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Patrols and Operations
From April through October, Flotilla 33 conducts on-the-water patrols to assist Coast Guard Station Milford Haven. These patrols include safety patrols, aids to navigation patrols, training patrols and regatta patrols. Additionally, Flotilla boats and crews are available to assist the Coast Guard with search and rescue missions. Boats belong to individual flotilla members and, when on patrol, display signs indicating they are on a Coast Guard Auxiliary Patrol. We normally patrol they bay from Smith Point to the Piankatank River, the Rappahannock River and the many tributaries. Information concerning patrols may be obtained from Jim Wroth, Flotilla Staff Officer for Operations.
THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS ARE COXSWAIN QUALIFIED
WALLACE DAWSON DICK HERBERMANN DAVE HERNDON JOHN HOEKSTRA FRANS KASTEEL JOHN MILL ROY SHEPPARD JOHN TEXTER AMY THOMAS JIM THOMAS TED TULIS MATT WOOD JIM WROTH
THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS ARE CREW QUALIFIED
JACK BLAINE MAHLON BROWN IAN DUNCAN ANDY ERNST DON GALLAGHER JERRY HAWLEY JACK JENNINGS HOWARD MONTGOMERY DAVE POPE RITA THEISEN BOB VOGEL
SAFETY PATROLS
One way the Coast Guard Auxiliary assists the U.S. Coast Guard and the recreational boater is by conducting safety patrols. Auxiliarists must complete special training programs to participate in safety patrols, boat crew training, coxswain training. Auxiliary specialty courses in patrols, weather, navigation and search and rescue prepare Auxiliarists to perform patrols and when necessary, search and rescue missions. Since the training is the same for the Auxiliary and Coast Guard, "seamless" team effort can be utilized when necessary.
Auxiliary safety patrols provide a quick response time when assistance is needed. Boaters should radio the Coast Guard Station, identify their vessel, give location, describe the nature of distress and what assistance is requested. The Coast Guard will then assess the urgency and decide what resources will handle the situation. Utilizing an available Auxiliary patrol or notifying a commercial firm are all possible solutions. Flotilla 33 is one of the best trained flotillas in the Auxiliary and stands ready to assist the Coast Guard in helping the recreational boater in need of help.
If there are calls for help, the Coast Guard surveys the available resources and if an Auxiliary vessel is in the area usually dispatches that vessel to the scene where assistance is needed.
Auxiliarists train all year to become certified crew or coxswain for patrols. This training is the same as that for the Coast Guard, providing seamless operation during the times when the Coast Guard and the Auxiliary work together on a mission.Patrols controlled by Coast Guard Station Milford Haven are divided into three areas:
Chesapeake Bay patrols are from Smith Point to Stingray Point and across the bay to the Eastern Shore. Lower Rappahannock River patrols are from Towles Point to the mouth of the Rappahannock river. Middle Rappahannock River patrols are from Towles Point to Bowlers Rock.
TRAINING EXERCISE AND DISABLED BOAT ASSISTThis is an old article from two or three years ago. It is included here to give an idea about the kind of training and activities boaters can expect to experience with membership in the Auxiliary. One Saturday in August began with two Flotilla 33 vessels conducting advanced tow training and man-overboard drills. The afternoon concluded with towing a disabled vessel into Carters Creek.
The operation of towing a disabled boat can be hazardous and takes a great deal of preparation to perform safely. The Auxiliary extensively trains all members in the boat crew or Coxswain programs in the proper methods used in undertaking a stern or alongside tow. Before attempting a tow always check cleats and samson posts to make sure they will not pull out, and the condition of lines to make sure they won’t snap. It takes only fractions of a second for a cleat or snapped line to become a deadly projectile. Boat handling is also a concern. The towing vessel will not respond in the same manner as usual, and the towed vessel has little or no control. Great care must be taken to avoid collisions with other boats, channel markers, piers and other obstructions while towing. It is best to test handling and speed in open water before entering a narrow channel. Start out slowly and gradually increase speed while watching to make sure the towed boat is following true and riding steady.
photo: Members
pull a stern tow into an
alongside tow during
training exercise.The towed boat should have its rudder in center position. The static and dynamic forces exerted on a towing vessel can be extreme, and serious damage can result from improper techniques. Rough seas or high winds can complicate towing or make it unfeasible without proper training.
Man overboard drills were also conducted during the training exercise. Boaters should take caution when approaching a person in the water. The approach should be slow with careful attention to wind and currents. It is easy to have the wind or current alter the boats course and cause the boat to drift into the person in the water. Boaters should practice by placing a life jacket in the water and taking turns making approaches in all directions, noting the effects of wind and current. On sail boats and larger power boats getting a person out of the water can be a challenge. Boaters should examine their boats and develop a plan to remove a person from the water without injury.
Later in the day while conducting boat handling drills and monitoring VHF channel 16 a call requesting assistance from the Coast Guard Auxiliary was received at 4:08 PM. A 32 foot deadrise with six persons aboard was disabled between the Rappahannock River marker "9R" and the Norris Bridge. While in route to the disabled vessel, Coast Guard Station Milford Haven was notified of the situation, and upon arrival at the scene at 4:36 PM, authorization to take the vessel in tow was received.Brisk winds and choppy seas slowed taking the disabled vessel in tow and the ensuing trip, however it was safely moored at Irvington Marina in Carters Creek at 5:37 PM. (All boaters should have a VHF marine radio aboard at all times. U.S. Coast Guard Station Milford Haven, three Flotilla 33 radio facilities, all Flotilla patrol vessels, all commercial boats, and most recreational boats monitor channel 16.)
The quickest means of assistance is almost
always as close as your VHF radio.
photo: Transferring a person from vessel to helicopter
FLOTILLA 33 PARTICIPATES IN AIR-SEA RESCUE TRAINING DRILL
The Auxiliary and the Coast Guard frequently train together for their emergency missions. Recently, five members from Flotilla 33 participated in a helicopter rescue training operation with personnel from Coast Guard Station Milford Haven and a Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City. Two Auxiliary vessels, a CG vessel from Milford Haven and the Coast Guard helicopter rendezvoused at Hills Bay and proceeded to the mouth of the Piankatank River for the drill. The units practiced positioning drills, transferring a person from the helicopter to the vessel below and lifting a person from the vessel below up to the helicopter. This kind of operation is one that crews on patrol need to be able to carry out and pray that they will never have to use.
FLOTILLA 33 CONDUCTS NIGHT SEARCH AND RESCUE TRAINING
The U.S. Coast Guard has specific statutory authority and responsibility to develop, establish, maintain, and operate rescue facilities for rendering aid to distressed persons and property. This authority and responsibility covers the areas on, over, and under the high seas and waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Coast Guard facilities aid and protect people and property anywhere Coast Guard units are available and can be effectively used. However, there are not enough Coast Guard facilities and manpower to cover all areas effectively. One of the primary purposes of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is to support the missions of the Coast Guard by providing additional manpower and facilities when needed.
To create an Auxiliary that is capable of assisting the Coast Guard requires a lot of specialized courses and task training. Seven specialty courses, workshops, as well as actual on-the-water training for Coxswains and Boat Crew are utilized to prepare Auxiliary members to assist the Coast Guard. One such mission is night search and rescue. Flotilla 33 in Kilmarnock recently conducted night Search and Rescue (SAR) training on the Rappahannock River. Four Flotilla 33 boats and 19-members participated in several mock drills in search of disabled boats.
The first exercise involved 2 Flotilla 33 facilities conducting a multi-unit parallel track search pattern, referred to as a Papa Mike (PM). This pattern is used when the search area is large, the target location is approximate, and uniform coverage is needed. For this drill Auxiliary Facilities 33901 and 31774 began the search pattern just West of the Norris Bridge covering an area 1-mile North and South by 3.5-miles West ending near the Towles Point Light (R"6").
For the second phase of the exercise Auxiliary Facilities 25415 and 42353 departed during the first exercise to unknown positions on the Rappahannock River to simulate disabled and disoriented boaters awaiting assistance.
After completing the multi-unit search Facility 33901 began searching for Facility 25415 and Facility 31774 for Facility 42353. Each search unit's mission was to locate the disabled boat by asking questions over the radio about objects visible from the disabled boat. Since this was a night SAR mission many of the landmarks and charted objects used in daylight navigation were unavailable. Both simulated disabled boats were located and all four� Facilities headed toward their home piers during deteriorating weather conditions.
