Monthly Reports

So far this year, we’ve been sharing time together at highly entertaining and educational events like the Change of Watch, Star Party and Spring Brunch. Now it’s time to get dirty!! Coming up on May 5, from 8:00AM to noon, we have an opportunity to give back, by helping to clean up the harbor in Harbor Clean Sweep. Please see the Commander’s message for more details if you are interested in volunteering.  Then, the following Saturday, May 12, lasting from 8:00AM to noon, you can bring all your old nautical “stuff” to the Squadron’s reserved spaces at the Nautical Swap Meet in the harbor parking lot. Free coffee and refreshments will be provided.  And finally, we have just gotten word that our flare shoot will be May 22, and will coincide with the “Harbor Watch” meeting at 6:00PM in the marine center classroom, where there will be a discussion of different types of flares. The flare shoot will follow at 6:30PM on the beach west of the Yacht Club. It’s your opportunity to get rid of your expired flares and learn from actually lighting and firing off these devices that we hope we never have to use. This is a true learning event — hope to see you there!

                                         

 

Scott Burns is planning a cruise out to Santa Cruz Island May 18-20 aboard his boat Benchmark.  He invites all squadron boats to join in on the adventure and will serve as the point person for this event.

Departure will be Friday at 8am so that if the wind picks up, we are at the anchorage close to 1pm.

Frys Harbor is the destination, one of the most protected anchorages.

Boats should stay tuned to Channel 16 for hailing each other before moving to a working channel for discussions (e.g., change in anchorage due to conditions or crowds).

Bring your favorite beverages and nibbles for a happy hour gathering on the beach Saturday.

RSVP to Scott so he can keep interested parties notified of weather forecast and his go/no-go decision.  w.scott.burns@cox.net      cell:  805 448 8110

Read more about Frys here:  https://sailchannelislands.com/santa-cruz-frys/

 

HARBOR WATCH MEETING

May 22, 2018

Waterfront Classroom

6:00 pm-7:00 pm

• Harbor Patrol Officer Rick Hubbard will discuss law enforcement statistics in the marinas.

 

• National Safe Boating Week is May 20-26, 2017

We will review boating safety tips before the flare demonstration.

• Flare Demonstration: Have you ever wanted to launch a flare but were not in distress? Well, here is your chance! We will review the various types of flares and discuss their advantages and limitations.  You will have the opportunity to launch flares from the beach. So bring your expired flares and get some valuable training.

 

For more information contact the Harbor Patrol at 564-5530.

 

 

 

Greetings fellow squadron members, I do hope spring is being good to you. As your assistant to the treasurer, in charge of ships stores, I want to let you know we have a few of the “ambassador jackets” (see pictures) to sell. The Commander has asked me to sell them to members at half of the original cost, so they are a steal at $ 43.00. I have a limited selection of sizes so please contact me ASAP if you are interested.

If, as you get your boats ready for the “season” you’re in need of a new SBSPS burgee I have a few left at $ 35.00.

I want to thank new squadron member Glen Fidler for the roll of fire hose he donated. I have cut it up into 12” lengths to be used as chafe gear for dock or anchor lines. They are free for the asking so please contact me if you want any.

I anticipate getting up an order for hats in the near future so if you have color preferences please let me know.

If you want any other logo items please peruse the catalogs at

www.arosha.com for ideas and we can get prices for you.

Happy (and safe) boating,

jpseagoe@gmail.com (805-967-4468).

Our “America’s Boating Course” class (ABC) ended on March 20 with 14 students taking and passing the final exam.  Eight of the students were pleased and interested enough to become members of our squadron.  For those that want to get their California Boating Card, they can now go online to the California Department of Waterways to apply for their Card.  It’s a simple process that requires the submittal of $10 and a copy of the certificate of completion they received from us.

All 14 students opted to take two more weeks of lessons covering the supplemental material in the ABC textbook on navigation and charting.  While this material is not required to obtain a certificate of completion from us or to obtain the California Boating Card, it provides a very good grounding in the use of charts and navigation techniques while serving as an excellent introduction to our more intensive Piloting class.   (National is developing a replacement for Piloting called “Marine Navigation” that is supposed to be available in 2019.)

Steve Young will be teaching our Marine Electrical Systems course on Tuesdays from April 24 to June 19.   Next up is Steve York who will be teaching the Partner in Command seminar during Boating Safety Week on Saturday May 19 from 9AM to 12PM.  Partner in Command covers some basic boating techniques that are useful for crew to know in general and especially if called upon to operate a boat if the captain is unable to do so.  We’re looking to schedule a Piloting class with John Profant during the summer, after the Marine Electrical Systems course finishes up.  Following this we will be offering an Engine Maintenance course from September 11 to November 20 taught by Pete Seagoe.  And finally, we will be scheduling another ABC class for the fall time period.

All in all our education staff is keeping pretty busy – If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to contact me at rdciolino@cox.net or 805-682-4543.  Sail safely!