January is a bad time for a MOB, Man Over Board. But then, so are the other eleven months of the year. According to USCG statistics for 1997, falling overboard was the second largest category of fatal accidents, accounting for 239 incidents.
The first part of saving lives from MOB incidents is keeping everyone in the boat. In addition to just being careful, we can install guardrails and lifelines. We should treat any slippery areas with non-skid paint or stick on strips. We can use a harness in rough weather and at night.
The second approach is to wear a PFD. You can think of PFDs in two ways, the bag of cheap ones kept onboard to satisfy the rules, and the "good one" which is part of your personal gear.
Are you in the market for a new personal PFD? Inflatable "life jackets" have been around for half a century for aircraft emergencies, but the Coast Guard has only recently approved them for every day wear. These designs provide more than twice the flotation of common Type III devices. Approved styles are manually inflated, there have been reliability problems with auto-inflate mechanisms.
USPS has just announced an agreement with the makers of SOSPENDERS®. Under this plan, USPS sells PFDs with the USPS emblem on the outer jacket. There are three basic types, a "sailing" model which marries an inflatable PFD with a safety harness, a "boating" model which lacks the harness, and a "waistbelt" model in which the PFD is stored in a modest sized pocket on a belt. The prices listed in the ad in the December Ensign are a bit lower than those listed in the discount catalogs.
Once someone is in the water, there are two challenges. The first is just to find them.
Of course you know to (1) immediately (2) throw a float, and (3) shout "MAN OVERBOARD." (4) If there are others on board, instruct a crew member to watch the person in the water and point continuously. If possible, note your position. Remember that most GPS units have a MOB. If you cannot see the person in the water. or have any doubt about your ability to recover him/her, send a mayday call on your VHF radio.
At our December meeting we administered the membership pledge to these three new members.
Melba Dungey
Benjamin Weaver
Jeremy (Scott) Weaver
Cdr Thomas W. Martin, AP What a great Christmas party! Everyone had a good time. We elected a new bridge, exchanged gift ornaments, swore in three new members and listened to some good old time music (about my age group).
I want to thank everyone who worked so hard to make thin bridge year so much fun and so productive. The Education department has done an outstanding job with classes, we inducted some new members, and we have some money in the bank. Mountaineer Power Squadron is alive and well.
Mark your calendar for 20 Feb., 19999. It's time to kick out the old bridge and bring in the new. Please make your reservations early. This will be the last Change of Watch for this century and we are planning to have a good event.
National Executive Officer Carl C. Mahnken, N, died on 23 December 1998. His death occurred in Seattle as a result of a traffic accident a few days before. He had served as National Educational Officer, and many looked forward to him becoming Chief Commander.
Carl was known for working directly with the "field staff" who conduct squadron activities. He responded directly and clearly to requests for information over the internet. His family has suggested gifts to the USPS Educational Fund as one appropriate means of remembrance.
Lt/C Alan Smith, JNOur Seamanship class has just been completed. We have three students awaiting their exam results.
Piloting will start at the YWCA in Fairmont on 25 January. Contact me if you would like to enroll.
Our Executive Officer Tim Smola has completed JN. He is among a surprisingly large number of members attending the N class, currently on Christmas break.
Our spring public classes will begin in April. We don't have dates and places
yet, but start telling your friends and neighbors that Boat Smart will be
offered.
Last Year
This is the last year of this century,
Nineteen ninety nine!
What a rhythmic number!
To think that when this century opened
My parents were small children,
Here at the tail end of this one
My grandchildren are mostly grown,
And I am in the best of old age....
Wouldn't it be nice if this last year
All the troubles of the world would be fixed?
Everything would wrap up in a happy ending?
If our human foibles didn't get in the way,
And the glories of God's universe wouldn't rumble
In floods and earthquakes and hurricanes and typhoons,
We'd have a perfect world as we danced
Into the bright shiny star: the Twenty-first century .
But God never promised us anything so easy,
God never said: "Take the world and play!"
Instead we have got to work at it;
Have to do what's right,
No matter what the wicked corner of our hearts say,
Accept the realities of God's nature and work with it,
And walk into the close of this century
And the start of the enigmatic new one;
With firm resolve to spill into the future
Only the good and none of the bad
Of this century.
-- Melba Dungey