Dinghy Painter Oklahoma City Sail and Power Squadron

Transcription

1 Dinghy Painter Oklahoma City Sail and Power Squadron Volume 50, Issue 9, A Unit of the United States Power Squadrons, America s Boating Club, October2018 Natl Dist 21 OKC America s Boating Club Bridge Commander Cdr Mike Ellis, JN Executive Officer Lt/C Ron Huff, P Administrative Officer Open Educational Officer P/C Bob Hlubin, JN Secretary Lt/C Marilyn Goss, P Treasurer P/C Danny Goss, JN Membership Marilyn Goss, P Public Relations Cdr Mike Ellis, JN Webmaster P/C Danny Goss, JN Vessel Safety Ck Officer P/C Laurie Hestand, P lhestand@gmail.com Social Chair Lt Mary Wilkerson, S Newsletter Editor Lt Peggy Anglin, P anglin@swbell.net THIS MONTH 1 October Members Business Meeting Our monthly meeting was held on Monday 1 October 2018 at 7:00 PM at Crown Heights Christian Church at 4020 N Western. 6 October Czech Festival Parade, Yukon Come out to enjoy the parade on Main Street and cheer for our OKCSPS entries. Stay to enjoy festival food and fun. 11 October Royal Bavarian Restaurant On Thursday, 11 October 2018 at 6:00 PM we will meet for dinner at the Royal Bavarian Restaurant at 3401 S Sooner Rd. Please RSVP to Mary Wilkerson at so she can make a reservation UPCOMING 2-4 November District 21 Fall Conference, Oklahoma City Our squadron is hosting the D21 Fall Conference. Details can be found on our Squadron and District websites as shown in the Dinghy Painter masthead. We need your registration ASAP. 5 November Members Business Meeting Our monthly meeting will be held on Monday 5 November 2018 at 7:00 PM at Crown Heights Christian Church at 4020 N Western. 3 December Members Business Meeting Our monthly meeting will be held on Monday 3 December 2018 at 7:00 PM at Crown Heights Christian Church at 4020 N Western. 4 December Christmas Party at Church of the Resurrection Our Christmas Party will be held on TUESDAY, 4 December Save the date! Page 1

2 COMMANDER S REPORT A big Hello to the Crew, While I was away on my trip down the Arkansas River to the Mississippi River and then down to Baton Rouge, you guys took care of business as usual. There was the Lake Hefner Clean-Up. I know that everyone there had a great time picking up trash (I mean Hidden Treasures). Then the crew enjoyed the infamous Ron-Dogs. This has been a custom for as long as I can remember and always a great time of fellowship. Now out for all to see is our schedule for the Fall Conference. I have seen the flier and it looks great! Thanks for all the hard work and dedication in getting this out and making it happen. Everyone had some part in putting this together. Please come to the conference and enjoy some time with kindred spirits as we continue to work on building up our District and Squadron. I have noticed the weather has just started to change a bit as temperatures begin to fall, grass needs less attention and boats are asking for more of our time as we prepare for the upcoming spells of colder weather. As soon as I got back my yard was a mess and needed the mower and how! But alas, it was tackled and the grass surrendered to the blades of the mower and we won but for a small time. This stuff just keeps on growing! My garden is coming to an end and yielding baskets of vegetables. Next will be the time to think about next year s planting. My trip down the Arkansas was a great time. My friend and I traveled some 425 miles on the water, going through locks and dams to get to the mighty Mississippi River. A we entered each L&D we had a chance to visit with the lock masters and their questions to us were almost always the same, Where you boys headed? they would ask. We told them that we had plans to go on down river to Baton Rouge. Of course they would then inform us that we were about to see flood stage water from the Mississippi and the rains that kept us just a bit damp as we traveled on down the Arkansas in the pontoon built for two. We had sleeping quarters, dinning area, otherwise known as The Mess and we had a generator to supply the power we needed to keep all the electronics up and running. Electronics and water, otherwise known as rain, played havoc with us the whole trip. We did take with us two of everything. Two laptops, two GPSs, two phones, two VHF radios, and a plethora of other little comforts from home. Our first day out was slow to get started but when we finally got on the water we were on our way, or so we thought. Just as we headed out of Three Rivers Marina, we ran into a submerged limb that snapped and grabbed hold of the lower unit of the engine. After that was cleared it was smooth motor-boating from there on out. We saw all manners of beautiful scenic sights on the river and quite a few barges with tugs pushing them up and down the river. Each barge carries as much as 86 semi-trailer loads and what we saw were eleven barges to one tug. Now you do the math and it becomes very quick to see why this river is called M-40. Each night we moored up to either a marina or state park and from there we were able to get some creature comforts like showers and a real toilet. Always, we slept out on the boat with the mosquito nets dropped over our beds and went to sleep to the lullaby of insects just trying to find us. As we got closer to the Mississippi River we kept talking about the high water that was coming down from upstream, a twenty foot wave or flow of water that would put the last lock we were to go through under water. So we tried our best to get to the Mississippi River only to travel up and down it and back up again to the Arkansas back about 20 some-odd miles from where these two meet. And even from that far away the river stopped its flow and began to run the other direction. It was a wise and good decision we made to forgo our trip to Baton Rouge. I guess we save that for the next big adventure. Thanks to all who had a part in allowing me this opportunity to fulfill a dream. All I need is a strong wind across my bow and a star to steer by, for the rest of my journey belongs to God. Cdr J Michael Ellis, JN Page 2

3 My View From the Boat Ramp The boat ramp is the beginning and the end of an adventure whether it be fishing, wakeboarding, tubing, or just a pleasant cruise. Most times it is a pleasant adventure, sometimes not. To me it is more than this. It is a source of amusement. The Commander is back from his Tom Sawyer trip down the Mississippi. He s been awful quiet about it. I hope he didn t do anything embarrassing on the trip that he fears will show up here in this article. I saw where the State declared the Labor Day weekend as Lake Thunderbird Safety Weekend. There were law enforcement members on the docks and launch ramps. Some were doing boat safety checks. (I wonder why we weren t invited.) They even had their boat in the water. Almost as much presence as the day after the fatal boating accident earlier this year. I wonder if this might be a first step in getting the drunks with high-powered boats off the water so that the rest of us may safely enjoy it. I understand that the city golf course at Lake Hefner has banned beer coolers on the golf course. I guess this means that if you want to have a good time and get drunk with your buddies on the weekend you have to sell your golf clubs and buy a boat. An interesting thing happened on Lake Hefner a couple of weeks ago. This fellow was launching his boat on the west ramp. He backed his boat into the water, and like a smart boater he started his engine to let it warm up before he disconnected from the trailer. Now, since the water level was high, the boat was forward abeam the fenced walkway instead of back where he could tie up to the dock. No problem, he stood on the forward deck and grabbed the fence to push the boat back a couple of feet. You guessed it. The boat started to drift away from the fence and before he knew it he was beyond the point of no return and had to make the decision to let go of the fence and fall head first onto the concrete ramp or hold onto the fence and let go of the boat. He held onto the fence and dropped into the water and got his life jacket wet among other things. He recovered and then watched his boat drift away unattached, with engine idling in neutral. No other boaters in sight. The boat drifted in the light wind toward the concrete docks in the harbor. Not too bad except that the gates to the public ramps are always locked. Fortunately, sent by the powers above, there was a lone man walking from his boat located on the far end of the dock. Seeing me waving frantically from the other dock he pointed at the boat and at me and said what would you like me to do. Bring my boat back please, it s already running and warmed up!!!!. P/C Bob Hlubin, JN PEACE LOVE LIFE JACKET Safety Officer s Report Some thoughts on severe weather...everyone must be wearing a USCG-approved life jacket! Slow down, but keep enough power to maintain headway and steering. If passengers are with you, have them sit on the vessel floor close to centerline for their safety and to make the boat more stable. If possible head for the nearest shore that is safe to approach. If already caught in the storm, it may be best to try to ride it out in open water than approach a shore in heavy wind and waves. Head the bow into the waves at a 45-degree angle. PWC's should head directly into the waves. If the engine stalls, drop a sea anchor off the bow to reduce drifting, a bucket can work as a sea anchor. If needed, drop your anchor to prevent from drifting to dangerous areas. National Weather Telephone Numbers Oklahoma City Tulsa Panhandle Respectfully submitted, Lt Jeff Penner, S Page 3

4 From the Education Office There has been another change in the ABC course. We now have four people enrolled in the ABC course and it started on 18 September. On the first day that we planned our course there was a power outage and we had to postpone the course one week. The course is being held at the same place that we hold our meetings, Crown Heights Christian Church, 4020 N. Western. The course will run for five consecutive Tuesdays. If you or anyone you know is interested in this course, or any other course, contact me Bob Hlubin at (405) If no answer, please leave a message or at bob.hlubin@cox.net. Danny will be presenting the instructor refresher course during the fall conference so we will be able to get all of our instructors recertified. We haven t started the N course yet. I ll try to keep you posted. Cost $150. POC for this course is Dave McGee I hope to start a Piloting course this fall if we have any interest. I don t have a materials cost yet but will keep you advised. If you have a course you are interested in, please let me know. If we can t schedule a formal course maybe you would like to study on your own. You can buy or borrow a course book, study on your own, and take the test. One of our instructors can go one-on-one with you to review the material before the test. (It s a tough job but somebody must do it.) That s why know that I am somebody. P/C Bob Hlubin, JN Education Officer Lake Hefner Cleanup Report On Saturday, 15 September, PC Steve Bryant JN, our new Environmental Chair, mustered formidable forces to fight trash on the Western shore of Lake Hefner. Armed with Oklahoma City Beautiful-supplied grabbers, sacks and gloves we modern-day heroes set out to conquer a plethora of litter only to find that record-high water, and possibly another cleanup group, had taken care of most of it. We bagged just enough trash to fill up the bed of Steve s pickup with room left on the tailgate for Ron to hitch a ride. It made us a little nervous when one, and then two, police cars began to tail them. Fortunately they lost em at the pass. Bob Hlubin found a golf ball. Ron found two golf balls. We weren t sure what to call the award for this. We enjoyed Ron-dogs, fixin s and sides just in time to catch a little rain and leave before the downpour. Thanks to everyone who participated and especially Steve and Glenda, for helping to make our city beautiful! Page 4

5 OKLAHOMA CITY SAIL and POWER SQUADRON Members Business Meeting Minutes 1 October 2018 Lt/C Ron Huff P, called the meeting to order at 1900 at Crown Heights Christian Church. Cdr Mike Ellis JN, arrived shortly thereafter and assumed the helm. The following were in attendance: Lt Peggy Anglin P, P/C Steve Bryant JN, Cdr Mike Ellis JN, P/C Bob Hlubin JN, Lt/C Ron Huff P, P/C Dave McGhee SN, Linda Sadler, Glenda Sims and Roberta Swann. Pledge of Allegiance & Invocation - The pledge and invocation were led by Lt/C Ron Huff P. Secretary - Lt/C Marilyn Goss was not in attendance. Lt Peggy Anglin P, moved to approve the minutes of the September business meeting as printed in the Dinghy Painter, seconded by Lt/C Huff P. Motion carried. Dinghy Painter - Lt Anglin P, has sufficient content for the Dinghy Painter. Treasurer - P/D/C Danny Goss JN, was not in attendance. He previously ed a Treasurer s Report to the board and officers. Executive Officer - Lt/C Huff P, asked for the following reports: Web Site - P/D/C Goss JN, was not in attendance. Web site is up-to-date. Public Relations - Cdr Ellis JN, discussed Legislation - P/C McGhee SN, stated the 1 October change in liquor laws is in full swing. Safety Officer - Lt Jeff Penner S, submitted a Safety Report which is printed in the Dinghy Painter. Education Officer - P/C Bob Hlubin JN, stated the ABC course started on 18 September, a week later than scheduled due to a power outage. No one from the squadron has showup up to welcome the students. See his report in the Dinghy Painter for more details. Administrative Officer - Position open. Lt/C Huff P, asked for the following reports: Membership - Lt/C Marilyn Goss P, sent word that current membership remains at 33. Environmental Committee - Lt Karen Roeseler SN, has resigned as Environmental Chair. P/C Steve Bryant JN has agreed to assume this position. Yay, Steve! See the Dinghy Painter for a Lake Hefner Cleanup report. Social Activities - Lt Huff P, discussed upcoming social functions. See the Dinghy Painter for details. Commanders Report - Cdr Ellis JN, discussed the Czech Parade. We are entry number 63! New Business - Cdr Ellis JN stated there would be a conference call tomorrow to update bylaws. Glenda Sims gave a report on D21 Conference registration. Once registration is complete, tickets will be printed and a stuffing party will be planned to assemble goody bags for attendees. Register NOW! Lt/C Anglin P, made a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Lt/C Hlubin, motion carried. Respectfully, Dinghy Painter Editor Redesigned nametags which incorporate the United States Power Squadron logo are now available. 1 magnetic tags with Name and Squadron are $ /4 tags with Name, Squadron and Current Position are $10.50 Orders may be submitted through Karen Roeseler SN. Send printed name and check made out to OCSPS to P/D/Lt Karen Roeseler, SN at 3504 Marston Circle, OKC, OK or kroeseler@gmail.com. Please include a daytime phone number or with your order in case she has Lt Peggy Anglin, P

6 2018 OCSPS CALENDAR 1 October Members Business Meeting 6 October Czech Festival Parade, Yukon 11 October Royal Bavarian Restaurant, Moore 2-4 November District 21 Fall Conference, OKC 5 November Members Business Meeting 3 December Members Business Meeting 4 December Christmas Party at Church of the Resurrection The crickets still sing in October. And lilly, she's trying to bloom. Tho she's resting her head on the shoulder of death, she still shines by the light of the moon. Kevin Dalton - Faubush Hill The DINGHY PAINTER is the official monthly publication of the Oklahoma City Sail & Power Squadron. The deadline for materials submitted for publication is noon the day after the Members Business Meeting. Materials submitted for publication will not be returned unless prior arrangements have been made. Items may be sent to the Editor at: anglin@swbell.net or Lt Peggy Anglin P, 6529 Chelsey Ln, Okla City, OK DINGHY PAINTER Oklahoma City Sail & Power Squadron 6529 Chelsey Lane Oklahoma City, OK (DATED MATERIAL) PLEASE DO NOT DELAY