Rolling Along

Vessel Examiners, our front line members in Recreational Boating
Safety are rolling right along in 2014.

As of the beginning of April our 1672 Vessel Examiners have initiated
2631 Vessel Exams with 2454 passing.

Also I am seeing new VSEs weekly who have taken the 'On-line Vessel
Safety Check' and joining our ranks to get out and pass on our Safety
Message to the boating public.

Stf/C Lee R. Chasse, AP
USPS Safety/VSC Vice Chair

====================================
Stf/C Lee R. Chasse,AP
USPS Safety/VSC Vice Program Chair
Boating is Fun - Let us show you how
====================================

2014 VSC Decals

Ahoy All. I have been informed the mailing of the 2014 VSC Decals
will begin this coming Friday. Decals will go out at the rate of 150%
of individuals 2013 totals. It will be the VSC Chair at Squadron
level to decide what total each VE initially gets. At least 60% of
the initial issue must be utilized before any additional decals will
be given out. Decals above the 150% amount must be justified at the
HQ USPS Safety/VSC level. A letter will be inclosed for Squadron VSC
Chairs and District VSC Chairs to explain the new requirements for
them. Stf/C Lee R. Chasse, Safety/VSC Chair

===========================
Scanned inside and out by
Microsoft Security Essentials
===========================

2013 History Report

All squadrons and districts should now be working on their 2013 history report.  Remember the history report goes from Change of Watch  2013 to Change or Watch 2014.    Once each report is finished, send it in electronically from you DB2000.  Make sure you update your database program to the latest version.  Use

 http://usps.org/php/historian/historysearch.php to see what history reports in your squadron and district have been completed. 

 

If you have questions, please contact the person working with your district or me

 

Stf/C Margaret K. Miller, S  918-786-9338 or pegymiller74344@aol.com

Your VSC Website

Ahoy Members
Just a reminder that your VSC Website at www.usps.org/national/vsc is
updated with informative items.
Insure your browser updates/refreshes each time you visit the site
to insure you are seeing current information.
Thank You
Stf/C Lee R. Chasse, AP
USPS Safety/VSC Program Chair


===========================
Scanned inside and out by
Microsoft Security Essentials
===========================

USPS Signs Agreement With Marriott

Ahoy, district commanders and conference chairmen, USPS has signed an agreement with the Marriott Group of hotels. When you choose the Marriott Group for a future conference, you will be offered discount room pricing, and your district can earn Marriott Reward points to use at its discretion. This also benefits USPS. You provide your requirements; Marriott will do the walking. We put you together, and you start talking. Click below for more information. — Nigel E. Hargreaves

READ MORE www.usps.org/php/marriott

---

CPR & First Aid Facts

Cardiovascular disease continues to be the number one cause of death in the United States. The Center for Disease Control attributes 831,000 deaths each year to cardiovascular disease. CDC further estimates that 456,000 heart-related deaths occur each year before the victim reaches the hospital. If a person experiencing sudden cardiac arrest receives a shock from a defibrillator and CPR within the first four minutes, there is a 62 percent chance of full recovery.

In major metropolitan areas of our country, the average response time for an EMT/Paramedic to arrive at the scene of a person in distress is 10 minutes from the time a call is received. When medical emergencies occur on the water, however, entry into the Emergency Medical System takes significantly longer than it does on land. Due to the delay in getting help, boaters have a greater need to recognize the signs and symptoms of a person in distress and know the proper procedures to save the lives of crew or guests aboard their vessels. In the Chesapeake Bay, the Baltimore Sector of the U.S. Coast Guard estimates the average response time for help to arrive at the scene of a medical emergency, remove the victim(s) from the vessel, and deliver them to the EMS, is 1.75 hours and may be as long as 2.75 hours.

The U.S. Coast Guard recognizes the value of a quick, appropriate response to a medical emergency and recommends that every boater

• be trained in CPR and first aid,
• have an Automated External Defibrillator on board, and
• have a first aid kit appropriate to the anticipated time for entry into the EMS.

CPR & First Aid training is being made available to USPS members on 16 Jan. at our Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, Fla.

More information and registration forms are available at http://www.usps.org/national/safety/cpr-1staid+.html or by contacting me, CPR & First Aid National Chairman, Alan Karpas, at USPS.CPR1stAid@gmail.com or 301-767-5905.

USPS Monthly Broadcast Input

There are new USPS Course and seminars available online through University of West Florida. Courses are Seamanship, Weather, and Sail. There are 18 seminars and several under development. Go to UWF.edu Continuing Education - Maritime Studies - USPS Online courses. There is a link on the USPS home web page.

The Education Outreach Committee needs several members to help develop the online material and others to narrate the presentations. Either submit a USPS Resume of contact the EOCom Chair.

R/C Wilbur Hugli, SN
EOCom


--
Dr. Wilbur Hugli
wilhugli@cox.net
whugli@uwf.edu
850.863.0874

USPS Broadcast

As USPS moves toward different educational material presentation modes there is a critical need for members will special capabilities. If you have experience in developing online course content, content scripting, narrating, and learning management system (LMS) applications USPS Education Outreach Committees needs you. LMS experience with D2L, Blackboard, Camtasia, Composia, or Inquisiq would be a great help. For additional information contact: R/C Wil Hugli or Stf/C Don Stone.

R/C Wil Hugli
EOCom

--
Dr. Wilbur Hugli
wilhugli@cox.net
whugli@uwf.edu
850.863.0874

Squadron Activities Committee Needs You!

The Squadron Activities Committee needs your input.  Please send photos and descriptions of one of your squadron’s 2012 activities to us.  We are collecting information about all the different ways squadrons exercise the three sides of the USPS triangle: education, community service, fellowship.  Send your entries by email to Stf/C Paula Mizell, JN at paula.mizell@gxs.com.   Also we are always looking for new members for the committee.  So if you want to join please send in your resume and we will contact you.  We especially need a webmaster.  Hope to see you all in Detroit.

 

STF/C Paula Mizell, JN

 

USPS Budget Committee Needs You

The USPS Budget Committee is looking for a new member who is an expert in creating and using large Excel spreadsheets and has experience verifying calculations in existing models with multiple linking sheets and equations as well as creating and verifying new sheets, equations, and links. The majority of work can be completed online from December to May. If you are interested, please update your resume, indicating an interest in the Budget Committee Excel model.

Budget Committee Job Description: The Budget Committee Excel worksheet is a tool used to gather data and recommend a budget for the next fiscal year. It’s also used to record historical budgets and actual expenses over the past several years. As USPS committees and tasks are added and subtracted during the year new equations, sheets, and links must be created and verified while preserving the historical records. During the budget development process revenue, expenses and rationale created by USPS committees for hundreds of accounting codes will be provided for your entry into the model. As the budget creation process continues, you will create new sheets and links and enter the data displaying the detailed Budget Committee recommended revenue, expense and rationale for the next year.  During creation of the new sheets all of the requests and rationale submitted by the various departments must be preserved. After the Board of Directors approves the budget you will enter the new data into the model.  –Nigel Hargreaves

 

USPS Broadcast Sail Course

USPS Sail 09 course is now available onlline through the University of West Flroida.

R/C Wilbur Hugli, SN
Education OUtreach Committee

--
Dr. Wilbur Hugli
wilhugli@cox.net
whugli@uwf.edu
850.863.0874

CPR and First Aid Training to be Conducted in Jacksonville

The Governing Board of the USPS has recognized CPR and First Aid training as an important part of safe boating skills and has established a new program to provide this training to all members. 

At the USPS National Meeting in Jacksonville, FL, the Safety Committee has made arrangements for interested members to take this life saving training.  Members will have the choice of taking the course on Wednesday, 25 January or on Thursday, 26 January.  For those of you who have taken CPR in the past, please be aware the standards have changed as of January, 2011.  Because of the new procedures, both the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association recommend recertification.  Information and registration forms can be found in the SailAngle – USPS Group – File Cabinet or by contacting P/C Alan Karpas, JN.

This course is unique in that is a combination of the American Heart Association’s Heart Saver First Aid, CPR/ AED for Adult and Child with an additional module devoted to “Special Medical Concerns for Boaters^©”.  This section was written by USPS member, Dr. James A. Brown, JN.  Dr. Brown holds a USCG Master’s License and is an avid international boater.

As part of the USPS objective of making the Jacksonville boating public aware of our presence, a public course is being offered on Tuesday, 24 January.  Public Service Announcements and other marketing information are being sent to the Jacksonville media promoting the USPS involvement in safe boating through this program.

P/C Alan Karpas, JN

USPS Safety Committee

301-767-5905

alankarpas@verizon.net

 

#######

 

Cooperative Charting credits for mileage eliminated

Effective for the remaining 2011-2012 Cooperative Charting year, the national Cooperative Charting Committee, in conjunction with NOAA, has removed all program credits obtained for mileage.

The committee found that a disproportionately large number of program credits were being issued for mileage compared with those issued for information in the report. The committee believes that mileage credits should not exceed credits earned for reported information.

This change affects all reports except those already processed by NOAA as of 1 May 2011.

The committee believes this decision will allow all reports to be evaluated on the quality of the information they contain.

To maintain the credit level necessary to achieve Honor Roll recognition, the base report credits have been increased by an amount that should counterbalance the average number of credits lost by eliminating mileage.

Area representatives will closely monitor the amount of time spent on reports. In general, the amount of time per report will be limited to a maximum of 14 hours, allowing for a maximum of 8 hours’ field time and 6 hours’ processing time. For now, exceptions would be granted only if a district chairman, national committee member or NOAA requests additional field data to verify a questionable area of a depth survey. However, this additional time should not exceed the original time spent.

To encourage their participation and compensate for the removal of mileage credits, inland squadrons can receive additional credits for reports found to meet specified criteria.

The committee did not come to this decision lightly. After discussing and reviewing different ideas, we determined that this was the best, most practical method to make the adjustments.

The Cooperative Charting Program’s main goal is to provide NOAA with quality data to keep our nautical charts updated while recognizing everyone for their participation. The committee continues to look for ways to refine the credit system to achieve this goal. –Jim Strothers

BOC small craft boat size

The USPS Boat Operator Certification program starts out with single-engine, small (under 26 feet) boats with the boat size getting larger as you progress through the program.

The program was specifically designed to start out with single-engine small boats regardless of the boat typically used by the operator because:
1. Most skills and knowledge that are used in a small boat will transfer to a larger craft.
2. A smaller boat alows one person to do the maneuvers.
3. Smaller boats allow the operators to feel the maneuvers and to see the results immediately.
4. Single engines take more skill to maneuver in tight quarters; the use of twin engines and bow thrusters relies too much on the boat and not on the abilities of the operator to do the maneuvers
5. Small craft generally have less gear and equipment on board to worry about during high-speed maneuvers, allowing the operator and instructor to concentrate on the training and spend less time worrying about the operation of the larger boat.
6. The certification is to demonstrate you understand the forces acting on a boat and the resultant responses. This will stay with you as you change the type of boat you use.

 

Chris Windeler

Fly Your Ensign Proudly

As we all know, “USPS” does not stand for the “United States Postal Service.” It is the abbreviation for the “United States Power Squadrons”, a proud organization that will shortly celebrate its 100^th anniversary. Like Coca Cola, UPS, and most other entities, we have our own logo, the USPS Ensign. 

          For our Centennial Anniversary in 2014, a special Ensign is being designed. As we prepare for that event, we want to increase our display of pride and to advertise it to our fellow boaters. Too many have no idea what we are about.

          In my last two years of cruising in our sailboat around the New Jersey, New York and New England waters (the home base of four districts with more than 5,000 members), I SPOTTED ONLY 3 ENSIGNS.  ARE THE REST OF YOU HIDING?

1)   ARE YOU PROUD TO FLY THE ENSIGN?

2)   ARE YOU TRYING TO GROW OUR MEMBERSHIP?

3)   DO YOU NEED NEW MEMBERS TO HELP IN CARRYING OUT OUR IMPORTANT MISSION?

4)   DO YOU SUPPORT THE USPS, ITS AIMS AND OBJECTIVES?

 

Hopefully these all apply, and it is just a matter of an oversight that has to be addressed.

          To encourage the display of the ensign on our member boats, District 4 ran a “Spot the Ensign” competition and raffle. When spotting a boat flying the Ensign, a member would hail that boat and gather details concerning the vessel’s name, its captain and the sighting location. This data was reported to the District and entered in a raffle, with a winner drawn and a $100 prize awarded at the annual conference. The reporting boat, if flying also flying the Ensign, was also entered. An additional $25 was added if the entrant was actually present at the conference.

          The above program could be run on a district or multi-district level. The USPS Marketing Committee will hold a similar program at the national level and welcomes your comments or questions. Contact me, P/D/C David J. Meshulam, AP.

          Flying the ensign should be a privilege and thus sought after by new members looking for the recognition of being part of our elite organization.

 

P/D/C David J. Meshulam, AP

Liaison to Boating Clubs

Marketing and Public Relations Committee

 

ABC3 Classroom Trial Membership A Smashing Success, Has Cutoff Dates

Word is coming in that squadrons are seeing great success recruiting new members using the ABC3 Trial Membership Program. Under the program squadrons may choose to offer students that successfully complete the ABC3 Classroom course membership in their squadron free for six months. The offer is good for the students’ household members as well. Squadrons are regularly reporting over 90% of students joining.

There are a couple of rules:

The squadron must register the class and the students using the online HQ800 program and/or BCA 7.

The new member must complete a MemCom1 and the squadron must submit the membership data electronically.

There is a time limit:

For classes ending before 1 May, the students must accept membership and the online information must be entered prior to 30 May. For classes ending 1 May or later, the cutoff date is 30 days after the class end.

Check out the Membership Committee web site, www.usps.org/national/membership , for more information.

Don’t stop recruiting after signing up the new member. Get them to a meeting, to a rendezvous, and into a class. ABC3 Classroom Trial – the hottest thing going!

V/C Robert A. Baldridge, SN

New Weather Seminars!

A new weather seminar – Basic Weather and Forecasting – will be available for online ordering shortly. The full color seminar guide complete with notes is at the printer now. The new seminar is more comprehensive than the present weather seminar. It is a must for boaters who have not taken a weather course. In addition to the new seminar guide, participants also will receive the QuickGuide – Onboard Weather Forecasting. As a heads-up, a new seminar – Marine Weather Forecasting – will be offered on the internet as a webinar on June 14 at  2000 EDT. With its emphasis on the 500 mb chart, the webinar, a USPS Ed Department first, will particularly appeal to coastal and offshore cruisers.  Watch for details next month.

Marine Environment Committee  

Blast for December

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE AT EXPO.  At the February 2011 USPS Annual Meeting, there will be space provided at EXPO to display the District and Squadron award winning newsletters.  If your district or squadron newsletter is one of among those so recognized, please hand-carry only 25 copies of it to the meeting for display at our committee tables.  By sharing in this way, others can have an example of what is expected in a newsletter that is presented the Distinctive Communicator Award.  The logo for this award will be on our committee website for editors to pull down and use in the pages of newsletters and on websites.

 

A pin has been created and approved to be worn only by those staff members whose productions are given the "Distinctive Communicator" award for 2010.  These pins are available through the Ship's Store on line (http://www.shopusps.org) or by phone.  Only a small number of these pins will be on hand at the USPS Annual Meeting in February, so order early.  The names of award winning newsletters and websites will be published on the Communications Committee website and in The Ensign early in 2011.

 

R/C Brenda Joyce, P

Communications Committee

bjoyce2000@aol.com

817-292-9549 

 

 

Increase in Ship's Store Shipping Charges

Shipping charges for Ship’s Store purchases have not increased in five years while shipping costs have increased between 4 to 6 percent each year.  Effective 1 Dec. 2010, the following shipping charges will apply for Ship’s Store purchases.

 

Purchase price                                  Shipping charge

$1.00 - $4.99                                       $5.00

$5.00 - $10.00                                     $7.00

$10.01 - $20.00                                  $7.95

$20.01 - $30.00                                  $8.45

$30.01 - $50.00                                  $9.95

$50.01 - $100.00                                $11.95

$100.01 - $200.00                              $13.95

$200.01 - $300.00                              $15.95

$300.01 and up                                  $17.95

 

Mary Catherine Berube

USPS Headquarters Executive Director

Proposed Labeling Requirements for Dispensing Gasoline with Greater Than 10% Ethanol (E15) and Request for Comments

 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a regulatory program to help mitigate the potential for misfueling certain engines, vehicles, and equipment with gasoline containing greater than 10% by volume ethanol up to 15% ethanol (E15).  The proposed rule would require all E15 gasoline fuel dispensers to have a label if a retail station chooses to sell E15 and seeks comment on separate labeling requirements for fuel blender pumps and fuel pumps that dispense E85.

At this time E15 is only approved for use in cars and light trucks 2007 model year and newer.  It is not approved for use in any on-road vehicles 2000 model year or older nor any off-road engines (including heavy duty engines, ATVs, lawn mowers, boats, etc.).  At this time, EPA is still evaluating the effects of its use in cars and light trucks model years 2001-2006 and will render a decision in the future.

All gas stations that choose to sell E15 will have to upgrade their dispensing systems/add additional dispensers to allow for the sale of both E10 (currently in use) and the newly approved E15.  The US EPA has proposed a label to alert customers as to which fuel they are dispensing in their vehicle.

AUTHORS OPINION:  Given the severity of potential damage E15 could do to an engine not designed to use it and the complete indemnification of the USEPA and gas station for selling E15, I personally think such a label is useless in protecting the public interest.  If EPA’s intent is to increase the use of this product, they should require vehicles and dispensing containers to be fitted with a mechanical interlock that prevents E15 from being used in unapproved vehicles and engines. 

In addition, I also believe that EPA should require a testing/tracking program to ensure that E15 blended at a terminal can be tracked to a station so that terminal and station owners can be held accountable for dispensing E15 to non-approved vehicles (e.g. if E15 is sent to marinas).

Comments on this proposal should be submitted by January 3, 2011.  75 Fed. Reg. 68043  (November 4, 2010).  I encourage all members to submit any comments they feel appropriate regarding this proposed regulatory program.

—Sam Insalaco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Mon, Nov 15, 2010 at 8:20 AM, Yvonne Hill <hilly@hq.usps.org> wrote:

Hi Sam,

 

Can you please send text of what is on SailAngle so we can also post on USPS bulletin. I want to avoid upsetting our members.

 

Thanks,
Yvonne

  

 

 

Yvonne Hill • Editor • USPS

P.O. Box 31664 • Raleigh, NC 27622

888-367-8777 • Fax 888-304-0813

The Ensign magazine •  USPS Compass

 

 

From: JotForm [mailto:noreply@jotform.com]
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2010 8:15 AM
To: Yvonne Hill
Subject: New Submission: USPS Monthly Broadcast

 

 

--
Sam Insalaco

www.bereapowersquadron.org
www.usps.org
www.northcoastboating.com