U N I T E D S T A T E S C O A S T G U A R D A U X I L I A R Y : F L O T I L L A S R

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1 U N I T E D S T A T E S C O A S T G U A R D A U X I L I A R Y : F L O T I L L A S R 15 MAR 2010 Inside This Issue: From the Quarterdeck 2 Loran-C is Out... 3 Boat Crew Update 4 Flotilla Schedule 4 Stepping Stones Lighthouse, one of the most well known landmarks in our AOR. Photo by Ed Stone AUXDATA STATISTICS Marine Dealer Visits 8 Member Training 7 Public Affairs 18 RBS Leadership 99a 361 RBS Support 99e 452 TOTAL HOURS 846 The April 8th has been rescheduled to 15-APR-2010 The meeting will be at 1930 at the Harlem Yacht Club Uniform of the Day is Tropical Blue Long sm VISIT US ON THE WEB!

2 From the Quarterdeck! Brian Brown Vice Flotilla Commander March is already here, and with it the start of our 2010 Boat Crew Qualification Program. Our Flotilla has an aggressive agenda this year, looking to qualify 3 new coxswains, Rich Helm, Rich Natole and myself, along with over half a dozen new crew, including Alan Lesser, Jane Diodato, Ted Wadsworth Mike Raffel, Norman Harris, Marc Natole, and John Szeligowski, Jr. This is also in addition to our efforts to get Daryl Robertucci and Claude Sanz out of REYRS. A very special thanks to Ralph Irizarry for getting us this far and positioning our Flotilla to having its own self sufficient Boat Crew Qualification program. We continue to work towards qualifying new members in various programs, with several members positioned to be newly qualified Program Visitors (Marine Deal Visitors), a couple of pending Vessel Examiner qualifications, and we are working towards qualifying a few people as Instructors. Our website address is changing as well. The original address will be valid through January 2011, however, in an effort to make our website more marketable to the local community on City Island, we have added a second website address that will direct people straight to our regular page. The new address is: We have an update on the Adopt A Cutter Program that our Flotilla has engaged in. We have adopted the USCGC Oak (WLB-211), based out of Charleston, South Carolina. The Cutter Oak is a 225 sea-going buoy tender, and is a black-hulled cutter, which typically means that the vessel engages in ATON work and not general law enforcement duties. Commanded by Commander Mike Glander, a native of Staten Island, and supported by Lieutenant Justin Vanden Heuvel, Executive Office, and Lieutenant Junior Grade Jennifer Ferreira, Operations Officer. The Oak has a compliment of 8 officers and 42 enlisted, and an impressive array of navigational equipment that can make most Master Mariners jealous! The Oak can be found online at: We are looking forward to building a strong relationship with them as they serve our Country. We will also be sending some of the supplies we purchased in the program to our friends and family at Station Kings Point. These men and women work hard, day in and day out in our AOR, and this is just one of the ways our Flotilla is working towards supporting them in addition to our Surface Operations Program. 15 MAR

3 Loran-C is Out GPS is In By Rich Natole, FC/FSO-CM/Staff Writer As of 2000Z 08 FEB 2010 Loran- C Signals ceased except for participation in the Russian-American or Canadian Loran-C Chains. U.S. participation in these chains by international agreement will continue temporarily. Loran-C was the first method of using land based radio signals to triangulate the positions of vessels who were equipped with Loran-C receivers. Mariners using this technology could find their positions on nautical charts and store important waypoint information for future use. Loran-C was much like today s GPS units except there was no on screen chart plotting capabilities. Loran-C was also prone to outages due to interference from electronic and electrical sources as well as from weather conditions such as thunderstorms. Unlike GPS which is satellite based Loran-C was useless when you were out of range of the land based signals that were transmitted from towers located along the coastline of the United States. GPS (Global Positioning System) is now the most popular method for Commercial and recreational vessels to plot courses, store waypoints and visually see there exact location on the screen of a GPS / Chart plotter device. GPS is much more accurate and reliable, it is also not as prone to interference issues as Loran-C. GPS receivers are equipped with data cards that give you much more accurate information that adds to the safety of the journey. I feel a little melancholy to see this technology go by the wayside that was such a momentous step in maritime navigation. I remember installing one of the first Northstar Loran-C units on a friend s boat. We both got such a thrill firing it up for the first time, going for a test ride and actually plotted an electronic course to a destination, marking waypoints along the way with very good accuracy (usually within 100ft of a known buoy or waypoint). After our test ride and following a return plotted course, we high fived one another and celebrated our success bragging to all the other boaters how awesome the unit was. These first generation units were very expensive for their time, the unit that my friend purchased in 1987 was $ plus installation, unless you had a friend who knew how to install electronics. On a safety note: Please pass the word out at boatyards and marina s that Loran-C has been discontinued. Someone may be still using this technology and not knowing that the service has been discontinued might think his or her unit is malfunctioning. Or they might realize that it is out when they are on the water and need it most. Vessel examiners should let boaters know that electronic navigation devices can fail. They should recommend boater safety classes and navigation courses that teach how to use a compass, plot courses and read paper charts. Time and technology march on to better and more accurate equipment. Even with the best equipment money can buy you can t beat the feeling of security when the equipment fails and you know that you have the ability to revert back to compass and charts to get you home. No Batteries Required! 15 MAR

4 Boat Crew Training In case you missed our Kick-Off to 2010 s Boat Crew and Coxswain Training session on 06 MAR, QE s Bob Sodano and Brad Mayer came to meet us at the Harlem Yacht Club to go over what a QE will be expecting from our Crew and Coxswain candidates come exam time. Additionally, Ralph Irizarry has also begun our regular Monday night training sessions, beginning with the shoreside components. If you are interested in joining our Boat Crew Program, please contact Ralph Irizarry at uscgaux@mindspring.com Classes are held Mondays at 1900 at the Harlem Yacht Club Flotilla Schedule March District Awards Conference Mystic Marriot CT April * May June July August Annual BBQ TBA September October November Flotilla Elections *Note Change of Date HYC= Harlem Yacht Club 15 MAR

5 05-04 BRIDGE FLOTILLA COMMANDER RICHARD NATOLE CM Rich Natole IS Richard Helm MT-S Brian A. Brown PE Alan Lesser PV Mike Raffel VICE FLOTILLA COMMANDER BRIAN A. BROWN FLOTILLA STAFF OFFICERS CS Brian A. Brown MA Joseph Hackett OP Ralph O. Irizarry PE Claude Sanz SR April Maron IMMEDIATE PAST FLOTILLA COMMANDER RICHARD HELM FN Albert Patten MT-O Ralph O. Irizarry PB Brian A. Brown HR Ed Stone VE Norm Harris FLOTILLA PUBLICATION S STAFF Editor in Chief: Brian A. Brown Assoc. Editor: Ralph O. Irizarry Staff Writer: Richard A. Natole Photo Editor: Ed Stone Stepping Stones is published at no cost to the Government by: U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla C/O Harlem Yacht Club 417 Hunter Avenue City Island, NY Black and White photo of Stepping Stones featured on the top of every page is courtesy of: history/ WEBLIGHTHOUSES/ steppingstones.jpg Copyright Notice All photos herein are the exclusive property of USCG Aux. Flotilla and may not be used or reproduced without the express prior written authorization of USCG Aux. Flotilla All Photographs are taken by Ed Stone unless otherwise indicated. Privacy Notice The information contained in this document is subject to the provisions of the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 and may only be used for official business of the U.S. Coast Guard or the Coast Guard Auxiliary USCG Auxiliary Flotilla , 2010