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From the Commander
Cdr (elect)  J. Stephen Yeomans, P

First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to say "thank you" to the membership of the Charleston Power Squadron for allowing me the chance to take on the role as Commander for this upcoming year. I can truly say that I am excited at the challenge and humbled by the responsibility. As I look at the roster of Past Commanders, there is no question that I have very large shoes to fill. To deal with the assorted opportunities / tasks / projects that arise in the course of a year, I pledge to the Squadron the following:

Accessibility - I will be available anytime to anyone in this Squadron for whatever reason (ideas / solutions / problems / etc.). My information in the directory is correct, but here is a quick list of information to reach me:
Home: (843) 869-7808
Mobile: 296-6465
E-mail: Stevejy@aol.com

Accountability - I will look to the incoming Bridge (as well as myself) to successfully and completely accomplish the tasks assigned to their individual departments. Thissquadron has close to 200 members, and there is simply no reason that positions within departments are sometimes left unfilled. Committees aren't committees if there is only one person assigned to them, and often the same people are called upon to do the work of many. This dilemma has gotten better in recent years, and I simply want to continue the trend of more member participation. In the next few weeks, members of the Bridge will be approaching people for different positions in the squadron. Please say "yes" if you are approached or, better yet, volunteer for whatever you are interested in (membership, hospitality, public liaison, safety, etc.).

Excited Determination - My personal interest, both privately and professionally, is not "if we can", but "how we can". There are so many possibilities facing the squadron right now, and I want to explore as many of them as feasible. This is where the thoughts / ideas / interest from the membership really comes into play, and I ask that as opportunities present themselves this year that they are brought to the membership's attention.

This year presents us with more planned basic boating courses than we have had in the past, more budgeted money for more advertising to get our word to the people of the area we serve, and more interest in our organization from the established boating community than anytime in recent memory. We have been asked by four different locations to teach our basic courses, all four being in different parts of Charleston County.

We are fortunate to also have our own headquarters facility, and we are exploring options for upgrades to that building (if you have interest, see me). These upgrades will, of course, be discussed at the January ExCom meeting. We are looking at shortening the business portion of membership meetings, and continuing with the development of FUN gatherings on the second Thursday of each month. The squadron business will be dealt with at length at the Executive Committee meetings the first Thursday of each month, and all members are invited to attend. We will continue to develop our cruises for the upcoming year on the same plan as our recently successful Adopt-a-Chart cruise, with sign-up and planning well in advance, and a captain's meeting the week before the cruise to allow for more participation from members without boats. We are now "on the map", so-to-speak, with the Adopt-a-Chart program, and we will continue with our responsibility to this vital program.

You should also see more coordination with other squadrons in our district. In the district newsletter you will see published a list of other squadrons activities and the dates for those functions. I will be encouraging members from Charleston to carpool to these events and meet some of our neighboring squadron members. We have done this a bit in the past, and we have even hosted a "happy hour" at whatever marina a visiting squadron is staying at overnight. I would like to revive this practice, and will be sending invitations to cruise in Charleston waters sometime during their cruising year.

Last, I would like everyone within this squadron to be on the lookout for potential new members. Do you enjoy being a member yourself? Probably, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this newsletter. Talk up the opportunities within the squadron with friends and co-workers. Our public Boating Course is the best way to get newcomers to boating excited and involved with what we do. Our Advanced Grades appeal to the "old salts" who have been on the water for a few years already. We have so many opportunities that it seems wrong to hoard them all ourselves. MAKE THE FUNCTIONS FUN, AND THEY WILL COME. As far as I am concerned, this is our motivational statement for the year. I want everybody to be a part of the fun!

EDUCATIONAL OFFICER
Lt/C (elect) Stephen C. Kromer, P

Hi Everyone.

This is my first issue of the log as SEO. I have some big shoes to fill. P/Lt/C Steve Rawe, SN was SEO when I joined the squadron and, along with the course instructors, helped me develop at least some boating knowledge and skill. The only boating I ever did, prior to joining the squadron, was in a two-seat rowboat on a pond. Now at least I know what those red and green things sticking out of the water mean, where the dipstick on the engine is, how to read a chart, and a few other things. So thank you Steve for organizing the courses and following up to make sure that I signed up.

The Education Department is completely new this year. John Patten, SN, has agreed to serve as ASEO, replacing Carol Pelow. I have also recruited (read begged, cajoled, pleaded, and otherwise conned) Nick Russo and Janice Kromer to help with organizing, promoting and administering the department. We had a meeting awhile back and decided to set several goals for the coming year. They are:

1. To couple some on-the-water training with squadron courses.

2. To hold additional Boat Smart and public Boating classes.

3. To teach at least one course on boating safety for children.

4. To promote boating education, safety, and the U. S. Power Squadron to young families.

So far, we have concentrated on the first goal. John Patten is reviewing the Seamanship course to structure it to incorporate on-the-water training. Glenn Workman is also looking at the AP course to see when, during the course, on-the-water practice will help reinforce the skills taught in the classroom. Our plan includes making sure that each participant has the chart for Charleston harbor and any other appropriate area. To accomplish this, we may need to raise the price of the course to cover the cost of the charts. Updates on how we are doing with this goal will be provided in the log.

The education department would like to run at least two Boat Smart and two public Boating classes. At present, we have facilities offered for at least three of these. Hobcaw Yacht Club, James Island Yacht Club and Duncan's Boat Harbor. The Charleston Maritime Center has also expressed an interest in providing facilities but we have not been able to confirm that yet. No firm schedule has been set but we plan to run a course following the winter boat show, which is in January or February. We also will run a course after the in-water boat show in May or June. The others are planned for the fall but they can be earlier or we can add courses as demand increases. We would like to hold the children's boating course over the summer but no other information is available at this point.

Nick Russo is going to work on brochures, posters, etc promoting boating safety, education and the squadron in general. His focus is to get these materials in boat stores, marinas, boat dealers, etc. I'm sure Nick would appreciate any help anyone can offer.

OK, now for the January course schedule.

Monday, 7 January 2002 - 18:30 - Advanced Piloting - Glenn Workman.
This class is limited to 6-8 students. The smaller class, when coupled with on the water training, will give the students a higher level of learning for this course.

Monday, 7 January 2002 - 18:30 - Marine Electronics - Gene Gilfillin
This is a great course. I took it last year with Gene instructing. Ever wonder why DC wire is fatter than AC wire? Ever wonder if it should be? Ever wonder what the colors mean? This course explains it all.

Monday, 7 January 2002 18:30 - Sail 101 - Mike Hamme
When I contacted Mike about teaching this course, he said he would do it WITH ENTHUSIAM . I understand that this course has not been taught for several years so all of you who want to learn sailing come on down.

Wednesday, 9 January 2002 - 1900 - JN - Ed Kridler
This is a continuation of the JN course that started in the fall. No new Students will be accepted at this point since the current class is well along in this course.

Wednesday, 6 February 2002 - 1900 - Cruise Planning - Fred Wichmann
Fred is ready willing and able to do this course. We are starting in February so Fred can recover from the holidays. Too many parties?

The new classes on Monday, 7 January 2002 will start at 1830 so that we can organize, pass out manuals, collect money, etc. After this session, the instructors and students can decide what time, day, and even where the hold these classes.

Anyone who wants to take any of these courses please contact me either by phone or email.

EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Lt/C (elect) Vince Lombardo, P

All I want for this holiday season is to be sure that I will be at least come close to the level of success achieved by my predecessors. With the nominations, elections and Change of Watch having been completed, I find myself looking forward to the responsibilities of being your new Executive Officer.

Many challenges face us in the coming year. Membership, member-involvement, VSC, Co-Operative Charting, boat shows, boating safety, member meetings, meeting programs, squadron and public education, council meetings and conferences to name some. How do we do it, when do we do it, where do we do it, how do we fund it, WHO WILL DO IT?

WHO? - an interesting question. A hand-in-hand effort of the new bridge working actively with ALL members of our squadron is the only way I see to accomplish the goals of USPS. The bridge has the primary responsibility, however, committee chairpersons, the members of each committee and, most importantly, THE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF ALL SQUADRON MEMBERS is what it will take to achieve the highest level of success toward our squadron goals. If you are a squadron member interested in finding out how to get involved, what you can do, what there is to do, who to talk to, who is responsible for what, or if you simply have a question about what USPS and Charleston Power Squadron are all about, and just don't know who to ask, PLEASE call me. I don't know all the answers, but I know how to find them. Our squadron has many, many years of experience in sail & power boating and, of equal importance, the mission, goals, and operation of USPS. Please ask!

If I have a primary goal to achieve during the coming year, it has to be working as a part of making 2002 not only a successful year but one which our membership will remember as a FUN year with new places, new experiences and fond memories of good times. Together we can do it.

Stay tuned for information about the upcoming Winter Council. Our own Mike Page will be working on a project that will be a large part of this gathering. Let's keep Charleston Power Squadron in the forefront of District 26.

Best wishes for a happy holiday season and the happiest of the New Year.
.

There is an intent to favor the vessel with the lesser ability to maneuver. It is however nowhere included in any of the language of the rules. In the rules there are vessels, power driven vessels, sailing vessels, seaplanes, vessels engaged in fishing, vessels not under command, vessels restricted in their ability to maneuver and vessels constrained by their draft. Note that "vessels constrained by their draft" appears only in the international - not in the inland rules. There is no such thing as a vessel constrained by draft in the inland rules.

There is no mention of commercial or passenger or anything indicating any preference for commercial vessels, ferries, war vessels or anything similar. There are places however where small vessels, i.e., vessels less than 20 meters in length and sailboats must not impede other vessels.

The down current right of way rule is 14d of the Inland rules and is in force only on the western rivers. It does not generally apply on international or inland waters. The normal behavior is to pass port to port.

There are actually two classical rules for avoiding other vessels: "stay out of the way of" and "not impede." In general, the "not impede" is the lesser rule requiring the maneuvering vessel to provide the not impeded vessel with sea room. The hooker is that the regular passing rules continue in a not impede situation.

See http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/rdu/m/c/mclejc/ for a superlative annotated version of the rules of the road. This document makes the rules clear or points out how muddy they are.

by Jim Donohue, from the Internet

Be sure to visit the new site of
COMMANDER BOB'S BOATING SAFETY NOTEBOOK
http://www.commanderbob.com/

It is with sad regret that I am reporting the passing of our Assistant National Educational Officer, A. Currie Munce, SN. Currie served on the Advanced Piloting Committee, was very instrumental is developing the module program for our courses, and served as Chairman of the Advanced Courses Division prior to being elected to the position of ANEO. Currie was also instrumental in the development of our electronic public course, America's Boating Course, a cooperative effort between the Coast Guard Auxiliary and USPS. I had the opportunity of working closely with Currie during the development of the current JN Course. Currie was a friend and a mentor, and will be sorely missed. At the November squadron meeting, I was very happy to see our squadron vote to make a donation to the USPS Educational Fund in memory of Currie. Thank you very much.

Now for some better news. This issue of The Palmetto Log is a combination December/January issue. There are a number of activities coming up in these two months, starting with the CPS Change of Watch on 8 December. The activities associated with the USPS Annual Meeting at Orlando will commence on 2 January, with the meeting itself on 5 January. Between these two events, we have the Christmas and New Year holidays.

On behalf of Cindy and I, we wish you all a very happy holiday season.

Fred Says!

Back in 1964 when my son was three he and I embarked in our 26ft gaff cutter, bound for Charleston from Swansboro, N.C. Although it was September, the weather was good, and our trusty one cylinder eight horsepower Palmer inboard faithfully labored us along at about four knots, not counting tide. Trying to make distance and time has always been my way of life, and ten o'clock Saturday night found us sailing down the Cape Fear River, with a thirty-knot nor'easter on our port quarter. Fortunately, Bunky, my three-year-old son had decided to go to sleep, and I was really making good time, although we were running against the tide. With the wind blowing against that strong flood stream, there was quite a little chop setting up in the big Cape Fear River, but we were taking it fairly well.

The FAIR WIND was double ended, an old converted lifeboat, with a fixed five-foot keel, but sturdy for the seas being encountered. Unfortunately the mast had been hastily constructed, and the running backstays had not been rigged. As the wind increased so did the pressure of the gaff on the mast and, as usually happens, in the darkness of night the mast gave way with the entire rig going over-board in the heaving dark seas. Since they were still attached to the stays the gaff and mast clung to the side of the boat, along with that valuable sail. Thankfully Bunky slept thru this episode and after about forty-five minutes all the wreckage was safely lashed aboard.

At this fateful point it immediately became obvious we had drifted, still in that terrible chop, in among the rotted pilings of an old dock, long since gone away. The boat was rising up some four feet on the crests of the waves, then coming down with a fateful crash as they passed. Quickly the engine had to be started, hand-cranked, and she faithfully fired off only to die almost immediately since we had taken enough water, leaking thru the fearless hull, to drown out the since spark plug. Drying it off and pumping the bilges took only a few more frenzied minutes, and another hearty turn on the flywheel saw her spring into action again. Running lights were out of the question since the mast had taken all of them with her when she went, but my eyes had long ago adjusted to the dark and it was no problem to find our way back to the main channel.

Having no searchlight we could see for miles, even to the huge naval vessel proceeding up-river, into the wind but against the tide, their huge searchlight lighting up practically all of North Carolina, except us, in that tiny little boat. Thankfully we had had enough warning, seeing them approaching at flank speed from afar, and we were able to slink off to the outer edge of the channel, not quite far enough to escape their enormous wake however. Manfully we crested it, and continued on our way, until, finally at two in the morning, quite exhausted, a safe little anchorage presented itself, and the tired captain joined his still peacefully sleeping crew, blissfully ensconced in his warm bunk below. One final pump-out before dropping off to sleep after posting a small riding light in the cockpit.

The next morning dawned clear and comfortable, although Bunky did not quite understand why we had taken the mast, gaff and boom down. With his able assistance I was able to retrieve the sail and carefully put it away. Southport passed quietly by, and we chugged steadfastly on with the very economical little Palmer pushing us at our accustomed four knots. As we approached Little River, quietly enjoying the ride, all of a sudden an outboard came flying at us, unseen and unheard, until they flew by, just barely missing our hull and throwing a huge wave onto the two of us in the cockpit. These two cowboys ran a couple of hundred yards on up ahead, started bucking around with that overpowered outboard, throwing into reverse, full throttle, then full ahead, turning in little circles, and finally looking in our direction. I pulled the faithful old 22 rifle up from down below, and held it up for them to see however it did not seem to impress them, as they gunned the outboard and headed straight at us, full speed. I let Bunky take the helm and stood on the forward deck, again brandishing the rifle in plain sight, again with no slackened speed or direction from the two cowboys. As they came right at our bow they veered off just enough to miss hitting us. I fired one of my only two bullets thru the bottom of their boat, producing a stream of water about five feet high. They ran into the marsh then, and followed a very respectable distance behind until we passed through Little River, where we did not stop. The welcome may not have been too friendly.

Finally that afternoon, still steadily running south towards Charleston, we came up on a barge being pulled behind a tug. Try as we would, we could not get enough speed to pass them, although we tried time after time. As night approached we decided if we couldn't pass them we might as well join them, and we quietly tied astern of the barge, unbeknownst to the crew of the tug. About two in the morning we noticed they had pulled into the bank on the Waccamaw River, and one of their crew remarked, "Well, would you look at that fellow tied astern, he must have been tired." This woke my crew, Bunky, and soon he was being treated to all the goodies of the galley on the tug. Their captain informed us we might as well stay with them, as there was Hurricane DOLLY just off the coast. We could wait it out in the sheltered Waccamaw River swamp.

But time was running low for me to report to my new job so we pushed on, having had a few hours rest behind that comfortable old barge. DOLLY missed us, although it did blow pretty strongly. However the faithful little Palmer kept us on our way and we safely arrived in Charleston the next night, with very little rest the last few miles. But we were safe at home in the HOLY CITY by the Sea.