United States Power Squadrons. Anchor Lines. O f f i c i a l P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e D e a r b o r n S a i l & P o w e r S q u a d r o n

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1 United States Power Squadrons Anchor Lines O f f i c i a l P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e D e a r b o r n S a i l & P o w e r S q u a d r o n A Unit of District 9, United States Power Squadrons Volume 61, Issue 1 January Dinner Meeting Commander s Message. 3 Executive Department Education Department/Birthdays...5 Inside This Issue Administrative Department Nominations...7 Fighting A Boat Fire..8 Calendar.9 The above photo was taken by Cdr Sue Rayburn, SN. This anchor from the USS Arizona is located on the grounds of the capital building in Phoenix.

2 Anchor Lines 2 BRIDGE Commander Cdr Suzanne Rayburn, SN Executive Officer Lt/C Mark School, JN Education Officer Administrative Officer Lt/C Frederick Hoitash, SN Treasurer Lt/C Leon Collins, SN Secretary EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE P/C William Stewart, SN P/C Marge Hamlin, S P/C Lynwood Jackson, SN P/C Gerald Majeske, JN Lt Bruce Book, AP Lt Patricia Johnston, SN Lt Gerard LaLonde, S Lt Richard Walshaw, P ANCHOR LINES Editor Cdr Sue Rayburn, SN Asst Editor Lt Toni Devantier, P Circulation Lt Pat Johnston, SN Photos P/C Jana Smith, SN Cdr Sue Rayburn, SN Anchor Lines is published 10 times a year by Dearborn Sail and Power Squadron. The deadline for submission of all materials is the first Thursday of the month. All articles should be submitted to the editor, Cdr Sue Rayburn, umrdh72@gmail.com. Please notify the editor of any change in address. Articles may be reprinted without permission if credit is given to Dearborn Sail & Power Squadron and the Anchor Lines. Opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect the opinion of USPS or of Dearborn Sail & Power Squadron. Executive Committee meetings are held the first Thursday of the month, at 1900, at the Livonia Civic Center Library, Five Mile Rd., Livonia, Michigan, or at other locations as announced in the Anchor Lines. General membership meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month at 1800, at various locations published in the Anchor Lines. Dearborn Sail & Power Squadron Change of Watch Join your fellow members January 15, 2015 At 1 Under Five Mile Rd Livonia, MI (Park on the west side of the restaurant) Social Hour: 1800 (6:00pm) Dinner: 1900 (7:00pm) Change of Watch Ceremony: 2000 (8:00) Buffet Menu Old Fashioned Carved Turkey Mashed Potatoes & Gravy Cornbread Stuffing Green Beans Almandine Garden Salad Bread & Rolls Chocolate & White Cake Coffee, Tea, or Soda (If you need a vegetarian meal, please let Judy know) $22.00 per person Tax & Tip Included ***Cash Bar*** Reservations required by January 3, 2015 Please call Lt Judy Stewart, S, or jwstew4@att.net Reservations must be canceled three days prior to meeting or you will be billed for your meal!!! Please send your monies payable to; Dearborn Sail & Power Squadron to Lt/C Leon Collins, SN Sandra Lane Westland, MI Uniform A, regular tie Semi formal

3 Anchor Lines 3 Commander s Message This is my last article as Commander of Dearborn Sail & Power Squadron. These two years have gone by quickly. It is now time to pass the torch to Lt/C Mark School, JN, at our Change of Watch on January 15 th. Mark will probably have some trepidations at first, but my only advice to him is; you will be Commander of a great squadron and there is a lot of experience in our membership. Don t be hesitant in asking for help as there will always be someone there to offer advice and/or a helping hand. I am positive that he already knows this. I would like to thank those persons on the Bridge and Executive Committee for helping me these past two years and for making my job easier. The Executive Board meetings were always productive and everyone contributed great ideas and helped to solve any problems that arose. Executive Officer Education Officer Administrative Officer Treasurer Secretary Asst Treasurer Asst Secretary Lt/C Mark School, JN Lt/C Fred Hoitash, SN Lt/C Leon Collins, SN 1 st Lt Don Libke, P 1 st Lt Cheri Muylaert, JN Executive Committee P/C Bill Stewart, SN Lt Bruce Book, AP P/C Marge Hamlin, S Lt Patricia Johnston, SN P/C Lyn Jackson, SN Lt Gerard LaLonde, S P/C Gerald Majeski, JN Lt Richard Walshaw, P I would also like to thank those members within the Commander s Department for doing a fantastic job these past two years. Flag Lieutenant Commander s Aides Chaplin Conference Hospitality Coordinators Lt Gerard LaLonde, S P/C Marilyn Book, AP P/C Marge Hamlin, S Lt Patricia Johnston, SN Lt/C Fred Hoitash, SN Lt/C Fred Hoitash, SN Lt Patricia Johnston, SN Continued page 4

4 Anchor Lines 4 Executive Department As the holidays come to an end, we start thinking of winter events. One of these events is the Cobo Hall Boat Show. The show will be held February As usual District 9 will have a booth at this event. We could use people to man the booth for a couple of hours. This is a great way to see the show and help the Squadron at the same time. If you can help, please let P/C William Stewart, S/N know as soon as possible. We also have the Change of Watch coming up on January 15. It will be held at 1 Under in Livonia. We are looking forward to seeing you there. I would like to thank all the members who worked all year to promote our Squadron. The Chairman of each committee, along with all the members, was invaluable to the Squadron. Here s wishing for a very Happy New Year and a safe boating season to come. Lt/C Mark School, JN Continued from page 3 Merit Mark Shipmates Parliamentarian Lt/C Leon Collins, SN These members, along with those within the other Departments make for a smoothly run squadron. Our instructors and Vessel Safety Examiners provide a valuable service to the community by getting the message out about Safe Boating. Other members help out in any capacity they can, and we appreciate their help. Our squadron, like many other organizations needs the help of all of our members to make the workload lighter for everyone. We have two open positions on the Bridge; Assistant Education Officer and Administrative Officer. These two positions are vital to the future success of our squadron. Please consider helping the squadron by volunteering for one of these positions. I would like to welcome new members Robert Wilson and his wife Jeanne Corombos to Dearborn. They are in Florida now on their new boat (Meridian 490) and will be down there until April, when they intend to bring the boat up the inter-coastal to Michigan. Thank you for your support these two years; it has been an honor being your Commander. Cdr Suzanne Rayburn, SN

5 Anchor Lines 5 Education Department Well by now we have all gotten through the week of Christmas and New Year s. Hope everyone had a joyous Christmas and found time to spend with family and friends. As we bring in the new year it is time to reflect upon 2014 and make plans for I would like to thank all those who helped with the boating courses last year due to our record setting snow fall our ABC courses (only 1 out of three scheduled) attendance was down from previous years. Hopefully the weather will be closer to normal this year and people will state thinking about boating and not about all the snow they have to shovel. Looking forward to The squadron is in desperate need of an Assistant Education Officer. This is my second year of my second tour as Education Officer and we need someone to take over. Cheri and would like to spend more time in Florida during the winter. The job involves setting up the boating course schedules at John Glenn and Canton High schools around October or November of the previous. We receive a notice and school calendar from the adult ed. Departments. Making the class schedule. Usually just changing the dates from last year's schedule sending the schedule to the instructors. Posting the student information to National, recording the grades, and printing the certificates. I would like an assistant so I can work with him or her for the next year so they will have a good working knowledge of the job. Did You Know The song, Auld Lang Syne, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every Englishspeaking country in the world to bring in the New Year. Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end. January Mary Jackson 12 Dan Martin 19 Larry McDermott 17 Marlene Melvin 22 Rose Zakar 17 Fred Devantier 28

6 Anchor Lines 6 Administrative Department So, what does a boater do during the non-boating season? The holiday season will soon be over and winter weather will be consistently colder for the next 3 or 4 months. If you are a fisherman, you can probably start ice fishing this month. For those sailors that can t quit the habit, there is ice sailing that starts up in January. There are many winter activities that one can participate in as well. For most of us, we will just do the same things that everyone else does all the time. Power Squadron members do have unique opportunities to continue their hobby throughout these winter months. We have meetings so we can get together, break bread, rekindle friendships and even learn some new stuff at the meeting presentations. We can take classes to increase our boating knowledge and skills. We can teach classes to refresh our education and skills. I would bet that by the January meeting, many of us will be discussing our pre-season plans for updating, upgrading or fixing our boat. These next few winter months actually provide us time to enjoy so many things that we wouldn t do in the summer, even if we didn t have a boat. Maybe it s time to sit back and enjoy a fire and some Christmas music after dinner. We certainly wouldn t do that in July. As this busy holiday period passes by and 2015 is here, let s not stop recognizing how fortunate we are to have a passion for boating. We have great opportunities to be close to nature, and to use nature s power as we boat in the warmer months. Take some time this winter to do things you enjoy, and to pass on goodwill to others. Give some thought to how you can help make our Squadron one of the best before you get pre-occupied by weekends at the boat. Think about places you may want to go as a group this summer. Come to a meeting, take a class, or just keep in touch with your friends. Some of your friends are probably fellow boaters. Sounds like boater s therapy and maybe it is. Most of all give yourself a pat on the back. Your membership continues to help your squadron. Your input on anything we do as a group makes the activity better. You do make a difference. So, it s time to sit back and listen to the crackle of the fire. I m going to enjoy these next few months. Soon enough I will start thinking about all the updates and repairs I need to do on the old boat. We ve already made several plans for this winter and I know we will enjoy the season. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, prosperous New Year and a safe winter. Lt/C Fred Hoitash, SN

7 Anchor Lines 7 Dearborn Sail & Power Squadron Nominees for 2015 Commander Executive Officer: Education Officer: Administrative Officer: Treasurer: Secretary: Assistant Secretary: Assistant Education Officer: Assistant Treasurer: Lt/C Mark School, JN Lt/C Frederick Hoitash, SN Open Lt/C Leon B. Collins, SN 1 st Lt Cherilyn Muylaert, JN Open 1 st Lt Donald Libke, P Executive Committee P/C Suzanne Rayburn, SN P/C Gerald Majeske, JN P/C Lynwood Jackson, SN Lt Patricia Johnston, SN Lt Richard Walshaw, P Audit Committee Lt Bruce Book, AP (1) Lt Ted Schultz, SN (2) P/C Dave Rayburn, JN (3) Rules Committee Lt Charlotte Goik, P (1) Lt Fredric Devantier, SN (2) P/C Albert Lord, SN (3) Nominating Committee P/C Marilyn Book, AP (1) P/C William Stewart, SN (2) P/C Suzanne Rayburn, SN (3)

8 Anchor Lines 8 Published by the Public Relations Committee United States Power Squadrons FIGHTING A BOAT FIRE In Florida a sixty-four foot yacht that was ravaged by fire burned to the waterline. Follow up stories reported that the boat was presenting a hazard to navigation and was later towed to a nearby marina to be salvaged. There are a few lessons we can learn from this incident. Obviously one lesson is to take all of the steps necessary to prevent fire, but when such a yacht is ravaged by fire, we can see just how horrific and all-consuming a boat fire can be. Fortunately the subject boat was near the coast, where good Samaritans quickly rescued all on board; but had the fire occurred further off shore the results might have been tragic. Another positive lesson is the fact that the captain put life jackets on all crew and ordered them overboard. In spite of the romantic notion that a captain goes down with his ship or never gives up the battle to save the boat, this captain did exactly the right thing by abandoning ship. It is always a tough decision to quit fighting a fire and to watch your beloved boat burn to the waterline, but once there is any doubt about putting the fire out, cease all attempts, get your life-jacketed crew overboard, and get as far away as possible before the fire finds any fuel aboard and explodes. Never overestimate your ability to fight a fire on board a boat. At the first sign of fire have all persons don their life jackets and have someone immediately place a distress call on VHF channel 16. At the same time, display all of your visual distress signals. Even if the fire is simply a curtain or hot pad smoldering in the galley, it is always better to err on the safe side and apologize for your actions afterwards. A boat fire can grow out of control quickly and access to life jackets may be blocked. All hands may be too busy or panicked to stop and call for help, or wiring may burn through, rendering all of your electronics unusable. When all hands have their life jackets on, move them to the farthest area, away from the fire. Then turn the boat to keep the flames from blowing back towards the unaffected area. If you are a safe Captain you will know the proper type of fire extinguisher to use for gasoline, alcohol, or electrical fires. You will also know the proper way to discharge the extinguisher, and how to aim it at the fire base and to hit it with sweeping short bursts. Standing on a burning deck is not the time to learn that some extinguishers require shaking or inverting before they will function. Fire prevention and fire emergency training are just a small portion of the lessons taught by the United States Power Squadrons in safe boating classes. Hone up on your boating skills and select a boating safety class. The members of the United States Power Squadrons always remind us: Come for the Boating Education.Stay for the Friends! Lt. Bill Hempel Senior Feature Writer Marketing/Public Relations Committee United States Power Squadrons

9 Anchor Lines 9 Date DEARBORN SAIL & POWER SQUADRON Calendar 2015 Event Location Time Jan 8 Executive Board Meeting Livonia Civic Center Library 1900 Please note change of week! Jan 9 St Clair Shores COW Blossom Heath 1800 Jan 14* Port Huron COW Alexander s Premier Banq Facility 1800 Jan 15 Dearborn Change of Watch 1 Under, Livonia 1800 Jan 19 Ann Arbor COW Carlyle Grill 1800 Jan USPS Annual Meeting Jacksonville, FL Feb 5 Executive Board Meeting Livonia Civic Center Library 1900 Feb Detroit Boat Show Cobo Hall Feb 23 ABC Boating Class John Glenn High School 1900 Feb 25 ABC Boating Class Canton High School 1900 Feb 19 General Membership Meeting TBD 1800 Mar 5 Executive Board Meeting Livonia Civic Center Library 1900 Mar 2, 9 ABC Boating Class John Glenn High School , 23, 30 Mar 4, 11 ABC Boating Class Canton High School , 25 Mar 19 General Membership Meeting TBD 1800 Apr 2 Executive Board Meeting Livonia Civic Center Library 1900 Apr 16 Awards Night TBD 1800 * denotes new calendar entry since last issue