought to bear for this country.
You have never been more needed and more relevant than you
are right now.
As I said to senior leadership earlier today, the Coast Guard
is facing a very, very uncertain budget future. In fact the entire
nation is. Its comforting to know that in the past when we have
needed an operational support some place, whether its the
local operations that sprinkle the Great Lakes during boating
season, the operation at Whittier, the outreaches of Alaska, the
Yukon River, the Auxiliary has always stepped forward. You
have provided us presence, operational capacity, and response
capability that we could not always provide with our current
force. I can tell you that you will be needed more in the next
several years as we come to grips with the national debt in this
country. As we look for efciencies and how to best operate
the Coast Guard, it is no secret to anybody that the best value
is the Auxiliary. I think the opportunities for you are not end-
less, they are innite. Its just a matter of nding out what you
do, what you want to do, and matching that up with what we
need. Commodore Kerigan and the senior leadership have
positioned the Auxiliary to step forward and say, Heres a way
we can help, and I can tell you, we will need it.
As I sit here this evening looking at a modernized Auxiliary,
I realize we, the Coast Guard, dont have a piece of authorizing
legislation. You are leading the way; we have to catch up with
you. With some help from Congress we will. The Coast Guard
is looking for legislation that will allow us to re-title the Pacifc
Area Commander as FORCECOM and the Atlantic Area
Commander as OPCOM, upgrade the Deputy Commandant
for Operations to a three-star admiral, rename the Chief of
Staff to the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, and
elevate the Vice Commandant to a four-star rank, making that
position equitable with our sister services.
While that will happen at its own legislative pace, I am com-
mitted to moving forward as far as our legal authority allows.
There is commitment to modernize throughout the Coast
Guard. We understand what needs to be done and we under-
stand we are moving into an uncertain future. You will be a
critical part of that, and having modernized, you are actually
leading the way for the rest of the Coast Guard. Thats a great
place for you to be.
I ask you to think about a couple of things as you close your
conference. As I said, we are in a time of uncertainty. I think
A First-timer
At NACON
By NavigatoR eDitOr JuDy DArBy
T
he 2009 NACON was a frst for
me in several ways. It was the
first time I attended an event out-
side my own otilla, the rst time I
met my Department Chief, the frst
time I saw the suburbs of Chicago,
and on and on. Im a convention
junkie and I love a good trade show,
especially if it has anything to do
with boating or reporting, so I was
excited to learn that the job of the
public affairs team was to report the
entire event from gavel to gavel. As
the rookie editor of the Navigator,
my job was to simply meet everyone
I could, watch the action, and learn
as much as possible about the Coast
Guard Auxiliary. In full disclosure, I
should admit that before my appoint-
ment, I was not the most involved
member. I dont recall reading any
part of the AUXMAN, I was always
too busy for a boating course, and
I reluctantly attended only a few
flotilla meetings over two years.
For such an underachiever to land
as the Navigator editor is another
story, but the truth is, that except
for a very excellent experience at
the AUX12 C-school, I had virtu-
ally no contact except by phone and
email with any Auxiliarist outside
my own fotilla. So I went to Chicago
a blank slate armed with a Nikon, a
notebook and a digital voice record-
er. My assignment was to observe
and learn; to nd out whats so great
about NACON and report to you
why you should plan to attend the
2010 NACON in Scottsdale.
Why should you plan to attend
the 2010 NACON in Scottsdale?
Whats so great about NACON?
Its meeting the person on the
other end of the phone who you
pictured as short, stout and foreign,
and seeing that he is actually very
tall and from Milwaukee;
Its hearing about the state of the
organization directly from those
who steer it;
Realizing its bigger than your o-
tilla, division, or district;
Realizing its reach is wider than
even the borders of the United
States;
we have a few years where things will
be unsettled. First, we had the change
of administration, then a new Secretary
of Homeland Security, and we are about
six months from my successor being
chosen. The important things that will
endure and provide us continuity the
things that will ensure the watch is
stood the Coast Guard Auxiliary is
already doing. As you know, we intro-
duced the Guardian Ethos over the last
couple of years. You embody it. You are
able to translate it at the grassroots level
in your local communities and we are
grateful.
One of the great things that distin-
guishes us from the other services is
that we dont have to deploy to execute
our mission. We execute our missions
where we live, where we coach soccer,
and are part of the PTA. The incred-
ible link between the Coast Guard and
the community the thing that makes
that bond so strong and makes us so
valuable to the community is the fact
that the Auxiliary doesnt move. The
Auxiliary is the symbol of continuity.
Remember that you represent intel-
lectual capital, competency, skill, and
continuity that we cannot do without
in this stage of dramatic change. The
extraordinary value you bring to the
Service shouldnt be underestimated.
To the extent a Commandant and the
men and women of the Coast Guard can
recognize you for what you do every
single day and the incredible value you
bring to the country, Im here to tell
you, we couldnt do it without you.
Thank you and Semper Paratus.
T
he 2010 National Conference (NACON) will be held the week of August 24, 2010, at the J.W.
Marriott Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona. Coast Guard Auxiliary members from through-
out the United States and counterparts from other nations will gather in Scottsdale to learn about
new techniques, share ideas, and reward those who have excelled. 2010 is also an election year
when a new National Commodore and Vice Commodore will be selected.
the COmmANdANts
messAge tO NACON
FAL L 2009
|
25
2010 Conference in Scottsdale
The important things that will endure and provide us con-
tinuity the things that will ensure the watch is stood the
Coast Guard Auxiliary is already doing. Admiral Thad Allen,
Commandant of the Coast Guard
I
ts an honor to be here tonight. Ive worked with Nick Kerigan
over the last year as we both proceeded with modernization.
I want to publicly thank Nick for his leadership. I also want to
thank all of you for your leadership, your innovation and fore-
sight. You understand the power of creating an organizational
structure that can be more responsive to mission support and
mission execution. When we look at the innovations that are
taking place - whether the Citizens Action Network in the 13
th

District, the linguists you are providing all over the world, or
your food service folks--there is nothing that we request that
you wont do, and the only things you dont do are the things
we didnt know you were capable of or forgot to ask.
In a modernized Auxiliary, you have a better alignment from
the otilla through the sector, up to the district and now at a
national level, to better identify those skills and talents the
Coast Guard needs. This is especially critical in a budget-con-
strained environment. It puts you in a place where your pas-
sion, skills, and talents can be brought to bear for this country.
You have never been more needed and more relevant than you
are right now.
As I said to senior leadership earlier today, the Coast Guard
is facing a very, very uncertain budget future. In fact the entire
nation is. Its comforting to know that in the past when we have
needed an operational support some place, whether its the
local operations that sprinkle the Great Lakes during boating
season, the operation at Whittier, the outreaches of Alaska, the
Yukon River, the Auxiliary has always stepped forward. You
have provided us presence, operational capacity, and response
capability that we could not always provide with our current
force. I can tell you that you will be needed more in the next
several years as we come to grips with the national debt in this
country. As we look for efciencies and how to best operate
the Coast Guard, it is no secret to anybody that the best value
is the Auxiliary. I think the opportunities for you are not end-
less, they are innite. Its just a matter of nding out what you
do, what you want to do, and matching that up with what we
need. Commodore Kerigan and the senior leadership have
positioned the Auxiliary to step forward and say, Heres a way
we can help, and I can tell you, we will need it.
As I sit here this evening looking at a modernized Auxiliary,
I realize we, the Coast Guard, dont have a piece of authorizing
legislation. You are leading the way; we have to catch up with
you. With some help from Congress we will. The Coast Guard
is looking for legislation that will allow us to re-title the Pacifc
Area Commander as FORCECOM and the Atlantic Area
Commander as OPCOM, upgrade the Deputy Commandant
for Operations to a three-star admiral, rename the Chief of
Staff to the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, and
elevate the Vice Commandant to a four-star rank, making that
position equitable with our sister services.
While that will happen at its own legislative pace, I am com-
mitted to moving forward as far as our legal authority allows.
There is commitment to modernize throughout the Coast
Guard. We understand what needs to be done and we under-
stand we are moving into an uncertain future. You will be a
critical part of that, and having modernized, you are actually
leading the way for the rest of the Coast Guard. Thats a great
place for you to be.
I ask you to think about a couple of things as you close your
conference. As I said, we are in a time of uncertainty. I think
A First-timer
At NACON
By NavigatoR eDitOr JuDy DArBy
T
he 2009 NACON was a frst for
me in several ways. It was the
first time I attended an event out-
side my own otilla, the rst time I
met my Department Chief, the frst
time I saw the suburbs of Chicago,
and on and on. Im a convention
junkie and I love a good trade show,
especially if it has anything to do
with boating or reporting, so I was
excited to learn that the job of the
public affairs team was to report the
entire event from gavel to gavel. As
the rookie editor of the Navigator,
my job was to simply meet everyone
I could, watch the action, and learn
as much as possible about the Coast
Guard Auxiliary. In full disclosure, I
should admit that before my appoint-
ment, I was not the most involved
member. I dont recall reading any
part of the AUXMAN, I was always
too busy for a boating course, and
I reluctantly attended only a few
flotilla meetings over two years.
For such an underachiever to land
as the Navigator editor is another
story, but the truth is, that except
for a very excellent experience at
the AUX12 C-school, I had virtu-
ally no contact except by phone and
email with any Auxiliarist outside
my own fotilla. So I went to Chicago
a blank slate armed with a Nikon, a
notebook and a digital voice record-
er. My assignment was to observe
and learn; to nd out whats so great
about NACON and report to you
why you should plan to attend the
2010 NACON in Scottsdale.
Why should you plan to attend
the 2010 NACON in Scottsdale?
Whats so great about NACON?
Its meeting the person on the
other end of the phone who you
pictured as short, stout and foreign,
and seeing that he is actually very
tall and from Milwaukee;
Its hearing about the state of the
organization directly from those
who steer it;
Realizing its bigger than your o-
tilla, division, or district;
Realizing its reach is wider than
even the borders of the United
States;
we have a few years where things will
be unsettled. First, we had the change
of administration, then a new Secretary
of Homeland Security, and we are about
six months from my successor being
chosen. The important things that will
endure and provide us continuity the
things that will ensure the watch is
stood the Coast Guard Auxiliary is
already doing. As you know, we intro-
duced the Guardian Ethos over the last
couple of years. You embody it. You are
able to translate it at the grassroots level
in your local communities and we are
grateful.
One of the great things that distin-
guishes us from the other services is
that we dont have to deploy to execute
our mission. We execute our missions
where we live, where we coach soccer,
and are part of the PTA. The incred-
ible link between the Coast Guard and
the community the thing that makes
that bond so strong and makes us so
valuable to the community is the fact
that the Auxiliary doesnt move. The
Auxiliary is the symbol of continuity.
Remember that you represent intel-
lectual capital, competency, skill, and
continuity that we cannot do without
in this stage of dramatic change. The
extraordinary value you bring to the
Service shouldnt be underestimated.
To the extent a Commandant and the
men and women of the Coast Guard can
recognize you for what you do every
single day and the incredible value you
bring to the country, Im here to tell
you, we couldnt do it without you.
Thank you and Semper Paratus.
T
he 2010 National Conference (NACON) will be held the week of August 24, 2010, at the J.W.
Marriott Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona. Coast Guard Auxiliary members from through-
out the United States and counterparts from other nations will gather in Scottsdale to learn about
new techniques, share ideas, and reward those who have excelled. 2010 is also an election year
when a new National Commodore and Vice Commodore will be selected.
the COmmANdANts
messAge tO NACON
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.
26
|
NAVIGATOR
INTERNATIONAL
VIP GUESTS
F
rom around the globe our
international partners came to
NACON in 2009. Hosted by the
Auxiliarys International Affairs
team under the leadership of
Commodore Everette Tucker, the
VIPs were welcomed at a morning
workshop and later met at area
breakout sessions. Fun Night
provided fellowship and plenty of
time to network and on Saturday
evening they were seated front
and center at the Commodores
Banquet.
International guests included
National Commodore Ray
Campbell and Vice Squadron
Commander Barry Cordwell of the
Australian Volunteer Coast Guard
Association.
From Canada came Malcolm
Dunderdale, president and
chairman of the National Board of
Directors Canadian Coast Guard
Auxiliary; Gary Endicott, president
Central and Arctic Region; Ted
Smith, president Quebec Region;
and Anthony Gardiner, past Chief
Commander, Canadian Power and
Sail Squadrons.
From Curacao, Netherlands
Antilles, came Adriaan van der
Hoeven and Curd Evertsz,
president and vice president
respectively of the Citizens Rescue
Organization.
Attending from New Zealand was
Bruce Reid, Chief Executive Ofcer
Coast Guard New Zealand.
NACON also welcomed
Commander Jose Isaga, aide
to Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo,
Commandant of the Philippine
Coast Guard; also, Vice Admiral
Eduardo Alvarez, national director
Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary;
Rear Admiral Higinio Mendoza,
Commodore Joseph Dy and
Commander Vanessa Garon; and
Commodore Harold Wolf, national
commander, International Affairs
Directorate.
United States partners in
attendance included David
Chomeau, Treasurer, Association for
Rescue At Sea; Creighton Maynard,
Chief Commander, U.S. Power
Squadrons; and Lieutenant James
Vandervort, U.S. Navy.
Its learning about changes even before
your shipmates back home read it on
SITREP;
Attending a workshop given by the
person who is on the national leadership
team for the program;
Trying on an AUX shirt before you buy
the wrong size;
Bumping into an admiral in the rest-
roomand hearing her thank you for
your service;
Shopping for a new product manufac-
tured by a corporate partner;
Finding out at dinner that a guy you
worked with for years who lives 2,000
miles away is the neighbor of someone
on your PA team;
Enjoying a mystery drink the Alaskans
call Moose Milk;
Having a District Chief of Staf f who
really gets it, explain it;
A photo op with Thad Allen;
Saying Good morning to a sweaty
Thad Allen as he walks out of the gym in
his shorts;
Meeting a new DIRAUX whos look-
ing for a way to reach boaters in an area
underserved by the Auxiliary and know-
ing exactly who to introduce him to;
Recruiting for your team;
Its seeing your fellow Auxiliarists
dressed up as gangsters on Fun Night
then in dinner dress uniform the follow-
ing evening;
Brainstorming ideas over lunch with
four people who didnt plan to share a
table, but are now really glad the grill
was crowded;
Never having to say or hear, No com-
ment;
It really is the best way to bond;
Getting at least one statistic you
can remember: For every one dollar
invested in the Auxiliary, $11 in effort is
returned by the volunteers.
Navigator magazine doesnt give advice,
but this newbie suggests that if you are
reading this and wondering, Whats in the
Auxiliary for me? pick up the AUXMAN
and turn to Appendix M, the list of acro-
nyms. Read down the denitions list; it is
also a pretty complete list of the oppor-
tunities available to Homeland Security
volunteers. When its time to stop youll
know it. The Coast Guard truly does have
a need for every skill, for every interest,
for every volunteer who ever said, I want
to make a difference. As Peter Raiswell,
District 13 Chief of Staff, advises, Involve
yourself. The hardest thing to do is shift
a members perception from the otilla to
a division position, from the district to an
area position. But, when you make that
transition doing the things you are inter-
ested in, you like and are good at, youll be
rewarded. Theres no place like NACON
to truly appreciate the depth and breadth
of our Auxiliary.
P
h
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b
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B
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.

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i
.
Whats so
great about
NACON? A
photo op
with the
Commandant.
FAL L 2009
|
27
StOry By BriAn McArDLe,
Flotilla 33, Kilmarnock, Virginia
T
his year marks the 70th anniversa-
ry of the United States Coast Guard
Auxiliary and its working relation-
ship with the Coast Guard. To
honor the anniversary, three woodwork-
ing Auxiliarists, John Mill, Flotilla 33,
and Robin Wells and Ron Simon, Flotilla
62, Kilmarnock and Deltaville, Virginia,
respectively, collaborated to design and
construct a new chart table for CG Station
Milford Haven, Hudgins, Virginia.
I am the operations of ficer for the
stations Operations Support Team con-
sisting of members of the Auxiliary from
Divisions 3 and 6, said John Mill. I was
talking to Chief Petty Offcer Matthew
Welsh one day when he mentioned
that he would really like to have a bet-
ter chart table and was there anything
I could do. I told him I was a woodwork-
er and might be able to put together a
plan. He said he would buy the materi-
als, so I put out a call and located two
other woodworkers from Flotilla 62 in
Deltaville who agreed to help.
I made some sketches based on a
Craftsman-style table in one of my mag-
azines and the three of us discussed it
with the Chief. After getting the go-
ahead, I turned my sketches into CAD
drawings based on the sizes of charts
the station used and we divided up the
work I did the basic structure, Ron
Simon did the tops, and Robin Wells did
the drawers and chart-storage cubbies.
Our biggest problem turned out to
be finding quarter-sawn white oak,
Mill continued. After we spent a couple
of months searching, Robin got wind of
an Australian company in Warrenton,
Virginia, about three hours away, that
carried all kinds of exotic woods as
well as the oak we needed. I ordered it
and Robin and I picked it up. [Note: In
quarter-sawn white oak, the boards are
sawn perpendicular to the growth rings,
exposing what are called medullary
ray ecks that give it its unique appear-
ance]. After a couple of months of work-
ing individually, we got together for a
dry t of all the parts, then each did the
nishing with a very light stain and sev-
eral coats semi-gloss polyurethane for
durability. On July 15 we met at the sta-
tion and did the nal assembly. We had
a nice lunch and the chief surprised us
with a couple of very nice brass plaques
for the table, one commemorating the
Auxiliarys 70th anniversary, and one
with our names on it.
About two weeks later, Admiral
Wayne Justice, the new commander of
District 5, visited the station and we got
to show off our project again.
In all it was a very satisfying experi-
ence and a great show of inter-divisional
cooperation. There have been various
estimates of the hours we put in, but I
think it was probably about 600, Mill
said.
We had an old, steel chart table, out
of date and not very nautical, said Chief
Welsh. This new table will remain part
of the station forever, long after were
all gone. Its something the station crew
and the Auxiliary can be proud of. It
commemorates the value of Team Coast
Guard, the active duty and the Auxiliary
working together, along with our civil-
ians and reservists, Welsh continued.
The Auxiliary plays a major role in oper-
ations at Station Milford Haven and with-
in its area of responsibility, Welsh said.
They keep a boat and crew at the station
on standby during busy weekends and
they provide chefs from the AUXCHEF
program to help feed the stations crew.
Auxiliarists also stand regular watches
at the station, allowing crew members
time to keep up with training and opera-
tional requirements. We couldnt do our
job without them, Welsh said.
Left to right: John Mill, Robin Wells, and Ron Simon completing CG Station Milford Havens
new chart table.
Bringing
Teamwork
to the Table
Chief Matthew Welsh (OIC), Robin Wells, John Mill, Ron Simon, BM1 Gonzales (XPO).
U
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28
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NAVIGATOR
U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious
Team Commendations
Fit to Float Marketing Promotions Team, the Flotilla Leadership Course
Development Team, the Intermediate Course Development Team, the
2008 National Search and Rescue Competition Management Team, and
the Shipboard Deployment Guide Team.
The Eagle Award: Recreational Boating Safety
Award of Excellence from the U.S. Coast Guard
Atlantic-East Lillian Haines, District Ofcer-Vessel Examinations,
Flotilla 24-1, Branford, Connecticut.
Atlantic-West Frank Dannenberg, District Ofcer-Public Affairs;
Flotilla 74, San Antonio, Texas.
Pacic Peter Kyryl, Division Ofcer-Marine Safety, Division Ofcer-
Member Training, Flotilla 67 Ofcer-Program Visitor, Santa Cruz,
California.
Auxiliarist of the Year Marilynn Leonard, Flotilla 42 Sequim/Port
Angeles, Washington.
The Boating Manufacturers Recreational Boating Safety
Auxiliarist of the Year Chris Todd, Flotilla 6-11, Miami Beach, Florida.
Flotilla of the Year Flotilla 65 of District 1-North.
The award was presented by Ms. Ruth Wood, BoatUS, and was accepted
by Flotilla Commander Warren L. Washburn, Jr. for the otilla.
Chart Updating Awards
District award for the most members submitting
reports District 5-South.
The award for the greatest amount of credit points
awarded District 1-North.
Flotilla award for most members submitting reports
Flotilla 12-2, District 5-South.
The award for the individual member with the great-
est number of credit points James Duncan, District
11-North.
The award for the individual member with the greatest
number of credits applied Frank Larkin, District 1-North.
Department of Vessel Examinations
Vessel Safety Checks winner: Flotilla 12-24, District
11-South.
Runner-up Flotilla 63, District 7.
Recreational Boating Safety Visitation Program
winner Flotilla 42, District 13.
Runner-up: Flotilla 20-1, District 9-West.
Awards Honor
The Best of the Best
The Department of Public Affairs winners
of the Public Affairs Contest four categories
Operations Joseph Giannattasio, Flotilla 82, Cape May, New Jersey.
On watch during a patrol in Cape May Canal.
Best Auxiliary Websites of 2009
PHOTOGRAPHY
District
First place District 17, Alaska;
http://a170.uscgaux.info.
Runner-up District 11-North, Northern California,
Utah, Nevada;
http://www.d11nusgaux.info
Division
First Place District 1-North, Division 11, Cape Cod
and the Islands, Massachusetts;
http://a01311.uscgaux.info/.
Runner-up District 7, Division 11, West Central
Florida; http://a07011.uscgaux.info/.
Flotilla
First Place Flotilla 11, District 11-South,
San Diego, California;
http://a1140101.uscgaux.info/.
Runner-up Flotilla 14-8, District 7;
Jacksonville, Florida,
http://a0701408.uscgaux.info/.
FAL L 2009
|
29
Public Education Jerri A. Smith, Flotilla 15-5, Saginaw, Michigan.
Past District Commodore Bob Colby, teaches the bowline knot during
a boating safety class.
Public Affairs
Joseph
Giannattasio,
Flotilla 82,
Cape May,
New Jersey.
Coast Guard
Auxiliarists from
Flotilla 82, Cape
May, conduct
their annual
Memorial Day
Flower Boat
ceremony on
the beach with
the color guard
from the USCG
Training Center.
Fellowship Harry E. Bruno, Flotilla 86, District 7, Venice, Florida.
CG Station Cortez, Bradenton, Florida, Auxiliarists and active duty
enjoy a cook-out with plenty of fun and fellowship.
Marine Safety and Security Noreen Folkerts, Flotilla 11, District
17, Juneau, Alaska.
Spring ofcially arrives in Juneau when the seasonal buoys are
set on the Mendenhall Bar by the small boat team of the CG Buoy
Tender Elderberry. On April 1, 2009, in order to speed the process
and complete the task in one tide cycle, the smallest craft of the
Juneau otilla assisted by towing the buoys up the bar for the team.
Auxiliarist Dan Logan makes his way up with one of the buoys.
Recruiting Joseph Giannattasio, Flotilla 82, Cape May, New
Jersey.
Auxiliarist Judy Dempsey completes new member applications for
Linda Tomasello and James McClellan.
Vessel Examination Chris Todd, Flotilla 6-11, Miami Beach,
Florida.
Vessel Examiner Felipe Pazos, Flotilla 6-11, Miami, conducts a
complimentary Vessel Safety Check at Pelican Harbor boat ramps.
30
|
NAVIGATOR
PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROJECTS
District Winner (Joint Award)
The Dan Marino Project, National Safe
Boating Week produced by William F.
Hanlon, Flotilla 31, Hollywood, Florida, and
Christopher M. Todd, Flotilla 6-11, Miami
Beach, Florida.
National Football League (NFL) Hall of
Fame Quarterback Dan Marino served
as the honorary spokesperson for the
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliarys 2009 NSBW
campaign across the entire Seventh Coast
Guard District. Mr. Marino, quarterback
for the Miami Dolphins for 17 consecutive
seasons, held 25 NFL records at the time
of his retirement and has since become a
media star and philanthropist.
Mr. Marinos credibility, combined with
the tragic March 2009 USCG SAR case off
the west coast of Florida related to the
loss of NFL players Marquis Cooper and
Corey Smith, and Will Bleakley, made this
a perfect time from a public affairs stand-
point to associate a prominent NFL player
with the cause of recreational boating
safety.
Miami High School was chosen as the
location to lm public service announce-
ments focused on National Safe Boating
Week and recreational boating safety. The
initiative resulted in the production of:
Fifteen versions of audio PSAs promot-
ing recreational boating safety,
Assorted 30 and 60 second video PSAs
promoting National Safe Boating Week,
Assorted 30 and 60 second video PSAs
promoting recreational boating safety,
Assorted 30 and 60 second video PSAs
promoting the USCG Auxiliary.
The PSAs featuring Dan Marino con-
tinue to be distributed both regionally
and nationally throughout the U.S. Coast
Guard, Auxiliary, media outlets and our
partner organizations.
To raise awareness of the start of the
2009 National Safe Boating Week cam-
paign, a news brief featuring Mr. Marino,
U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
Rear Admiral Steve Branham (USCG
District 7 Commander) Commodore
Donald Frasch (District 7), representa-
tives from the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Commission, and other parter agencies
was held at USCG Station Miami.
Florida Department of Transportation
displayed the safe boating message,
TRAILER YOUR BOAT SAFELY, CHECK
TIRES, BRAKES, AND LIGHTS a minimum
of two hours per day on each of more
than 300 digital highway signs scattered
throughout the State.
Public tours of the USCG Cutter
Diamondback were given at Bayside
Marketplace in downtown Miami.
Recreational boating safety messages
were displayed from the Goodyear blimp
Spirit of Innovation.
Muvico Entertainment, a chain of
premium, megaplex motion picture the-
aters operating 154 screens in Florida,
California, and Illinois, ran Marino PSAs
in its theaters resulting in over 1,000,000
patrons being exposed to the PSAs,
according to Muvico.
Roll em! NFL legend Dan Marino and NSBW ofcer Bill Hanlon, District 7, Miami, look over a
teleprompter loaded with scripts as Marino prepares to read PSAs promoting safe boating.
District Winner
The Breeze; Editor Dorothy J. Riley, Flotilla
79, Tampa, Florida
Division Winner
The First Line; Editor Patricia A. Salotti,
Flotilla 11, Bellingham, Washington
Flotilla Winner
The Excelsior; Editor Noreen K. Folkerts,
Flotilla 11, Juneau, Alaska
Flotilla Winner
T-shirt and water safety campaign during National Safe
Boating Week, produced by James O. Powell, Flotilla 63,
Poquoson, Virginia.
In late March 2008 Flotilla 63 was awarded a grant from
the National Water Safety Congress for $1350.00 to cover
the cost of 300 child-sized t-shirts with the phrase I GOT
CAUGHT WEARING MY LIFEJACKET BY THE COAST
GUARD AUXILIARY FLOTILLA 63. Volunteers then put
a t-shirt, a class schedule for their boating safety class,
safe boating literature, state and federal requirement
pamphlets, and a summary of the Virginia State Boater
Education law which was to take effect July 1, 2008, into
plastic bags from Americas Waterway Watch and distrib-
uted them to coxswains and vessel examiners. The bags
were handed out by patrols and at public ramps and local
marinas during vessel safety checks during National Safe
Boating Week.
Division Winner
Welcome Aboard the Elmore! produced by Loretta Rindal, Flotilla 48, North Kitsap,
Washington.
Launched in 1890, the steam vessel, Elmore, carried up to 50 passengers and forty tons
of freight twice a week between Astoria and Tillamook, Oregon. The trip entailed success-
fully crossing the very dangerous bars of the Columbia and Tillamook Rivers. In 1898 she
ferried freight and passengers from Seattle to Alaska in the rush for Yukon Gold.
Owned by Dee and Sara Meek since 1990, the Elmore is an operational facility of
the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and is used on patrols and in training exercises with the
Auxiliary, the U.S. Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard.
The charm of this 119-year-old tug is certain. Just ask the folks who came aboard during
the three-day Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival in 2008.
Over three dozen Auxiliarists from around Division 4 covered eight watches, greeting
guests and sharing the history of the Elmore. Guests signed up for boating safety classes
while others signed up to learn more about the Auxiliary.
This division-wide effort to produce a public awareness event which spotlighted
Auxiliary members and their mission succeeded in its its goal to sign up guests for boating
safety classes and membership informational material.
VIDEO AWARD
National Winner
Jay M. Prior, Flotilla
12-3, Point Allerton,
Massachusetts
Collection
Training session at
Point Allerton, Hull,
Massachusetts.





V VVo ooI IIu uum mme ee I II, ,, I IIs sss ssu uue ee 2 22, ,, A AAp ppr rri iiI II 2 220 000 008 88


! " # # $ !

Division Captain - Steve Albert
Vice Div. Capt.- Richard Coons
Division FCs
FL-11 John Milczewski
FL-12 Al Beutler
FL-17 Ron Umland
FL-18 Malcom Lamay
FL-19 Davis Bogue

Division Staff Officers
PDCP Dave Church
SO-AN Mike Heryla
SO-CM Roger Attwell
SO-CS Drew West
SO-FN Penny Milczewski
SO-S Marsh Collins
SO-MA Roger Ledig
SO-MS Lou Herrick
SO-MT OPEN
SO-OP Joe McClain
SO-PA Ron Wendland
SO-PB Patti Salotti
SO-PE Pam Chelgren-Koterba
SO-PS Tamara King
SO-PV Kathryn Wellington
SO-SR James Malcolm
SO-VE Peter Border













Lou Herrick,
Assistant
Pollution
Investigator
for Sector
Seattle Aug-
mentation
program.

See Page 5
See Page 2
PUBLICATIONS AWARDS
FAL L 2009
|
31
PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROJECTS
District Winner (Joint Award)
The Dan Marino Project, National Safe
Boating Week produced by William F.
Hanlon, Flotilla 31, Hollywood, Florida, and
Christopher M. Todd, Flotilla 6-11, Miami
Beach, Florida.
National Football League (NFL) Hall of
Fame Quarterback Dan Marino served
as the honorary spokesperson for the
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliarys 2009 NSBW
campaign across the entire Seventh Coast
Guard District. Mr. Marino, quarterback
for the Miami Dolphins for 17 consecutive
seasons, held 25 NFL records at the time
of his retirement and has since become a
media star and philanthropist.
Mr. Marinos credibility, combined with
the tragic March 2009 USCG SAR case off
the west coast of Florida related to the
loss of NFL players Marquis Cooper and
Corey Smith, and Will Bleakley, made this
a perfect time from a public affairs stand-
point to associate a prominent NFL player
with the cause of recreational boating
safety.
Miami High School was chosen as the
location to lm public service announce-
ments focused on National Safe Boating
Week and recreational boating safety. The
initiative resulted in the production of:
Fifteen versions of audio PSAs promot-
ing recreational boating safety,
Assorted 30 and 60 second video PSAs
promoting National Safe Boating Week,
Assorted 30 and 60 second video PSAs
promoting recreational boating safety,
Assorted 30 and 60 second video PSAs
promoting the USCG Auxiliary.
The PSAs featuring Dan Marino con-
tinue to be distributed both regionally
and nationally throughout the U.S. Coast
Guard, Auxiliary, media outlets and our
partner organizations.
To raise awareness of the start of the
2009 National Safe Boating Week cam-
paign, a news brief featuring Mr. Marino,
U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
Rear Admiral Steve Branham (USCG
District 7 Commander) Commodore
Donald Frasch (District 7), representa-
tives from the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Commission, and other parter agencies
was held at USCG Station Miami.
Florida Department of Transportation
displayed the safe boating message,
TRAILER YOUR BOAT SAFELY, CHECK
TIRES, BRAKES, AND LIGHTS a minimum
of two hours per day on each of more
than 300 digital highway signs scattered
throughout the State.
Public tours of the USCG Cutter
Diamondback were given at Bayside
Marketplace in downtown Miami.
Recreational boating safety messages
were displayed from the Goodyear blimp
Spirit of Innovation.
Muvico Entertainment, a chain of
premium, megaplex motion picture the-
aters operating 154 screens in Florida,
California, and Illinois, ran Marino PSAs
in its theaters resulting in over 1,000,000
patrons being exposed to the PSAs,
according to Muvico.
Roll em! NFL legend Dan Marino and NSBW ofcer Bill Hanlon, District 7, Miami, look over a
teleprompter loaded with scripts as Marino prepares to read PSAs promoting safe boating.
District Winner
The Breeze; Editor Dorothy J. Riley, Flotilla
79, Tampa, Florida
Division Winner
The First Line; Editor Patricia A. Salotti,
Flotilla 11, Bellingham, Washington
Flotilla Winner
The Excelsior; Editor Noreen K. Folkerts,
Flotilla 11, Juneau, Alaska
Flotilla Winner
T-shirt and water safety campaign during National Safe
Boating Week, produced by James O. Powell, Flotilla 63,
Poquoson, Virginia.
In late March 2008 Flotilla 63 was awarded a grant from
the National Water Safety Congress for $1350.00 to cover
the cost of 300 child-sized t-shirts with the phrase I GOT
CAUGHT WEARING MY LIFEJACKET BY THE COAST
GUARD AUXILIARY FLOTILLA 63. Volunteers then put
a t-shirt, a class schedule for their boating safety class,
safe boating literature, state and federal requirement
pamphlets, and a summary of the Virginia State Boater
Education law which was to take effect July 1, 2008, into
plastic bags from Americas Waterway Watch and distrib-
uted them to coxswains and vessel examiners. The bags
were handed out by patrols and at public ramps and local
marinas during vessel safety checks during National Safe
Boating Week.
Division Winner
Welcome Aboard the Elmore! produced by Loretta Rindal, Flotilla 48, North Kitsap,
Washington.
Launched in 1890, the steam vessel, Elmore, carried up to 50 passengers and forty tons
of freight twice a week between Astoria and Tillamook, Oregon. The trip entailed success-
fully crossing the very dangerous bars of the Columbia and Tillamook Rivers. In 1898 she
ferried freight and passengers from Seattle to Alaska in the rush for Yukon Gold.
Owned by Dee and Sara Meek since 1990, the Elmore is an operational facility of
the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and is used on patrols and in training exercises with the
Auxiliary, the U.S. Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard.
The charm of this 119-year-old tug is certain. Just ask the folks who came aboard during
the three-day Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival in 2008.
Over three dozen Auxiliarists from around Division 4 covered eight watches, greeting
guests and sharing the history of the Elmore. Guests signed up for boating safety classes
while others signed up to learn more about the Auxiliary.
This division-wide effort to produce a public awareness event which spotlighted
Auxiliary members and their mission succeeded in its its goal to sign up guests for boating
safety classes and membership informational material.
VIDEO AWARD
National Winner
Jay M. Prior, Flotilla
12-3, Point Allerton,
Massachusetts
Collection
Training session at
Point Allerton, Hull,
Massachusetts.





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Division Captain - Steve Albert
Vice Div. Capt.- Richard Coons
Division FCs
FL-11 John Milczewski
FL-12 Al Beutler
FL-17 Ron Umland
FL-18 Malcom Lamay
FL-19 Davis Bogue

Division Staff Officers
PDCP Dave Church
SO-AN Mike Heryla
SO-CM Roger Attwell
SO-CS Drew West
SO-FN Penny Milczewski
SO-S Marsh Collins
SO-MA Roger Ledig
SO-MS Lou Herrick
SO-MT OPEN
SO-OP Joe McClain
SO-PA Ron Wendland
SO-PB Patti Salotti
SO-PE Pam Chelgren-Koterba
SO-PS Tamara King
SO-PV Kathryn Wellington
SO-SR James Malcolm
SO-VE Peter Border













Lou Herrick,
Assistant
Pollution
Investigator
for Sector
Seattle Aug-
mentation
program.

See Page 5
See Page 2
PUBLICATIONS AWARDS
32
|
NAVIGATOR 32
|
NAVIGATOR
StOry By eric gLASScOtt,
Flotilla 10-1, Beaufort Jasper, South Carolina
PhOtOS By tOM chriStiAn AnD MAry tArzweLL,
BASRA, used with permission
S
cattered over 5,000 square miles
of ever changing blue, azure and
turquoise sea, the Bahamas 29
islands and over 660 cays present
a challenge to maritime safety ofcers
and volunteers. To answer the need, the
Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association
(BASRA) was formed in the early 1960s
as a nonprot volunteer organization. Its
headquarters are in Nassau; two other
stations are located on Grand Bahama
and on Abaco. Mariners in the Bahamas
are protected by these three stations,
the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and
U.S. Coast Guard. BASRA has one full-
time administrator, who also carries out
watchstanding duties at headquarters
on weekends. Under the leadership of
Commodore Richard Parker, volunteer
teams maintain coverage at the police
control center in the evenings and vol-
unteer captains and crews are on duty at
all times.
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas
also provides tremendous challenges for
boating education. In July 2003 the U.S.
Coast Guard Auxiliary became involved
in the Bahamas when Commodore
Everett Tucker coordinated the first
boating safety classes there and recog-
nized BASRA as an Honorary Unit of
the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, dedicat-
ed to saving the lives of distressed sea-
men and airmen in the Bahamas. Using
Americas Boating Course and its accom-
panying lesson plans, Richard Clinchy
and Commodore Robin Freeman, then
Chief and Deputy Chief-Education, con-
ducted the classes.
The youth program was successfully
started three years ago when a member
of BASRA, Justin Snisky II, expanded
the water safety instruction curriculum
to include on-the-water instruction. The
children go on a ride in the rescue ves-
sel to see a demonstration of the safety
equipment and procedures and learn
that operating a boat safely can be fun.
Lessons cover the importance of life-
jackets and how to properly fit them;
how to use channel 16 on a VHF radio
as an emergency hailing and distress
frequency; how to read a compass and
GPS; chart plotting (electronically and
manually); how to use safety equipment
such as a flare gun and hand flares,
signaling mirrors, whistles, rescue
helmets, strobes and flashlights; how
to tether lines in rough seas; and the
importance of the buddy system.
Supporting recreational boating safety education in the Bahamas
BASRA and the Auxiliary
Each year approximately 200 kids
from local schools, churches, and the
Salvation Army attend on-the-water boat-
ing safety classes lasting approximately
one to two hours, depending on their
ages. They start at an incredibly young
age of only four years old and continue
to age sixteen. The kids favorite is the
man overboard drill. In the rst demon-
stration, Snisky goes overboard without
his lifejacket. The captain drives off a
short distance and the children see just
how difcult it is to locate a person in the
water. The second time Snisky goes in
wearing a lifejacket and the children see
how much easier it is to nd the person.
In another demonstration, instructors
explain the importance of never jump-
ing overboard to retrieve a person, but
rather to have a pole, paddle or rope to
pull the person in the water back to the
boat. Back at the dock, when all kids
have answered a question about some-
thing that was covered during the drill,
they are given a small reward such as a
t-shirt.
No fees are charged for the training.
Certifcates are handed out during a dis-
cussion session, and as Justin and his
fellow instructors Tom Christian, DVon
Archer, Rod Lowe and Robert Tarzwell
say with great enthusiasm about the
program, It works!
With the assistance of Elaine Sevin,
assistant director of the Of ficer Snook
water pollution program, the Auxiliary
recently provided BASRA with activity
books such as The True Story of Inky the
Whale, the Of cer Snook coloring book
and Of cer Snooks Future Boaters and
Environmental Guide.
Relationships between the Auxiliary
and its international search and rescue
(SAR) sister organizations are domiciled
in the International Affairs Directorate,
whose strategic goal is to help establish
and strengthen volunteer SAR organiza-
tions so ofcial entities can focus on law
enforcement, port security and drug
and illegal alien interdiction. Currently
the Directorate is assisting the estab-
lishment of volunteer SAR organiza-
tions in Barbados, the Dominican
Republic and Belize. These projects are
funded by the U.S. Southern Command
(SOUTHCOM). There are also practi-
cal initiatives taking place at the present
time, including a pilot Float Plan proj-
ect for Jamaican subsistence fshermen,
simple VHF antennas for extending the
range of distress calls and the provision
of lifejackets to volunteer SAR organiza-
tions.
The various of ficial and volunteer
Caribbean SAR organizations have
a group website at carsar.cgaux.org,
which covers in detail the CAR-SAR
goal: To reduce maritime risk within
the Caribbean community by bringing
together the appropriate government
agencies and the currently twenty-six
volunteer search and rescue organiza-
tions within the Caribbean, to estab-
lish vigorous programs directed at the
prevention of maritime accidents and
terrorist events, and to respond to mari-
time emergencies, terrorist events or
natural disasters.
Below, a BASRA volunteer demonstrates
water safety equipment on young boaters.
Right, Justin Snisky and son show off Inky
the Whale coloring books.
A class of young boaters at BASRA headquarters on Grand Bahama Island.
FAL L 2009
|
33
StOry By eric gLASScOtt,
Flotilla 10-1, Beaufort Jasper, South Carolina
PhOtOS By tOM chriStiAn AnD MAry tArzweLL,
BASRA, used with permission
S
cattered over 5,000 square miles
of ever changing blue, azure and
turquoise sea, the Bahamas 29
islands and over 660 cays present
a challenge to maritime safety ofcers
and volunteers. To answer the need, the
Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association
(BASRA) was formed in the early 1960s
as a nonprot volunteer organization. Its
headquarters are in Nassau; two other
stations are located on Grand Bahama
and on Abaco. Mariners in the Bahamas
are protected by these three stations,
the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and
U.S. Coast Guard. BASRA has one full-
time administrator, who also carries out
watchstanding duties at headquarters
on weekends. Under the leadership of
Commodore Richard Parker, volunteer
teams maintain coverage at the police
control center in the evenings and vol-
unteer captains and crews are on duty at
all times.
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas
also provides tremendous challenges for
boating education. In July 2003 the U.S.
Coast Guard Auxiliary became involved
in the Bahamas when Commodore
Everett Tucker coordinated the first
boating safety classes there and recog-
nized BASRA as an Honorary Unit of
the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, dedicat-
ed to saving the lives of distressed sea-
men and airmen in the Bahamas. Using
Americas Boating Course and its accom-
panying lesson plans, Richard Clinchy
and Commodore Robin Freeman, then
Chief and Deputy Chief-Education, con-
ducted the classes.
The youth program was successfully
started three years ago when a member
of BASRA, Justin Snisky II, expanded
the water safety instruction curriculum
to include on-the-water instruction. The
children go on a ride in the rescue ves-
sel to see a demonstration of the safety
equipment and procedures and learn
that operating a boat safely can be fun.
Lessons cover the importance of life-
jackets and how to properly fit them;
how to use channel 16 on a VHF radio
as an emergency hailing and distress
frequency; how to read a compass and
GPS; chart plotting (electronically and
manually); how to use safety equipment
such as a flare gun and hand flares,
signaling mirrors, whistles, rescue
helmets, strobes and flashlights; how
to tether lines in rough seas; and the
importance of the buddy system.
Supporting recreational boating safety education in the Bahamas
BASRA and the Auxiliary
Each year approximately 200 kids
from local schools, churches, and the
Salvation Army attend on-the-water boat-
ing safety classes lasting approximately
one to two hours, depending on their
ages. They start at an incredibly young
age of only four years old and continue
to age sixteen. The kids favorite is the
man overboard drill. In the rst demon-
stration, Snisky goes overboard without
his lifejacket. The captain drives off a
short distance and the children see just
how difcult it is to locate a person in the
water. The second time Snisky goes in
wearing a lifejacket and the children see
how much easier it is to nd the person.
In another demonstration, instructors
explain the importance of never jump-
ing overboard to retrieve a person, but
rather to have a pole, paddle or rope to
pull the person in the water back to the
boat. Back at the dock, when all kids
have answered a question about some-
thing that was covered during the drill,
they are given a small reward such as a
t-shirt.
No fees are charged for the training.
Certifcates are handed out during a dis-
cussion session, and as Justin and his
fellow instructors Tom Christian, DVon
Archer, Rod Lowe and Robert Tarzwell
say with great enthusiasm about the
program, It works!
With the assistance of Elaine Sevin,
assistant director of the Of ficer Snook
water pollution program, the Auxiliary
recently provided BASRA with activity
books such as The True Story of Inky the
Whale, the Of cer Snook coloring book
and Of cer Snooks Future Boaters and
Environmental Guide.
Relationships between the Auxiliary
and its international search and rescue
(SAR) sister organizations are domiciled
in the International Affairs Directorate,
whose strategic goal is to help establish
and strengthen volunteer SAR organiza-
tions so ofcial entities can focus on law
enforcement, port security and drug
and illegal alien interdiction. Currently
the Directorate is assisting the estab-
lishment of volunteer SAR organiza-
tions in Barbados, the Dominican
Republic and Belize. These projects are
funded by the U.S. Southern Command
(SOUTHCOM). There are also practi-
cal initiatives taking place at the present
time, including a pilot Float Plan proj-
ect for Jamaican subsistence fshermen,
simple VHF antennas for extending the
range of distress calls and the provision
of lifejackets to volunteer SAR organiza-
tions.
The various of ficial and volunteer
Caribbean SAR organizations have
a group website at carsar.cgaux.org,
which covers in detail the CAR-SAR
goal: To reduce maritime risk within
the Caribbean community by bringing
together the appropriate government
agencies and the currently twenty-six
volunteer search and rescue organiza-
tions within the Caribbean, to estab-
lish vigorous programs directed at the
prevention of maritime accidents and
terrorist events, and to respond to mari-
time emergencies, terrorist events or
natural disasters.
Below, a BASRA volunteer demonstrates
water safety equipment on young boaters.
Right, Justin Snisky and son show off Inky
the Whale coloring books.
A class of young boaters at BASRA headquarters on Grand Bahama Island.
34
|
NAVIGATOR
StOry By kAren h. nOvO,
Flotilla 10-8, East Valley, Arizona
CAN YOU
HEAR ME
NOW?
Steep, rugged mountains and
sheer cliff faces make radio
communications difcult or
impossible on Arizona lakes.
Testing the new communications
equipment are helmsman Chris
Harsheld, crewman Richard
Crane at the stern, and Coxswain
Bud Gothann, on watch.
Photo by Crewman Brett Bigelow
FAL L 2009
|
35
D
ivision 10 of the Eleventh District
Southern Region, whose mem-
bers patrol Lakes Saguaro,
Canyon, Roosevelt, Pleasant,
Bartlett, and Powell, has enhanced
communications with two new tools.
The first is the installation of repeat-
ers, acquired through the ef forts of
Commodore Mike Johnson, to improve
radio coverage in the sharp, mountain-
ous terrain of Arizona. The second is a
new grid identification system that is
expected to streamline radio communi-
cations and reporting accuracy. It was
developed by Division 10 Commander
Bud Gothann.
Bud Gothann explains, Division 10
patrols the Colorado River and lakes
with many coves and canyons that seal
of f radio communications. The new
repeaters will allow us to reach areas we
have never been able to reach through
normal VHF-FM radio. My vision was to create an easy, mul-
tifunctional grid reference system. These new grid IDs will
make it easier for everyone to report and know where our
assets are.
Previously, a new communications watchstander, unfamiliar
with a lake being patrolled, might receive a report similar to
the following: Ops normal, Windy Hill. He would record the
time, the boat, location and comments. If he needed to visual-
ize the location, he would consult the Roosevelt Lake Fish-N-
Map, laboring to nd the geographic reference on the chart.
The watchstander may have asked additional questions to
determine whether the boat was north, south or east of Windy
Hill. With the new method, a coxswain
simply states, Ops normal, R17S, iden-
tifying the position as south of Windy
Hill.
Grids also help speed responses
to calls for help. If a communicator
supporting vessels on multiple lakes
receives a call for assistance, the watch-
stander can quickly determine and com-
municate with the closest patrol.
Points on the grid are identifed with
a simple series of letters and numbers.
The first letter identifies the lake. For
example, R represents Roosevelt
Lake, followed by a location sector num-
ber. Generally, even numbers are used
north of the channel; south of the chan-
nel, odd numbers are used the main
channel being the original path of the
river before it was dammed to create
the lake. One to three letters may come
next indicating more northerly or south-
erly locations, such as coves, and landmarks such as a sheriffs
ofce, marina or portable restroom.
Auxiliarists of Division 10 recently tested the system at
Roosevelt Lake using the Mount Ord repeater. Coxswains used
the grid system and the narrow band repeater at Mount Ord to
evaluate clarity, reach and dead spots, with good results. Testing
of the whole system should be completed by fall of 2009.
Ef fectiveness, simplification, and additional operations
security should result from these ef forts, Commodore
Johnson said. These changes should also help us work more
effectively with our boating safety partners, including the vari-
ous sheriffs and the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
ITS GETTING EASIER TO COMMUNICATE ON ARIZONA LAKES
Map by Fish-N-Map Company,
8535 W. 79th Avenue, Arvada, Colorado 80005.
303/421-5994. Used with permission.
The radio room at Auxiliary headquarters, Lake Pleasant.
P
h
o
t
o

b
y

K
a
r
e
n

N
o
v
o
Roosevelt Lake Fish-N-Map with printed
overlay of the new grid identication system.
36
|
NAVIGATOR
S
at urday, May 25, 2008, was
Memorial Day weekend. Hundreds
of boaters were out on St. Andrews
Bay, Panama City, Florida, and
thousands more locals and visitors took
advantage of the warm temperatures
and sunny skies to go to the beaches of
Floridas panhandle.
Auxiliar y patrol vessel Face Of f, a
25-foot center-console Angler, owned
and helmed by William Mac Shepard,
began a routine patrol at 1400 hours.
Jeff Brooks was coxswain on board, and
Bob Wells was crew; Walker Parish and
Bill Winfrey were also aboard as crew
break-ins. All are members of Flotilla 19,
in Panama City Beach, Florida. After a
brief anchoring training evolution in the
waters north of Hathaway Bridge that
links Panama City with Panama City
Beach, the crew headed south to the
entrance channel of St. Andrews Bay
where they encountered four- to five-
foot seas caused by a 10-knot southwest
wind opposing a falling tide, and two- to
three-foot seas of fshore in the Gulf of
Mexico. Most boaters wisely stayed in
the bay, and the patrol decided to join
them and cruise behind Shell Island.
At 1625, while patrolling the rela-
tively calm bay, the crew was alerted
to a swimmer in distress in the Gulf
just south of Laguna Beach, a distance
of about 12 nautical miles west of the
bay entrance. Responding immediately,
the crew arrived on scene several min-
utes before a Coast Guard utility boat
and the two began a sector search and
a parallel track pattern respectively. Air
resources were called in to assist in
not only the search for the initial victim
(who in fact drowned), but ultimately,
45 other swimmers swept out to sea by
the strong current along a four to five
mile stretch of shoreline. Many were
pulled in by police and re rescue per-
sonnel, others by jet-ski rental vendors
pressed into service along the beach
front. A USCG Dolphin HH-65A helicop-
ter, began a parallel track search, and an
hour later a Falcon HU-25 jet began run-
ning a parallel track over a much larger
area looking for victims.
After several hours of searching with-
out success for any victims, the utility
boat and the Auxiliary vessel began a
multi-unit parallel track pattern with
the Coast Guard vessel running about
one-quarter mile ahead of the patrol and
several hundred yards farther offshore.
The Face Of f crew ran only a short dis-
tance outside the breaking surf. The
scene on the beach was surreal, with
dozens of flashing red and blue lights
on the beach and visible between the
condos as police, fire, and ambulance
units responded to the numerous calls.
As they traveled west at sunset,
Brooks saw a Panama City Beach Patrol
deputy flashing his spotlight at them.
The low light aided in noticing the
spotlight which might not have been
seen earlier in the day. Shepard turned
the boat towards the shore and as the
crew approached the surf line, they
rst heard and then spotted a man and
a woman exhausted and clinging to a
small oat board adjacent to the break-
ing surf. Shepard approached the pair
cautiously, aware that if his boat entered
the surf it could capsize, putting more
people in the water. As each swell sub-
sided, the sandy bottom of the bar was
exposed only a short distance ahead of
the Face Of f.
Brooks guided Shepard as he nosed
the vessel forward to within 10 feet of
the heavily breaking surf. Wells moved
to the bow as well, grabbed a heaving
line, and accurately threw the line direct-
ly to the pair. As Shepard slowly backed
the vessel away from danger, Wells and
Brooks pulled the two swimmers to
the swim platform where Winfrey and
Parish pulled them both from the water.
The man was barely able to assist with
the effort to get him onto the swim plat-
form and over the transom into the boat.
Winfrey had to climb onto the platform
to reach them, and with seas still run-
ning two to three feet on the stern, this
was no small feat, requiring a great deal
of agility and strength.
Neither swimmer suf fered any inju-
ries, but the man was exhibiting signs
of shock so he was wrapped in a blanket
and given warm water. After notifying
Coast Guard Station Panama City of the
rescue, the Auxiliarists took the victims
to Lighthouse Marina in Grand Lagoon
where they were eventually reunited
with their families.
En route to safe harbor, the crew
learned the cause of their distress. The
57-year-old woman had been foating on
her board in shallow water near shore
when the rip current rapidly pulled
her offshore beyond the breakers. She
StOry By JeFF BrOOkS,
Flotilla 19, Panama City Beach, Florida
RIP CURRENT
RESCUE
A DRAMATIC RESCUE NEAR
PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLORIDA
FAL L 2009
|
37
In the center, Vice Admiral Terry Cross, (USCG ret.) former Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard and now Chairman of AFRAS, presented the
Silver award for lifesaving to: left to right, William Winfrey, Robert O. Wells, R. Jeffrey Brooks, and William M. Shepard.
U
.
S
.

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o
a
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t

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a
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d

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h
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o

b
y

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y

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f

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r

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t

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l
a
s
s

A
n
a
s
t
a
s
i
a

D
e
v
l
i
n
.
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a
t
t
i
e

F
r
i
t
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h
i
e
,

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l
o
t
i
l
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a

1
9
,

P
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a

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i
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e
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,

F
l
o
r
i
d
a
.
appropriately went with the current and
swam parallel to shore to break the hold
it had on her, but was then unable to
break back through the surf to return
to shore. Her nine-year-old grand-
daughter saw what was happening and
approached the man whom she did not
know, telling him her grandmother was
in trouble.
The 36-year-old man swam to the
woman, but was also unable to get back
through the surf to the beach. He said
they were able to touch bottom briey
as the surge subsided, but were repeat-
edly pulled seaward with each subse-
quent wave.
The lack of communication between
the various responders was very evi-
dent during the emergency, requiring a
resourceful beach patrol ofcer to use
his spotlight to signal the rescuers. As
a result, Flotilla 19 Commander, Jerry
Marano, obtained a grant to purchase
nine handheld VHF radios and present-
ed them to several beach law enforce-
ment agencies early in 2009. Were
hoping we dont need to use them this
year, but well be better prepared if we
do, said Marano.
The Auxiliary crew was first recog-
nized by the Coast Guard with a Medal
of Operational Merit issued on behalf
of the Commandant by Rear Admiral
Joel R. Whitehead, then-commander
of the Eighth Coast Guard District.
Recently, the crew was again honored in
Washington, D.C. by the Association for
Rescue At Sea. Established in 2000, the
Association for Rescue at Seas Silver
Medal is presented to a United States
Coast Guard Auxiliarist. The ceremony
is attended by members of Congress,
AFRAS members, the Commandant of
the Coast Guard, and others.
To be considered for the Silver medal,
AFRAS says that an active Auxiliarist
must have performed a rescue involving
the saving of a life or lives from either
inland or coastal waters where the hero-
ic action of the nominee was uniquely
distinguished. In some years no medal
is awarded.
AFRAS was formed in 1976 to raise
funds, exchange information and pro-
vide co-operation among sea rescue
organizations. Its chairman is Vice
Admirald Ter r y M. Cross, USCG
(Retired).
38
|
NAVIGATOR
I
n 1988, the Coast Guard Auxiliary
established its archival collec-
tion at East Carolina University in
Greenville, North Carolina, to pre-
serve the Coast Guard Auxiliarys his-
tory.
In 1999, the archive was named
the O.W. Sonny Martin, Jr., Coast
Guard Auxiliary Records Collection,
in memory of the Auxiliarys national
historian who helped establish the
collection.
The archive is located on the
fourth foor in the Special Collections
Depar tment of Joyner Li brar y.
Archivist Dale Sauter, with the aid
of staf f members Nanette Hardison,
Mar t ha El mor e and Rochel l e
Barainca, oversees the collection, pre-
pares contributions to it and assists
researchers.
The collection includes items from
the inception of the Auxiliary in 1939
to the present. Flotillas, divisions, dis-
tricts and the national staff contribute
items such as newsletters, minutes
of meetings, and photographs. There
are 14 major les: a national le, a le
for each district, and les for personal
papers, audio/visual materials, oral
histories, memorabilia such as flags
and maps, and a le for the Navigator.
Categorized items are contained in
acid-free folders and boxes.
The Special Collections staff main-
tains the index which at this time
includes items from First Southern,
First Northern, and Districts 12, 14,
17 and most of 13. A how-to guide to
the Auxiliary collection is expected to
be completed by the end of the year.
To f i nd out more about t he
Auxiliarys archive and how to con-
tribute materials or donate to its
endowment fund, visit www.ecu.
edu/lib, click on Special Collections,
then on the U. S. Coast Guard
Auxiliary Collection link; or go direct-
ly to media.lib.ecu.edu/spclcoll/
coastguard. Contact the Special
Collections staf f at media.lib.ecu.
edu/spclcoll/coastguard/dona-
tions.cfm#materials.
By richArD A. (Steve) StePhenSOn
Flotilla 43, Lake County, Florida
OU P:=c= or H:sfo\
Dale Sauter, Manuscript Curator, Special Collections at the Joyner Library, East Carolina
University, looks over items in the Auxiliarys archive.
Photo by Cliff Hollis, East Carolina University News Bureau. Used with permission.
FAL L 2009
|
39
BM1 Gonzales (XPO) helps John Mill, Flotilla 33, Kilmarnock, Virginia, put the nal touches on a new chart table for CG Station Milford
Haven, Hudgins, Virginia. Read the story on page 27.
Coast Guard Auxiliary Association, Inc.
The Auxiliary Center
9449 Watson Industrial Park
St. Louis, MO 63126
Address service requested
Launched in 1890, the steam vessel Elmore is one of the oldest operational vessels still in use by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Visitors are
welcomed aboard during the Port Townsend [Washington] Wooden Boat Festival. Photo by Loretta Rindal, Flotilla 48, North Kitsap, Washington.
Join Us! www.CGAux.org