United States Power Squadrons Ventura Sail and Power Squadron

Transcription

1 United States Power Squadrons Ventura Sail and Power Squadron Volume 62 March 2018 Number 3 Cdr Steve Johnston, P Commander s Corner Hello Everybody. I am writing you from Colorado, recovering from my surgery. I woke up this morning and we have snow! Two inches, but it s the first of winter. Sunday it was 56 degrees and this morning it was 17! As in CA, folks here worry about the drought. Local Orthopedic docs are lamenting that the lack of snow and the closure of local ski resorts have resulted in no broken bone business that is usually quite busy this time of year. I have joined the Rocky Mountain Model Yacht Club and sail two remote control (R/C) sailboats on a pond in the city park. It s a lot of fun and not too strenuous of a hobby. These boats are quite responsive and relaxing to sail, but as in real life, when two or more get on the pond a race is on. The city parks and recreation installs a small dock and a set of racing marks on the pond and the yacht club members carry waders to retrieve boats that lose battery power or rigging problems. Oh, our pond is 2.5 feet deep! The national USPS conference starts shortly in Orlando FL. I have submitted the proxy documents and voting instructions to the District officials attending. By now you should have seen information on the creation of logos and PR materials for "Americas Boating Club." This is a national effort to remain in the lead as an advocate for boaters, boating education and telling the country how much fun boating can be. Take care.

2 Also, on Tuesday night - meeting at Pierpont Bay Yacht Club - is our Engine Maintenance class. We have 15 students signed up and most attended the February 20 th first meeting of the class. Due to an untimely medical procedure required by Instructor Alan Gosselin, Robyn Miller stepped up and is teaching the class until Alan can return. We are grateful for her service and wish Alan a speedy recovery. We are lucky to have David Williams heading up a Junior Navigation class this spring. The class will begin on Monday evenings at the Ventura Yacht Club starting February 26 th with three students and possibly a fourth signed up. The Seamanship class is still set to begin on April 23 rd at Ventura Yacht Club with Jan Lawson as the instructor. Lt/C Debbie Braun-Lawson Squadron Education Officer The latest on our Education Front The spring schedule of classes is off to a flying start! The ABC class at Ventura Yacht Club started Tuesday, February 13 th with 15 students attending. Most of them are intent on getting their California Boater s Card. Successful completion of our ABC course will guarantee you get your lifetime boater s card. Thanks to John Bath for heading up this important class. We also have one student doing a selfstudy course of Advanced Piloting with Rick Metheny assisting as needed. I am happy that we have so many courses available with these very knowledgeable teachers. Thank you to all the instructors! March Birthdays Dean Prophet 1-Mar Deborah Torbet 1-Mar Janeen C Gaul 3-Mar Robert Beck 7-Mar Gerry Carroll 8-Mar Mary J. Baldwin 12-Mar Dale A. Morris 17-Mar Jeffery Gaul 21-Mar David Williams 23-Mar Vincent Gerretz 27-Mar John G. Murray 27-Mar

3 Lt/C Dan Coverdale Executive Officer As you probably know, Judy and I live on our Hunter 36 sailboat in Ventura Harbor with our dog Chloe. (The 36 part of that is the reason for our boat search.) Chloe was named after a scrappy, diminutive girl cop character in a French TV drama, Police Judiciare. So right away, you know that we pay way too much attention to the dog. Every year at this time Ventura is host to a couple of tall ships that provide tours, boat rides and battle re-enactments. The Hawaiian Chieftain and Lady Washington also provide crew opportunities for young men and women, a considerable number of whom go on to become marine professionals. The annual visits are a good thing for Ventura Harbor, attracting tourists who go on to spend money in Harbor Village. There has been only one small problem with the whole experience, and that is the cannon-fire during the staged battles. In past years, the 130 decibel-plus reports from the ships guns have resulted in liveaboard dogs jumping into the water, which to a dog owner is a big deal. A few months ago I ed the organization behind the tall ships, Grays Harbor Historical Seaport, in the hope that I could get their cooperation in changing the charges used for the guns to something that would provide the desired visual effect but just not be so loud. Their response was not encouraging: essentially a very civil no which was justified from their point of view by the teaching value in imitating the sound of battle. So, resigned to put up with the threat, we planned on being away from the harbor the first weekend of their visit. Yet we heard from our neighbors that there had been no loud cannon fire, and on subsequent weekend days we heard none. Did the staff at GHHS reconsider our request? Were there other similar requests? Did GHHS feel that no one needs any more gunfire right now? Whatever the motivation, we feel they did the right thing and they pulled the experience of the tall ships back into the realm of the positive. The Lady Washington

4 Lt/C Lorna Londborg, P Administrative Officer I have the first place recipe from the Appetizer Contest at the Annual Meeting! This simple, yet delicious, recipe is definitely worth writing down: 1 cup of Grape Jelly, 1 cup of Barbeque Sauce and add Trader Joe s frozen meatballs to your slow cooker and you have it! Yes, it s really that simple. Janet Shultz won first place with her Glazed Meatballs recipe, Carolyn and Dan Cahn won second place with their Pepperoni Garlic Rolls and Jan Lawson came in third place with her BBQ Chicken Wings. Thanks to all those that brought appetizers and made this day a tasty and special event. This year s Change of Watch Ceremony was enjoyed by all those attending. Lt/Cdr Dan Coverdale welcomed all members and guests, Robin Miller lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and Bill York said the Invocation. The Ventura Yacht Club s Chef served a wonderful dinner, then the presentation of awards began. Kevin Mallon was the recipient of the New Member Award and the Ventura Yacht Club s Commodore, Bob Beck, accepted a gift from VSPS for $500 for the Junior Sailing Program. This gift was in appreciation for the club s on-going support and use of their facilities for our Educational Program. A special thank you to our guest, District Lt/Cdr Raymond Paul who swore in the Bridge Officers. The meeting was once again turned over to Lt/Cdr Dan Coverdale who ended the occasion with acknowledgment of other elected positions. Thank you to all attending members, you continue to make events such as this a huge success! Don t forget! Saturday, March 10 VSPS has been invited to join the Ventura Yacht Club for a shake-down cruise to Anacapa Island! If you have any questions me at londborg@gmail.com. Coming Events March 5 March 10 April 23 Exe. Com. Meeting Old Coast Guard Training Station Cruise to Anacapa Island Seamanship Class Begins Ventura Yacht Club

5 VSPS CHANGE OF WATCH Saturday, February 3, 2018 Ventura Yacht Club

6 2018 activities are being planned, using last year s activities as a guide for this year. There is a shakedown day cruise planned with Ventura Yacht Club (VYC) on March 10 to Anacapa Island. Kim Morris sent a Thank You note and $50.00 check to Channel Islands Yacht Club for the use of their facility for our Annual Meeting in January. Lt/C Chris Stine, S Secretary Ventura Sail and Power Squadron Executive Committee Meeting Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard, CA 05 February 2018 Preliminary Minutes Called to order at Attendees: 1. Executive Officer Lt/C Dan Coverdale 2. Admin Officer Lt/C Lorna Londborg 3. Secretary Lt/C Chris Stine, S 4. SEO Lt/C Debbie Braun-Lawson 5. Treasurer Dan Cahn 6. P/C Robyn Miller 7. Member-at-large Vince Gerretz A quorum was present. Reports of Officers: SEO Lt/C Debbie Braun-Lawson Debbie reported that the Engine Maintenance class will start on February 20, The Jr. Navigation class may be rescheduled. Two people have signed up. More people are now interested. Seamanship class starts on April 23. Admin Officer Lt/C Lorna Londborg Lorna reported that Pat Matheny made a couple of suggestions for activities this year. One idea was to have a Chili Cookoff and the other idea was to have a Dingy Party. Debbie Braun-Lawson thought September might be a good time for one of these ideas in lieu of the End-of-Summer Picnic at the VYC. Howard and Judy Wang spoke with Lorna suggesting that she gets them updated name tags. Debbie will add their names to the list. Dan Coverdale mentioned that his wife Judy also needs a name tag. Treasurer Lt/C Dan Cahn Dan asked Kim Morris, our previous Treasurer, to prepare the Treasurer s Report as he s still being trained. The VSPS books are in an old version of Quicken. Dan reports he is looking around at other software, perhaps Quick Books. Dan will consult on this with Gary Wolfe. Secretary Lt/C Chris Stine Chris circulated hard copies of the minutes for the 2018 Annual Meeting to Executive Board to review. After the group reviewed the minutes, they were moved/seconded/approved. Executive Officer Lt/C Dan Coverdale Dan reported that his observation is that District seems to be very busy lately. District will be supplying Dockwalker packets soon to the squadrons. Robyn Miller

7 and Debbie Braun-Lawson have taken the Dockwalker training in the past. Dockwalkers are supposed to teach boaters clean boating. More information will appear in next month s Helm. Commander Steve Johnston Absent no report Ongoing Business/Activities/Classes The Safe Boating Expo will be on May 12, This is a fun, family day filled with information and education. It s a great opportunity to recruit for the ABC class in the fall. VSPS members are encouraged to sign up as a volunteer at the VSPS booth. It s a two-hour shift, and a lot of fun. Completed Business/Activities/Classes The Annual Meeting on January 27, 2018 and the Change of Watch on February 3, 2018 were held and came off very nicely. Everything looked great at the Change of Watch and we had great attendance at both events. Future Business/Activities/Classes Dan Coverdale reported, as per his recent conversation with Commander Steve Johnston, that they have some goals and challenges for the upcoming year. Some of these ideas discussed at the Executive Meeting were: How well is VSPS doing in leading/encouraging general members toward leadership (board) positions, and how can we improve in this? It s really good to be aware of new members who show enthusiasm and have good ideas to keep the organization fresh. Steve suggested that the Harbor community events might provide ideas, and ways to make our organization relevant and active, which will make our presence known in the boating community. Vince Gerretz shared with the board his experience with his former power squadron on Long Island, NY. To get their presence out in the community, their power squadron used local libraries, yacht clubs and churches as classrooms. They occasionally offered discounted class fees, and would hold two-hour seminars on a specific subject (example: GPS). The power squadron also actively promoted Boating Safety Week. Robyn Miller added with regard to the Vessel Safety Checks that VSPS conducts, VSPS has invited the Harbor Patrol to join us at celebratory dinner events. Due to schedule conflicts, the Harbor Master and Patrol haven t always been able to attend, so in the past years, VSPS has purchased and taken lunch to them, in the spirit of good will, which was appreciated and enjoyed by the Harbor Patrol. The squadron has also given the Harbor Master an Honorary Membership (a temporary one-year membership) in past years. Dan Cahn suggested that VSPS make presentations to receptive, interested organizations, to tell them what the power squadron can do for them. Dan Coverdale proposed to organize a committee that would work on prioritizing goals for VSPS. Vince Gerretz and Dan Coverdale will head up the committee. Meeting adjourned at 2025.

8 Ventura Sail and Power Squadron 2017 Merit Marks Based on effort performed on behalf of VSPS and USPS, Cdr Johnston has issued recommendations for Merit Marks. The recommendations were reviewed by the VSPS assigned area monitor and forwarded to C/C Ojeda. The Chief Commander concurred and issued 2017 MMs to the following VSPS members: Congratulations! Everard G. Ashworth James E. Baldwin Mary J. Baldwin John M. Bath Deborah W. Braun-Lawson Carolyn Cahn Dan Cahn Daniel Coverdale Richard W. Cudworth Dave W. Desbaillets Janet A. Lawson Kerry Leiman Doug Londborg Lorna L. Londborg Patricia Metheny Richard Lee Metheny Robyn Miller Doug M. Montgomery Kimberly J. Morris Donald E. Shultz Janet Sue Shultz Christine A. Stine David W. Williams Gary L. Wolfe

9 2018 Bridge Commander Cdr Steven Johnston, P Executive Officer Lt/C Daniel Coverdale Administrative Officer Lt/C Lorna Londborg, P SEO Lt/C Deborah Braun-Lawson, AP Treasurer Lt/C Dan Cahn, JN Secretary Lt/C Christine Stine, S The Helm Editor Lt. Sheridan Green, JN (805) Cheesehead1@gmail.com (323) Coverdale47@msn.com (661) londborg@gmail.com (805) debbiebraunlawson@gmail.com (805) dccahn@roadrunner.com (805) chrisstine@verizon.net (661) sheridan713@gmail.com Contacts for Local Mariners 24-Hour Emergency Telephone Numbers US Coast Guard Search & Rescue(805) Channel Islands Harbor Patrol (805) Ventura Harbor Patrol. (805) Port Hueneme (805) Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol (805) Harbormasters Administrative Channel Islands (805) Channel Islands Harbor Patrol (805) Ventura Port District (805) Port Hueneme Public Affairs (805) Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol (805) National Weather Service Oxnard... (805) Web site:

10 Ventura Sail & Power Squadron Lt. Sheridan Green, JN, Editor 1755 Spinnaker Drive Ventura, CA Address Correction Requested March 2018