U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY District 7 Lake Murray Flotilla 12-3 Chartered 1947

Columbia, South Carolina

Meetings: Last Monday of each month on Flotilla Island at 1900. Next meeting 12 Dec 2009 COW

Information contained in this newsletter is for official US Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary use only, under the Privacy Act of 1974. The Auxiliary is guided by the current equal opportunity policies of the Commandant of the Coast Guard. No person shall be subject to

discrimination in the Auxiliary or its programs because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or disability.

Editor: COMO Jay Dahlgren, 803-536-6538

December 2009 Volume II Issue 12

Flotilla Meritorious Achievement Medal 1997

I am humbled by your giving me the privilege of serving next year as your Flotilla Commander. As I begin to sail into (what is for me)

uncharted waters, I am thankful that many of you have already been there. My wife is very diligent about reminding me that I do not

know everything. I trust her instinct. I find confidence in the number of members who have served in this role, and I am counting on

you to help keep me on course. I know we will be faced with challenges, change, aggravation, frustration, and plain old hard work. In

fact, I can almost guarantee this. Without help, our individual members, their commander, and our flotilla will fail. Working together,

we will succeed.

I also want to thank the members who have accepted staff positions for next year. The flotilla is the heart and soul of the Auxiliary,

and the Flotilla Staff Officer is the heart and soul of the flotilla. Without their stepping up to take on the additional responsibilities of

their job(s), it would be impossible for us to accomplish anything. About one-third of our members are taking positions. This will be a

veteran staff, and I am VERY thankful to be able to again call on them for help!

Our Division Change of Watch is set for 8 – 9 January 2010. It will be held at Beach Colony Resort in Myrtle Beach. Every one is

encouraged to attend this important event. The agenda will be set for the coming year, and many of our flotilla members will be recog-

nized for their service over the past year.

Finally, please take a moment to thank Richard Miner when you see or talk to him next. Richard successfully led 12-3 for the last

two years. Flotilla 12-1 was chartered. Admiral Allen visited. We pulled 80 paratroopers out of Lake Murray. We kept up with a series

of changes in job and training requirements from the Gold Side and up the Chain. All this, and we still accomplished our “routine” mis-

sions. As chief-of-staff, I was in the loop on many of the battles and frustrations Richard faced. He did so with grace, class, profes-

sionalism, and a sense of humor. We are a better flotilla because of his service, and he deserves a Bravo Zulu.

“If you only look at what is, you might never attain what could be."

Marty Delk

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December 2009

Winter

Solstice

Hanukkah begins at sundown

ONE TWO — THREE December 2009 Page 2

THE MIDNIGHT CRUISE

BOAT WAKES, BAD TEMPERS Damaging wakes can be caused when a skipper

waits too long to pull back on the throttle. A good example is the young skipper in New Jer-sey who was tying up at a marina gas dock when he encountered someone who was "cursing and accusing me of not having any respect," according to one BoatUS insurance claim. Words were exchanged, gestures were made . . . The young skipper's cruiser, it seems, had created a large wake that bashed several boats at the marina against pilings and finger piers. Since he had "slowed" just before reaching the gas dock, he reasoned that the damage must have been caused by "some other boat's wake."

Even a small boat in the stern-down position can throw up a huge wake. Damaging wakes can also be caused when a skipper waits too long to pull back on the throttle. Wakes lose power the farther they travel. If you're overtaking a boat in open water, give it a lot of room. Passing as far away as possible reduces the wake's impact (not to mention ill feelings). Conversely, in a narrow channel, overtaking a boat without regard for your boat's wake can have serious consequences.

When you are the overtaking boat, use VHF channel 16 and/or your horn to signal your intentions (one short blast if you're overtaking the other boat on its starboard side, two blasts if you're planning to pass on its port side). Cross the wake quickly (don't ride the waves), but be aware of your own boat's wake. If you're being overtaken, come completely off plane so that your stern is level. Slowing your boat will allow the overtaking skipper to slow his boat as well.

Kenny Uschelbec

You can save a lot of money

and avoid rude gestures by

using a little common sense

and courtesy.

Ladd Harrelson

WINDOWS 7? Here’s a rule of thumb that errs on

the side of caution: If your PC’s specs qualify it to run

Vista, get Windows 7; if they aren’t, avoid it. Microsoft’s

official hardware configuration requirements for Win-

dows 7 are nearly identical to those it recommends for

Windows Vista.

The best way to reduce your odds of running into

show-stopping problems is to bide your time. Win 7 is

here so sit back and let the earliest adopters discover

the worst snafus. Within a few weeks, MS and other

software and hardware companies will have fixed most

of them. If you want to be really conservative, hold off

on moving to Win 7 until you’re ready to buy a PC that’s

designed to run it well. Waiting a bit before making the

leap makes sense; waiting forever does not.

Providing your PC passes the compatibility test

(http://2eljBW), you need to choose a version of Windows 7: Home Premium ($120), Professional ($200) or Ultimate ($220). Microsoft

will sell the software as a download on its Web store, but copies on discs are stocked at electronics retailers and such sites as Amazon.

Make sure you buy a copy that’s compatible with your PC’s microprocessor. There are two flavors, 32-bit and 64-bit.

Microsoft offers help in figuring out which one is right for you: http://bit.ly/3qPP23.

THINGS BEING

KILLED BY THE

INTERNET Polite disagreement Letter writing Memory Daydreaming Waiting a day for sports

scores Footnotes Leaving your desk for

lunch Concentration

Useless computer

keys. Delete and Escape

keys are getting larger, and number pads are disappearing. Best of all, BusinessWeek reports, designers are taking a second look at the infuriatingly useless Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, Numeral

Lock, and SysRq.

Dr. Al McCallister

I would like to echo the theory in Russ’s (PS) article and make a dire request for each member to attempt to enroll a student into our next ABC which will be scheduled in February. We do get new members as a result of their attending our course and we all know that 12-3 really needs new members as our numbers are shrinking.

ONE TWO — THREE December 2009 Page 3

OF PAUL FOR BEER

Barbara Burchfield

PFD PANDA IS AVAILABLE

Rain and wind from Tropical Storm Ida caused the Veteran’s Day parade in Columbia to be cancelled this year, a disappointment for many of us. A lot of time and preparation had gone into making the Auxiliary’s entry something special. COMO Jay Dahlgren and Festus Burchfield spent hours washing and polishing up two auxiliary boats, “Master Chief” and “Unit One”, to accompany a third Coast Guard vessel from Station Charleston in the parade. With emails and phone calls too many to count, PFD Panda was finally

located and shipped to us. Ken Uschelbec valiantly agreed to wear PFD Panda costume (with some gentle persuasion).

PFD Panda now waits in our possession until some other flotilla sends for it. With the holidays com-ing up, PFD Panda is available for community gatherings and children events. Contact Marty Delk or me for arrangements.

By the way – Sorry, Ken Uschelbec does not come with the PFD Panda costume!

“WEAR IT! CAMPAIGN” FOR KIDS (OR GRANDKIDS) National Safe Boating Campaign has a new, catchy way of targeting children to wear life jack-ets. On the website, http://www.safeboatingcampaign.com/index.html, you will find innovative and interesting campaign resources to promote boating safety and engage children of all ages. Videos, graphics and posters and “Kid site Central” are available on the website. Take a look.

Festus Burchfield

ONE TWO — THREE

LED TO A WARMER

CGA UNIT 3

CGA UNIT 1

CGA UNIT 6

CGA UNIT 4

12-3 COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

CGA UNIT 8

CGA UNIT 5

CGA UNIT 2

CGA UNIT 9

December 2009 Page 4

Ladies and Gentlemen, I will close down AUXDATA on the 15th of December. Please have all reports to me by that time. We still have a few members that are in danger of going into REYR for lack of completing the mandatory numbers to stay certified.

Coxswain: We have 12 certified coxswains, but will lose three (Crouch, Richbourg, McCallister) on 31 December 2009.

Crew: We have nine certified crewmen, but will have three (Mendenhall, Riley, Small) REYR on 31 December 2009.

RBS Visitor: We only have two certified, but will lose one (Riley) at the end of the year,

Vessel Examiner: We have five that are certified and seven in REYR.

Instructor: We have 16 certified Instructors, but will have five (Mendenhall, G, Mendenhall, J., Pstrak, Small, Burchfield, B.) REYR at the end of the year. You know what’s expected to remain certified. There are many ways to get the necessary hours to stay certified. Please make the effort as we need all of you.

Don Davis

Auxiliary E-Learning

Online courses are provided for the development of Coast Guard Auxiliary members. Many of them are prerequi-

sites for certain levels of qualification in different programs. To receive a login for Auxiliary E-Learning, please

complete the registration form.

Courses are offered in the following areas: Member Training, Marine Safety, Operations, Public Affairs, Vessel

Examination and Beta courses. Please click on this link to see the course descriptions: Descriptions of Online

Courses

The new On the Water Training Manual (OWT) has been updated. The updates include new cross references

of tasks to courses now being used: About Boating Safely, second edition, Boating Skills & Seamanship, 13th edi-

tion; Sailing Skills & Seamanship, sixth edition. There are minor title changes reflected in the change from DC-E to

DIR-E. The new manual can be downloaded from the e-library at http://cgauxed.org/owt.htm

Jerry Ruschkofski

ONE TWO — THREE December 2009 Page 5

APPARENT WIND The wind perceived in a moving boat which is the resultant of the true

wind and the wind of motion and is always forward of the true wind.

E-Writing Avoid Forwarding “Virus” Warnings Unless You Have Verified Validity

Nobody wants a virus. But we’ve received so many notices that turn out to be a hoax that the false warnings have become a nuisance themselves. We ignore them as we ignore car alarms blaring in parking lots. In fact, virus hoaxes themselves are considered viruses because they can be very damaging to large organizations. Verify first by going to the websites of the most well-known antivirus companies, where you’ll find a list of bona fide and hoax viruses.

COMO Jay Dahlgren

Here is Festus Burchfield, FSO-PV, with his old flotilla in Dis-

trict 13. I asked Festus of the two showing which one is him.

His reply was the one with sunglasses… can you spot him?

HEMISPHERE

Richard Miner

November has always been highlighted by the Veterans Day Parade. However, this year the parade was can-celed due to inclement weather. I want to thank everyone who help and planned on taking part in the parade. Our Change of Watch will be 12 December at 1830 in the New Orleans Restaurant here in Columbia. If you have not made your reservations please contact Jay. The Division 12 Charge of watch is the weekend of 8 Jan. 2010 in Myrtle Beach at the Beach Colony Resort. Reservations can be made by contacting Carl Brown. I understand that several of our members will be recognized for their achievement. If at all possible please plan on attending both Changes of Watch. This will be my last article as Flotilla Commander and thanks to each of you for your support and the team work that has contributed to the success of our flotilla. I am confident that with your help Marty and Mike will lead us to even greater achievements. I want to wish each of you and your families a healthy Happy Holiday season.

Some time ago I asked each member to talk up the Auxiliary to your friends and contacts in that I know there are some good potential members out there that each of you know or have contact with several times each month. To date, only one or two members have done this and brought in a potential member. We cannot be near all that we could be without some additional members who want to get involved and are willing to do things. If you are a member that has put this off, please work on trying hard to recruit one new member that will make us stronger and a better unit. We have members who are in other organizations that should be fer-tile ground for recruitment. Even church or where you work would be a great place to recruit good new mem-bers. If each of us really makes a concerted effort I believe that we should get five or six good new members from our efforts. Let’s all give this our best and see what happens.

Russ Jernigan

ONE TWO — THREE December 2009 Page 6

Inquiring minds want to know: If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is that turtle homeless or naked?

Aaaaahh… AUTUMN ON LAKE MURRAY 10/09 Okay, so I’m not an Osprey… deal with it!

BUFFALO CREEK MARINA & GRILL

GETTING TO KNOW YOU… LAKE MURRAY

Greetings! For those that did not attend the November meeting I would like you to know that I was voted in as Flotilla Vice Com-mander (VFC). My name is Michael Mikutaitis and the last name is pronounced Mik-ah-tie-tis. It may seem strange that someone that only recently joined the Auxiliary is elected as a VFC but this is my second go at the Auxiliary. I was a member of Flotilla 12-3 in the late 1990s when it was commanded by Joe Richbourg. Flotilla duties were as Publica-tions and also Boat Crew. During this time I assisted in the gas spill at Lighthouse Marina and later in raising of the Hunley off the coast of Charleston, and helping the Power Squadron place the rip-rap (the gray rocks) around the island to control erosion. My division duties were as Division Secretary of Records for two terms while Bob Mathewes was Division Captain. I left in 2000 and joined the Civil Air Patrol with my younger son. I left CAP in 2004 and haven’t done much in the way of volunteer work since rejoining 12-3. I look forward to a longer hitch this time with the Auxiliary. I consider it one of the finest organizations I’ve come into contact with. I’d like to thank the newly elected Flotilla Commander Marty Delk for asking me to serve as his VFC and to Richard Miner for his hard work in getting my papers in order, and Burnette Sheffield for helping me achieve the required vessel exams. I look forward to working with the staff and the members of 12-3 and the other flotillas, the division, and the Gold Side. I hope to make my newsletter reports informative and interesting, if you have any ideas feel free to contact me

Mike Mikutaitis

“”Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

ONE TWO — THREE December 2009 Page 7

Burnette Sheffield

Musings at Year’s End Winter is a slow time for Vessel Examiners. We’ll gear up in April for a full season of helping boaters learn how to keep themselves, their vessels, and our lake safer, and be in full speed by Mega VSC Weeks starting just before Memorial Day. In the meantime, I hope you get to float a bit, in reality or your dreams, and enjoy our wonderful Lake Murray during these winter months too. I haven’t been at the lake much since June, and I’ve missed the water, wind, sky, and birds. I’ve spent lots of time with my father in North Carolina, accompanying him through a tough chapter of his life. I’ve often thought how awesome it would be if I could magically transport him to our sailboat MoonDance and let him spend some time rocking in the ripples on the lake, looking out of the hatch at night to see Orion rising and maybe even the Leonid showers. He could hear the barred owls now that they have grown-up voices and the great blue heron croaking raucously when disturbed. On rainy nights, he could hear the drops splattering just above him but stay cozy and dry below. With the wind out of the south, coming across the dam and into the cove, he’d bounce around a bit, keeping the joints loose and the skin stimulated. I consider it the ideal therapy to speed anybody’s recuperation. Ahhh, it’s a good spot, this Lake Murray, and we in CGAUX are so fortunate to be a part of keep-ing it safe for all to enjoy. Happy boating!

4-H2O Pontoon Classroom – It’s All about the Water! Photos and article by Barbara Burchfield, FSO-PA Flotilla 12-3

We Pick Up Sticks! Story and photos by Barbara Burchfield, FSO-PA 12-3

Breeze earned first place in the National Public Affairs Awards- District Publication category. We are very proud of this award, and

when I use the word ‘we‘, I do mean it in the plural sense of the word. The Breeze is a team effort and begins with the flotilla mem-

bers who write and submit articles and photographs for publication. Dorothy Joan Riley, DSO-PB D7

So how about our very own Barbara Burchfield, FSO-PA 12-3, getting two articles and accompany-ing photos in the final BREEZE publication for 2009? You bet we are proud of her! BRAVO ZULU

COMO Dahlgren Kent McCoin Burnette Sheffield

Don Davis Retrieving (picking up sticks) The First of Eight Drops

ONE TWO — THREE December 2009 Page 8

Barbara Burchfield Public Affairs Officer-Lake Murray

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary bdburchfield@earthlink.net (360) 393-0742 Verizon Cell

Press Release

For Immediate Release

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Appoints South Carolina Liaison Officers State Liaison Officers to South Carolina have been appointed by U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary on October 17, 2009, in a ceremony at Mt. Pleasant, S.C. Festus and Barbara Burchfield will jointly represent the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary in South Caro-lina as State Liaison Officers (SLO) and Legislative Liaison Officers (LL0). Liaison Officers work directly with local, state, and national elected officials to provide information and assistance to the Coast Guard and Auxil-iary to promote and support recreational boating safety programs. The Burchfields will provide a direct communication link between the Auxiliary and the State Boating Law Ad-ministrator, Colonel Alvin Taylor, who also heads up South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) Law Enforcement. Taylor says, “Safety on our state waterways is of utmost importance to SCDNR. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is a valuable partner working to educate our state’s boaters to ensure a safer boating environment.” In 2008, there were 107 recorded boating accidents, 29 deaths, and an estimated $1,603,152.00 in property damage in South Carolina. The Burchfields will monitor boating legislation and encourage boating safety and awareness through promo-tion of National Safe Boating Week, life jackets ‘Wear It’ program, vessel safety checks and education pro-grams. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed volunteer component of the U.S. Coast Guard and has over 30,000 volunteer nationwide. The Auxiliary, America’s Volunteer Guardians, supports the Coast Guard in nearly all of the service’s missions.