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April 1, 2008 |
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This is really getting exciting! Cher and I are just about at the point that we need a special calendar to write in all the events that our Club has planned. It is looking like this will be a record year for The Tarpon Coast Grady White Boat Club.
If you were one of the almost 40 members that attended the March meeting at our new “official clubhouse” (a.k.a. Sam Seltzer’s) I know you must have been overwhelmed by the recap that Steve gave on all the cruises and activities that he and Diann have planned. You also must have been overwhelmed by the announcement of the exciting speakers that we have booked for the upcoming meetings. And, no doubt you were impressed by the update to our Club’s sponsorship of the first annual “Gulf Coast Grady Fest” that will happen on March 28th, 2009 at the new Charlotte County Civic Center in Punta Gorda. What a Great Grady Day that will be!
Our membership is just about ready to hit the 50 boat mark, our Club activities and pictures are regularly featured in Anchorline, we are now launching our own Club web domain and we are working thru the technicalities of an on line signup to Club events. Like I said, this is really getting exciting. Oh, and one more thing…. Maybe at some point we may want to rename our club to the Tarpon Coast Grady White Boat AND SOCIAL Club. Have you noticed how many of our boats show up at cruise destinations with several members on each boat, not just the captain and first mate? Often times, these are folks that just a few months ago didn’t even know one another. In a short time many friendships and special relationships have formed. Another example of having A Great Grady Day!
I know you must share in the pride that I have in our Club. We have achieved a great deal in a very short time thru the efforts of many of you, thru the tremendous support of Lisa and all the folks at Grady and by having such a terrific group of people to boat and have fun with. We continue to encourage your suggestions on what we can do to make our Club better and I also encourage you to send any items or pictures that you want to share with us to Fred. He has reserved a special section in the newsletter for your contributions.
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Editor: Fred Buchas |
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“Please e-mail me by April 12 if you are planning to attend ” |
A Message From Fleet CaptainsSteve & Diann Saunders |
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Steve & Diann Saunders FLEET CAPTAINS
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The trip up the Peace River showed the resilience of our Grady club, although we were rained out that Saturday, the entire group that planned on boating up the Peace to the Nav-A-Gator, initiated plan “B” and all scheduled, showed up by car. We all enjoyed our lunch and agreed that we would reschedule the boating part of the lunch later in April, when the tide is again favorable. I’ll keep all informed of the next date.
The final date will be March 31 to notify Diann of who is coming for the Crow’s Nest trip to Venice. That should be another great opportunity to socialize, boat, and have a very good lunch for all.
Cabbage Key is still on track and we will keep everyone apprised of the final sign-up date so that we can reserve the seating at the restaurant at Cabbage Key.
The trip to Islamorada now has nine confirmed boats going with a few more couples coming by car. That leaves one more spot for another boat, so if you are interested please contact Steve Saunders to insure your reservation for a fun fishing/snorkeling/pool trip.
The Bar-B-Que at Don Pedro is booked and we look forward to hearing from those interested in signing up. We are looking out to the next quarter for events and welcome all comments! Safe boating to all. |
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“The final date will be March 31 to notify Diann of who is coming for the Crow’s Nest trip to Venice.” |
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“The trip to Islamorada now has nine confirmed boats going “ |
A Report From Treasurer/Web MasterDan Eisenberg |
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Dan Eisenberg TREASURER/WEB MASTER |
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As of today we have a total of 47 boats in the roster with several new boats expected shortly.
Our main source of income continues to be the 50/50 raffles we hold at the monthly dinners. The latest winning was $43. As you know we are charging $2/head to defer the cost of the room at Sam’s. We have purchased club t-shirts and burgees for resale at cost to our members. By the time you read this we will have announced the transition to a new web site. The reason we did this it to have our own address and enable further enhancements to the site in the future. I hope that everyone is taking full advantage of the information on the web regarding trip plans, information links and member contacts. The new web address is tarponcoastgwbc.com.
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“As of today we have a total of 47 boats in the roster” |
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“Check out the club photo gallery on Flicker”. |
The Safety Scene-Safety Officer Fred Buchas |
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Fred Buchas SAFETY OFFICER |
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Too many boaters think of their cell phones as their first line of defense for emergency communications. |
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“SPOT company representative to speak at our April 16th dinner meeting at Sam Seltzer’s” |
Other Items & Member News |
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A Word From The Commodore-Dan Clark |
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Upcoming Events – Mark Your Calendar: April 16, 7:00pm
Monthly Dinner meeting – The April monthly dinner meeting will be held at the Sam Seltzer’s Steakhouse in Port Charlotte. Don’t forget that we will have a 50/50 raffle with half going to the Club and the rest going to the lucky winner.
Our guest speaker at the meeting will be Dennis Branch, Regional Distribution Manager for SPOT Personal Locator. Dennis will demonstrate this new technology that alerts authorities in emergency situations. Should be very informative.
Please e-mail me by April 12 if you are planning to attend so that I can get an accurate headcount for the restaurant. Johnsemple@verizon.net
As a reminder, please remember that e-mail and our Web-site are our only means of communicating with the membership, and it is important to check your e-mail on a regular basis so that you know what is going on with the Club.
Also, your Board of Directors has decided that they wish to encourage our Club members to invite a friend or neighbor to our monthly Club meeting when the speaker’s topic would be of interest to them.
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News From The Secretary-John Semple |
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Dan Clark COMMODORE
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“Boating 911”
Wouldn’t it be nice if it was that easy to summon help in the event of a boating emergency? The fact of the matter is that it can be just about that simple provided you are prepared with the proper equipment.
Too many boaters think of their cell phones as their first line of defense for emergency communications. This is clearly a mistake given the wide range of better suited products available to us today. Our choices range from the old standby VHS radio to EPIRBS, Sat Phones, cell phones and a whole new category of tracking devices using various hybrid combinations of GPS, cell phone and satellite technology.
VHS Radio: The Coast Guard monitors channel 16 so you can call them directly provided you are within range. Your effective range will vary depending on your equipment and even weather conditions. Transmission power ranges between 1 and 25 watts, giving a maximum range of up to about 60 nautical miles between aerials mounted on tall ships and hills, and 5 nautical miles between aerials mounted on small boats at sea-level. Your VHF radio can be used for much more than just emergency communications so it is truly a multi function device. They can purchased in either fixed mount or hand held versions but a fixed mount with a permanently mounted antenna will get better range.
EPIRB: (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons) these have continued to evolve since their introduction in the early 80’s. Without getting too technical these are usually dual transmitter units. One is for transmitting your position to satellites which in turn transmit that information to the Coast Guard and the other transmitter sends a signal that works as a homing beacon for Search and Rescue to find you quicker. Some units also have GPS capabilities so that they can transmit your exact coordinates. They are usually designed to be mounted on your vessel and are triggered by contacting the water or by manual activation. EPIRB’s may be initially a bit more expensive than some other locating devices but there are no subscription costs and the battery should last 5-10 years or until used.
Cell Phones: They can certainly be valuable but their range on the water is their primary limitation. I have personally found that my cell phone gets virtually no reception at Cayo Costa and even in good cases it won’t work very far off shore. If you dial 911 from your cell phone you are never sure who is going to pick up and if they are going to be able to locate you readily without position information from you.
Satellite Phones: Similar to cell phones but without the range limitation. Some types can be used anywhere on the planet. The main drawbacks are high initial cost and fairly high monthly subscription costs. The fact that it is satellite based means that it is much like a GPS in that it must be used outdoors with a clear view of the sky or in a vessel with an outside mounted external antenna.
Hybrids: I call this category Hybrids because they include units that use various combinations of the above mentioned technology. They usually fall into one of two categories. One is usually designed to track things like boats, cars etc. and the other is for people. They differ considerably in initial price, size, battery life and monthly subscription fees etc. The ones that only use cell phone technology while being superior in being able to track even indoors in some cases would not be well suited to marine use because of the cell phone range restrictions.
This brings me to one of the newest entrants in this hybrid category. It’s called the SPOT Satellite Messenger and it combines satellite phone and GPS technology for a device that’s small, portable and capable of working in many off shore areas where cell phone technology won’t.
Dan Clark and I first saw this at the Miami Boat Show and Dan managed to arrange for a company representative to speak at our April 16th dinner meeting at Sam Seltzer’s. This would be a great opportunity to hear from an expert about this new emerging technology and how or if it might work for you.
I personally haven’t found any one product that “does it all” but rather a combination of products that best address my own needs. That’s probably the case for most of us.
I think the bottom line here is that we should all reassess our emergency communication needs periodically especially in light of the ever changing options available to us. We all spend a great deal on insurance to protect our boats and fuel to keep them running but perhaps we are not putting a high enough priority on our own safety in the event of an emergency. |
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John Semple SECRETARY |
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Copyright © 2008 Tarpon Coast Grady-White Boat Club All rights reserved |
Our Vice Commodore-Burt Wahlburg |
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Ahoy!
It’s the time of year that we truly enjoy cruising both to our favorite ports of call and fishing with friends and neighbors. The temperatures are beginning to rise and hopefully the winds will begin to subside, maybe someday soon!! In preparation for the long awaited cruises now is the perfect time to look back on the previous year’s experiences and take that inventory of items currently on the boat and items we should have had along, pillows come to mind on the Key West trip., and luckily one of our fellow members came to the rescue. (Thanks Doug and Cat Cox!)
Be sure to check all systems, ensuring they are working properly. Flushing and sanitizing the water tank, checking the bilge for unexpected visitors..(yes, our little lizard’s and an occasional unwanted four legged creature have found their way onboard, even up on the lift. (Can you say “fruit rat?”) In addition one should take stock of spare parts that might be needed on an extended cruise; spare bulbs, fuel filters, hydraulic oil , and the never to be forgotten duct tape, which can temporarily hold together loose wires, and the torn hem on a pair of pants!
Being members of a club like ours usually ensures that one our fellow members will come to the rescue, but being self sufficient in case of an unexpected side trip is worth the time spent in preparation. An ounce of prevention and forethought goes a very long way in making a pleasurable vacation cruise which will leave plenty of time for relaxing and spending time with fellow club members and making new acquaintances. |
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Burt Wahlburg VICE COMMODORE
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I’m still looking for member contributions. It could be almost anything that would be of interest to the membership. It could include your personal fishing or cruising stories or just information about hot fishing spots, dining or cruising destinations etc.
Fred Buchas fbuchas1@comcast.net |
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“take stock of spare parts that might be needed on an extended cruise” |
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“Member Distribution by Town” |
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Gene Quindlen, Regional Product Trainer for Garmin, is shown demonstrating the latest in touch screen technology at the March 19th Club meeting. |