December 2012

Volume 59 No. 4

A publication of the Nobscot Sail & Power Squadron Inc.

Commander Rodney Kidder’s Message

Happy Holidays! December is a busy time for most of us as we

prepare for multiple holiday gatherings with family, friends, co-workers, and fellow boaters. Nobscot’s holiday party will be on Wednesday December 19th (details are later in the Rhumbline, and I hope everyone can make it.

Looking back on the past month, our Squadron has been busy. We had the Fall District Conference at the beginning of November, and the Nobscot 50th Anniversary Party just before Thanksgiving. I would say that both events were great successes, well attended, and enjoyed by all those that came.

I would like to thank Katie Wright for doing all the planning and coordinating for the 50th Anniversary Party. I think I can speak for all those there that everything was done to perfection, from the catering to the decorations. I would like to thank Steve Eak-man for contributing over 300 photos of past Squadron events that were used in an on-going slideshow. He told me that he has over 1200 photos, and that was before he took about 100 more at the party. I would also like to thank Bob Grady for the presentation of the history of our Squadron; it was very informative and a great tribute to our Squadron. I would like to also thank Frank Marobella and Jim and Dot Mello for additional photos; Don Hagen for helping edit the historian’s report, and to all the other members who helped put this event together. I would finally like to thank all 43 people who attended, all our esteemed past commanders, and the entire membership for supporting the Squadron for 50 years. Congratulations to you all!

The Fall District Conference was actually a 3 district conference, including our neighboring districts that cover the North Shore (D-18), and Cape Cod and Rhode Island (D-14). Chief Commander John Alter was in attendance and we had a number of occa-sions to have open dialog with him about some of the challenges that the Squadron is facing, as well getting some insight about what is happening at a national level. In addi-tion to the typical awards, business meeting, and presentations, there was the opportu-nity to attend a flare demonstration and a survival suit demonstration.

The flare demonstration was very interesting, where they compared SOLAS flares (flares that meet the requirements of “Safety of Life at Sea”) to your standard USCG ap-proved flares that you typically see on recreational boats. The difference was almost lit-erally night and day. They tested smoke signals, handheld flares, and aerial flares. The SOLAS flares were brighter, safer, easier to use, and were visible much longer. I think the difference was most noticeable with the aerial flare. The typical 12ga pistol type was

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fired first, and I wasn’t able to see it at all. Granted, it was a bright and sunny day and we were facing toward the sun, but we all know that boating accidents don’t always hap-pen in bad weather. The SOLAS flare is more like a firework. You point it up and down-wind, and pull a cord to fire. The flare takes off like a firework leaving a smoke trail that we could all see in the bright daylight. It went up around 1,000 feet, and then a para-chute opened and it floated down over the next several minutes. The flare itself was bright enough in the daylight to easily pick it out, and there would be no mistaking this for anything but what it was, an emergency signal. I did some research when I got home, and it turns out a SOLAS flare kit runs about double the cost of what you have now ($200-$400 for a near coastal kit). The instructor put it into perspective for me- ask-ing “What is your life worth?” Next year, we will have SOLAS flares onboard our boat.

The survival suit demonstration was also eye-opening. We have had a speaker come and talk to us at our monthly meeting about hypothermia, , but it never really translated into needing a survival suit. I first thought that you only needed a survival suit if you are boating in the winter, but the truth is 60 degree water is COLD! You can ex-pect to become hypothermic in about 2 hours in 60 degree water. Next was cost, and I thought that these types of suits would run $1,500 or more. I was not even close. You can buy a brand new immersion suit for less than $300 almost anywhere. Now, how well do they work? At the demonstration, I volunteered to try one on and jump in the pool. Commercial fishermen need to demonstrate that they can get into the suit in 60 seconds. You get into the suit fully clothed, shoes and all, and they recommend that you put on additional clothes if you have time. I was wearing a suit (although I removed my jacket just in case I had a leak), and jumped in, dress shoes and all. Once you get in and are zipped up, it is really hard to move, and you have little use of your hands because of the mitts. The suit is all one piece, and the only opening is around your face. The face is tight, but the rest of the suit is loose and nothing like wearing a wetsuit. I jumped into the cool water in the pool (it is seawater from New Bedford harbor), and immediately bobbed to the surface lying on my back. This was the first time I was actually comfort-able in the suit. I was floating on top of the water almost like lying on a pool float, and I was completely dry and warm. The next challenge came with getting into the life raft. It actually wasn’t as hard as I had anticipated, but we were in a pool that was flat calm. Once inside, I realized how small a 4 person life raft really is. We had just 3 of us inside, and we were on top of each other. And we didn’t even have supplies. But we were dry and warm.

These two demonstrations were informative and enlightening. Emergencies don’t always happen when the conditions are just right, and they happen even to the most ex-perienced and knowledgeable boater. We may spend a lot of time talking about how to avoid getting yourself into emergency situations, but we also need to make sure that we are prepared to handle an emergency if it does happen. I hope we can do some more demonstrations like this that more of our members can attend. And if you are looking for a Holiday gift for a fellow boater, an immersion suit may be a good choice.

I hope to see you all at the holiday party, and wish you all a safe and happy holi-day season!

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MARITIME SATELLITE DATA SYSTEMS

By P/R/C Don Hagen, SN, Radio-Tech Officer

Although maritime satellite technology was initially created for emergency communication, its applications have grown greatly since the 1970s. A shipping company can now track their ships' positions and speeds, can trouble-shoot and repair engine problems, and can send revised cargo manifests from thousands of miles away. However, for many smaller boats that work inland or along the coast, the days of widespread use of satellite communications are yet to come.1. Although many workboats now have some kind of satellite system on board, most of the time the crews use radio or smart phones. The main reason they don't use satel-lite systems is because the per-minute rates are so high. Where terrestrial cellular cover-age is available, there is no competition. Modern satellite networks offer a wide variety of options, depending on what the function of the vessel is and what they want to do on the Internet. Fishing boats and other small vessels that require little data can function well with an Inmarsat or Iridium satellite phone that costs about $1,000 to buy and about $1 per minute for voice calls.2,3 Mid-size cargo and tanker ships can use VSAT systems that offer two or three phone lines and broadband Internet for web browsing.4,5 These can be had for upwards of $1500 per month. Since the antennas can cost $30,000 or more, some subscribers lease. Heavy users, such as large tankers and containerships that require advanced broadband Internet capability to send and receive large amounts of data, often spend up to $3,000 a month and buy or lease antennas up to eight feet in diameter that cost $50,000-$100,000. Bandwidth requirements continue to grow. On the ships of the future there will be all kinds of telemetry coming over satellite back to headquarters for analysis. They will be able to remotely sense, diagnose, and repair many problems on the ship. What about smaller vessels that currently have limited use for satellite systems? There are several factors that will ultimately drive their companies toward satellite. For one thing, cell coverage is not always available, a situation that could become more common as networks become more congested. Also, many believe there will be a huge growth in data in the next five years. It is only a matter of time for satellite communications to be-come more common on smaller vessels – especially for companies with a fleet operating in widespread locations. _______________________________________

1. C. Conley, "Thirst for data and efficiencies expected to spur growth of satellite service", Professional Mariner, Oct/Nov 2012, p. 39 2. D. Hagen, "Satellite Phones", The Rhumb Line, Nov. 2011 3. D. Hagen, "Review of Offshore Radio Communication Systems", The Rhumb Line, March 2012 4. D. Hagen, "Internet Access for Yachts, Part 1", The Rhumb Line, Oct. 2008 5. D. Hagen, "Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs)", The Rhumb Line, Oct. 2012

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CANOEING AND KAYAKING PART TWO OF TWO

GROUP PADDLING: IN 25 YEARS, FIVE DEATHS. Canoeing and kayaking with experienced outdoor organizations will improve your odds of survival and give you a more enjoyable worry-free paddle. Still there is a degree of risk. When I was paddling with the Boston Chapter of the Appalachian Mount Club (AMC) we were run-ning about 300 trips a year: flat water, tidal water, white water class levels of 1, 2, 3, and 4. There were day trips, weekend trips, and major excursions or lengthy wilderness trips. They would run from early spring to late fall. The number of people per trip generally ranged from 10 to 30 paddlers (roughly averaging 20 per trip). In about 25 years we had three accidents with five canoeing deaths. Here are the de-tails.

No wetsuits and two were pinned against a "strainer" (a tree in the water). So beware of trees!! On instruction trips too-many-years-ago the use of wet suits was not very popular; you had to carry a "dry bag" with extra changes of clothes. Two relatively young (and inexperienced) males were in the lead boat. They were neither smart nor careful. The instructees were told to stop before a certain rapid. They did not and they tried to run a more difficult section. They did not have wetsuits, but they were wearing life vests. They tipped over and both got caught in the branches of a tree that had fallen into the fast main current (this is called a “strainer”). The water was quite cold. One per-son died of hypothermia in the water, pinned to the branches, by the current, and the other died on the shore, also of hypothermia, after being rescued.

Cold water and one fatal cardiac arrest. Around the middle of this 25 year period a friend in his early 50's was running the last class III section of the Dead River in Maine (and was wearing a wet suit). His son was on this trip and was paddling in another boat. It was three to four miles above the take-out point at The Forks, Maine. He had a long day of paddling and was probably hot and tired. The water was cold. He fell in and evi-dently had a possible heart attack in the water. [The shock of sudden immersion in cold water can sometimes produce cardiac arrest.] A kayaker was sent ahead to call for an ambulance. The victim was rescued and put in a 17-foot canoe. Then to get him to the nearest highway and access to an ambulance they ran three in the canoe: a very accom-plished paddler, the victim, and someone who was trying to resuscitate him. They ran the remaining class 2-3 water and then the last mile or so of quick-water (no rocks to maneuver around). An ambulance met them downstream where the river came next to Route 201. The victim was not responding and was pronounced DOA at the hospital. I knew this guy. Still bothers me.

Two obliterated by a choo-choo train – actually, diesel locomotive. The AMC had a trip on the Quaboag River (near Palmer, Mass and the Mass Pike). About 0.6 miles up-stream of the dam in West Warren there is a railroad trestle bridge, which provides a great overlook of a rapid of a few hundred yards or so. There was a couple who stood on this bridge to carefully inspect this next rapid when a metro-liner train quickly came

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around the bend. The two panicked and "froze." They suffered massive crushing injuries. This accident has upset me ever since, because I had stood on this same bridge about five times – years before, while checking out the rapid.

The old railroad trestle bridge.

UNCOMFORTABLE PAPERWORK. Once I was asked by a close relative of mine to check on the details of a relative of hers, who had gone missing and whose remains were eventually found at the Quincy Quarries. Each time the AMC is involved in a death, either of an AMC trip or of a member or in a situation that might involve the AMC, there is a rather complete investigation. It includes interviews of various people involved, copies of witness and police reports and copies of the autopsy reports. In another incident, one white water trip leader had a trip (Class IV) where a member had a very close call. Then a thorough and most uncomfortable investigation took place. He then took a break from leading trips for a while. Later, he was way-more cautious about how he led his Class IV trips.

BEWARE OF THE MACHO MALE. I was an AMC trip leader and about every third or fourth white water trip there would be some male I did not know, who would phone me, wanting to come on the trip. He would overstate his qualifications and initially, with the first one or two, I would accept him at his word. But on the trip, he would be the one

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who tipped over three to four times, and doing it in the first mile of easy rapids. Swim-ming to shore in the cold water and towing his boat to shore for the last time, he de-cided to walk back to his car and quietly drive home. Shortly after the movie Deliverance (1972) came out we encountered too many local males (who lived near the river). They were wearing neither wetsuits nor life vests and they were putting-in at the same place where we were starting our trips. We soon gave up trying to tell them the error of their ways but we simply waited a bit downstream from them, and when they tipped over and got into bad trouble and began screaming for help, then we would save them. After they had been eyeball-to-eyeball facing death and after being rescued, they were way more receptive to following boating safety suggestions. “May we give you a suggestion?” “Yes!!”

IT’S A FOOD THING: First, the ritual breakfast – this is also good for hiking and cold weather sports. White water canoeing is the most popular in New England in the spring, because this is when the rivers and streams have the highest water flows (melting snow and ice). The morning air temperature is generally around freezing, and the water tem-perature will often be close to freezing. One will rapidly burn up more calories after pad-dling and getting splashed with the icy water. Additionally, overcast days with a bit of cold mist or rain saps one’s strength a lot! Back to breakfast: it’s hot coffee with sugar-and-cream or cocoa with sugar. Then there is oatmeal or hot cereal of some sort, then eggs, bacon, ham, or sausage with the protein and fats. Maybe toasted English muffins. One thus has a time-release capsule of food that will breakdown into a sequence of en-ergy for most of the morning.

Throughout the day sipping water is necessary. The hassle is wearing a black wet suit in the sun (hopefully) and in 70-degree days while the water is 32+ degrees. Running with a unzipped wetsuit helps. But when approaching a difficult run, you must remember to zip up the wet suit top

Take several nibble breaks during the mid morning and mid afternoon. Otherwise, a wet or cold overcast weekend produces fatigue, depression and poor judgments. Been there, done that, had that happen to me.

Alcohol definitely does contribute to some accidents, but what we saw was that basic stupidity and stubborn male egos were the biggest problem. Any alcohol would just have made matters worse, causing paddlers to be more likely to lose their balance and fall out of their boat.

The nit-picker. “If you do everything correctly, you will never tip over…... I have NEVER tipped over.” This was the statement of someone who had just passed his Class II instruction trip. It was like saying if he downhill skied correctly, he would never fall. Well, we recommended that he stick to just the easy white water for a while. We quietly decided that this fellow thought he knew too much and for a while he should neither be asked to become an instructor for the Class II instruction trips nor should he be groomed to become a trip leader.

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We would spend time hot-dogging on regular white water trips each time that we came to a drop with fast water and big current differentials (big eddies going upstream behind the big rocks) then followed by a long, smooth, deep-water section of river. We would surf on the face of the first big wave below the drop. If one tipped over they would practice their Eskimo roll (righting their kayak or covered canoe). People would practice going into eddies and then quickly out, into the main current, and then back into another eddy. This would be done over and over again, generally until one flipped and maybe failed to roll back up again. A wet exit would be done and the paddler would do a self-rescue a bit further downstream. People would soon discover what they did wrong and how to read the water better and how to become better boaters. We were fre-quently paddling at the limit of our abilities – hopefully, sometimes beyond.

RUNNING ESPECIALLY GNARLY SECTIONS OF RAPIDS. Here the entire group would beach their boats before the nasty rapid and everyone would walk alongside the rapid, looking for the more difficult routes as well as “the chicken routes.” Then a couple of the more experienced paddlers would be strategically spotted, standing on shore be-low the worse sections with safety lines coiled in throw bags. People who flipped ideally would be holding onto an upstream line on their canoe or a grab-loop on their covered boat. Then the safety line would be thrown, to land just in front of and beyond them to-wards the other side of the river. The polypro line would float in the water and be grabbed by them. Ideally there would be a big eddy on the same side of the river as the person with the safety line, and the rescue would end with the paddler and boat in the quiet eddy. The best paddlers would run the gnarly section first and then they would stay in their boats, stationed in an eddy, watching for situations needing assistance. This would most often be: retrieving loose paddles, then boats and boaters separated from each other, or the real emergency of someone’s most favorite boating hat or character hat floating down the river without the owner. Most other stuff was tied into the boat and stayed with it.

NOBSCOT’S 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

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The Rhumb Line A publication of the Nobscot Sail and Power Squadron, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to:

Safe Boating

Ads, articles, or comments should be directed to:

P/C Robert R. Capobianco, JN

15 West Central Street

Natick, MA, 01760

Telephone: 508-653-1770

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E-Mail: captcapo@aol.com (please insert the words “Rhumb Line” in your Subject Matter)

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Photographer: Stephen Eakman, SN