Now Hear This ! San Antonio Sail & Power Squadro

Now Hear This !
San Antonio Sail & Power Squadron
A Unit of the United States Power Squadrons, District 21
October 2014, Volume 55, No. 10
Commander’s Message
Mack McKinney JN
And now we wait…
As I reported for our last Newsletter, Liz and I have completed the Navigation final exam and are waiting with baited breath for the results. In that issue I predicted that she and I would be our squadron’s latest “N”s, and I don’t revise that, but it sure
would be nice to have our stars now!
It looks like October is turning out to be an exciting month for San Antonio boating! I’m going
to raise the burgee of the Port Aransas plyWooden Boat Festival once more. Wooden boat festivals of any
kind don’t happen to often in Texas (one things of, perhaps, Mystic Seaport, Connecticut, or Port Townsend,
Washington, or perhaps if you’re like me you’ll think of the festival at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY) so this is a very exciting time for Texas boaters. The festival is October 17-19 in Port Aransas,
and occurs concurrently with Port Aransas’ annual Old Town festival so if you get sick of boats you can enjoy some of the festivities (and if you get sick of boats, don’t tell me. I wouldn’t understand.) Information
on that is at http://www.portaransas.org/port-aransas-calendar-of-events/91-community-events/4854-oldtown-festival. The plyWooden Boat Festival, which is where you will find those with much less culture but
more focus such as Liz and I, is a celebration of the wooden boat that is opened minded enough to include
plywood. Even though I was once steeped in the snobbery of pure-dee, plank-on-frame-steam-bent-bronzefastened-take-three-weeks-to-prepare-for-spring-launch wooden boats (I confess) plywood has been a viable, make that a very good, wooden boat building material since the end of WWII! It may shock you to
learn that that is even longer than your esteemed Commander has been around. Here is the skinny on the
plyWooden Boat Festival: http://portaransasplywoodenboatfestival.org/.
Be watching your email very soon for official announcement of our fall on-the-water rendezvous. We will be holding it on Canyon Lake on October 25th, same arrangements as last year. We will
meet at the Marina (map to follow, and time to follow), and will provide water. Our ever-efficient AO has
procured a pontoon boat for us, so we will have a central platform for the FOOD – bring some hors d’oeuvres, your own preferred beverage, $10 to help defray costs, and some good stories! (We will also bring our
own anchor this year, thank you very much.) Those of you with your personal vessels are encouraged to raft
off with us. This was an absolute blast last year, in spite of our past Commander’s attempt to wash the AO
off the bow of the pontoon boat (only kidding, Frank) and I expect no less of a great time this year. I’m
looking forward to seeing you all!
Mack McKinney JN, Squadron Commander
WB2PCV@GMAIL.COM 830-370-8488
Squadron Education Officer
Tom Stapleton SN
Assistant Education Officer
Kent Rush, P
Education Department News
Price guards the new TV in the class room
The board approved purchase of a flat screen TV for the training room at Alamo MiniStorage and we’ve purchased and installed a 42 inch Sanyo unit with a swivel wall mount. Price and
Tom installed the unit two weeks ago. The TV has a quick release and also a stout table stand. This
purchase was necessary for PowerPoint and video (sound) presentations, boating classes, and for our
squadron Boat Show presentation in January of 2015. It will also be useful for our general meeting
presentations and for seminars and ABC/3 Basic Boating Course held other than at Bass Pro Shop.
Steve Rogers & Vernon Helmke of Alamo Mini-Storage were very pleased with this installation.
October 2014 Now Hear This
page 2
Squadron Education Continued
ABC/3 Boating Safety Course:
We have three classes booked at Bass Pro Shop for 2015 (Saturday 9-5):
7 Feb
25 April
22 August
These are the best dates and we may also try for a mid November class this fall.
ADVANCED COURSES:
Navigation (N) class: The Navigation Class completed and submitted their final exams & sight
folders. Exam results are expected in late October.
Seamanship (S) class: class will start weekly classes on January 3rd at the Alamo Mini-Storage
in San Antonio from 9am till noon and end January 24th. Cost: $50; sign-up by November 30th
Piloting (P) class: This class will begin weekly classes starting Saturday Februrary 14th in San
Antonio (Alamo Mini-Storage) from 9am till noon for 9 weekly sessions. Sign-up by January 3rd.
Cost: $75
Advanced Piloting (AP) class: This class will start in February 14 in San Antonio (Alamo
Mini-Storage) from noon- 3pm. Cost: $65. Sign-up by January 3rd.
SEMINARS:
Basic Weather and Forecasting: Saturday Oct 11th 1-3pm, lunch included at Tom’s house in
New Braunfels. Cost: $34 payable upon arrival. Limited to 1st 6 students: email: capttms@gmail.com to register a spot. (we have just 4 openings left).
Basic Trailering: To be scheduled in January-February of 2015 at Lake Canyon Yacht Club. No
meal included; location and times to be determined. Cost: $35. Email Tom at capttms@gmail.com
for sign-up.
VHF and VHF/DSC: Saturday December 6th from 1-3pm, lunch included at Tom’s house in
New Braunfels. Cost $35 payable upon arrival. Limited to 1st 6 students: email: capttms@gmail.com
to register a spot.
October 2014 Now Hear This
page 3
Squadron Education Continued
Proposed Cooperative Partnership With Lake Canyon Yacht Club
Tom presents our proposal and the LCYC Board Meeting
Tom met with the Board of Directors and many of the members and made a proposal for
cooperation between of our organizations, specifically, conducting vessel safety inspections, teaching seminars and possibly some elective courses, and an ABC/3 Basic Boating Courses at the
Yacht Club. He outlined the concept and mutual benefit for our presence at their on-the-water location. He was well-received and their board member, Stacy Wilson, volunteered to be their liaison
with Tom Stapleton. We are working out a yearly agreement that would begin in January of 2015
and subject to annual review/renewal. We’re working out the details and language of this proposed
agreement and will present to our board for approval.
Sea Scouts of Canyon Lake are interested in two of our courses: Seamanship and Advanced
Piloting but decided to start in January of the next year. They will be held most likely at the Alamo
Mini-Storage conference room. We have a few new members that will most likely also take the Seamanship and Advance Piloting classes.
District 21 Fall Conference and Training Aids Competition (Early October in
Dallas): Tom and Martha Stapleton will attend, along with Earl Gilley. We will have two Instructor Development entries for best of the District training aids. We showed one of the two entries at
our last General Meeting at Denny’s in San Antonio on dredging with the anchor. Tom will return
the Prince Henry the Navigator trophy which we were awarded for training excellence over this past
year.
October 2014 Now Hear This
page 4
All members are urged to take the advanced classes when offered; the material is exceptional
and passing along your wisdom and knowledge is a very satisfying goal. In the coming months,
we are going to prepare our Boat Show video and that is going to be very exciting and have a
major impact at the January Boat Show. Our goal is to attract new members with a visual
presentation that ‘Pops’.
Tom Stapleton SEO, ONCOM,SN
capttms@gmail.com, 830-837-5058
Phrases and saying with a nautical origin:
Foul Up….
Meaning today:
Confusion reigns supreme.
Derivation: From Old English word ‘ful’ (meaning grossly offensive to the senses), foul is
an adjective with many nautical meanings: all indicative of a difficult or negative situation. An
anchor is considered ‘fouled’ with it is entangled in its own cable. By land or sea, a hopeless
mess or entanglement is described as a ‘foul-up’. Some popular acronyms include: SNAFU
(situation normal, all fouled up) and more recently, FUBAR (‘Fouled up beyond all recognition’).
October 2014 Now Hear This
page 5
This month’s knot:
October 2014 Now Hear This
Anchor Hitch----a great knot to tie line to a ring on an anchor.
page 6
Request from P/C Nell Moore concerning Merit Marks
It’s that time of year again when I’m asking all of you to send in
a report on what you have done for the Squadron this year so I can start
work on compiling the Merit Marks report.
Please send me information on what you did for each activity
you helped plan or class you helped teach. Also send me the number of
hours you have worked. Most of you know the drill so go back through the
year since January 1 and let me know what you’ve done. All tasks are important.
Email NellDM@sbcglobal.net
Future Photo Directory
I have received many requests for a new photo directory of our Squadron. In order to compile a
photo directory, I of course need photos. I have committed to making this directory a reality, but
I need your help!! You have a couple of options.
1) Take a great photo of yourself from the shoulders up, or use a current one, and email it to me.
2) Come to our next Social in September (which you should do, anyway) prepared to have your
photo taken.
Email to k5elm7@gmail.com — Liz McKinney
Newsletter Editor
October 2014 Now Hear This
page 7
D/C Kenn Manning and CDR Joe Hill invite all D21 members
to participate in a District 21 Nautical Cooperative Charting
event at Lake Charles----14-15 NOV 2014
This D21 Cooperative Charting event will allow us to improve the accuracy of
NOAA Nautical Charts 11347, 11331, 11348, and related publications Coast Pilot, Light List,
Notice to Mariners, etc. The socials and meetings will be held at the LCSPS Anchorage
building and dock on Kiwanis Ln in Lake Charles. It is located at the NE corner of the I-210
Bridge over the Calcasieu River. Construction of an overpass on I-210 to the new Golden
Nugget casino will still be underway and require maneuvers around some barricades to enter
Kiwanis Ln from W. Prien Lake Rd. Contact a member of LCSPS for the latest construction
information.
D21 Cooperative Charting Agenda 14-15 Nov 2014
Friday 14 Nov 2014 (LCSPS Anchorage)
1700-Captain’s meeting
– Final assignment of search areas, identify & assign additional crew (if needed
continue after meal).
1830-Food and Spirits ($10 food for Friday and Saturday, with cash bar)
Saturday 15 Nov 2014
0800- Boats depart from various docks
--- After completion of survey’s the Captain and crew’s assembly at the LCSPS
Anchorage
--- Prepare reports for submission to NOAA via CCWEB
1730 - Food and Spirits. ($10 food for Friday and Saturday, with cash bar)
For information on the event contact R/C Ken Wilkinson, kdwilkinson@earthlink.net or P/C John Loukas, loukajl@suddenlink.net. Also let us know if
you are thinking about attending so we can stock plenty of food and refreshments.
For those arriving by boat along the ICW who would like to complete some surveys while in
route please contact us to reduce duplicate surveys on 11348 and 11331.
For information on marinas, docks, launch ramps, fuel, etc. contact the Port Captain Lt/C
Harvey Kuttner, kuttnerh@bellsouth.net.
The hotels closest to the LCSPS Anchorage are on W. Prien Lake rd. between Lake St (I-210
exit 5) and Nelson Rd. They are L’Auberge Casino, Wingate by Wyndham, Marriott
Springhill Suite, Hampton Inn, La Quinta, Inn on the Bayou, and the Holiday Inn north of
Prien Lake Rd on Lake Street. Numerous hotels and casinos are available along I-10 and I210. PLAN AHEAD the hotels are busy on weekends!!
October 2014 Now Hear This
page 8
San Antonio Sail and Power
Squadron
presents
Fall Commander’s Float
October 25
1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Canyon Lake, TX
Join with other SASPS members
for a floating social. Come ride on
the Squadron provided Pontoon or bring the
boat of your choice to raft to the pontoon.
Pontoon will depart from Canyon Lake Marina
and an easy to locate rafting location will be
published prior to the event. Bring your favorite finger food or snack to share.
Cost $10 per person.
Checks can be made out to San Antonio Sail and Power
Squadron.
RSVP
David Baltzell
916-208-8245
October 2014 Now Hear This
page 9
Now Hear This
Is the monthly publication of the San Antonio Sail and Power Squadron, a unit of the U.S. Power
Squadrons. Address all correspondence to:
Editor—Now Hear This
159 Albrecht Rd
Center Point, TX 78010
830-377-4459
Email: k5elm7@gmail.com
For general information about SASPS, Please call 210-824-2888
Any article appearing in this publication is to be assumed as representing the opinion of the author and is not to be construed as reflecting the
policy of the San Antonio Sail and Power Squadron or the United States Power Squadrons.
Contributions are welcomed and must be received eight days before the end of the month. Email is the
preferred method of transmission. Address and phone number(s) must be included with each
submission.
The Bridge for 2014-2015
Commander
Cdr George “Mack” McKinney JN
830-370-8488
Executive Officer:
P/C Larry Wiese SN
210-497-8469
Educational Officer:
Lt/C Tom Stapleton SN
830-837-5058
Administrative Officer:
Lt/C David Baltzell
916-208-8245
Secretary
Lt/C Liz McKinney JN
830-377-4459
Treasurer
P/C Nell Moore JN
210-493-4491
Assistant Admin. Officer
Lee Gobernatz P
830-537-3956
Assistant Education Officer
Kent Rush P
210-826-5863
Assistant Treasurer
P/C Anthony “Tony” Gobernatz, Jr P
830-537-3956
Members at Large
P/C Price Darling, SN
October 2014 Now Hear This
P/C Frank Christ, AP
P/C Myron Hayes, SN
page 10
SAN ANTONIO SAIL & POWER SQUADRON
159 Albrecht Rd
Center Point, TX 78010
http:www.usps.org/localusps/sant
SASPS Telephone # for general information: 210-218-9961
CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS
(Further details can be found throughout this newsletter)
October
10th
SASPS Executive Committee Meeting, 11:30am, Egg & I Restaurant.
701 East Sonterra Parkway
(Ex Com meetings will be on the second Friday of even number months.)
11th
Basic Weather and Forecasting
25th
Commanders Float on Canyon Lake
November
13th
SASPS General Meeting, 6:00 pm, Location to be announced!
13th
Piloting Begins
27th
Basic Weather and Forecasting
28th
Basic Trailering
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