The meeting was called to order by Cdr Dave Baer at his home at 1911.  A quorum was present,

Present:
Cdr David Baer
Lt/C Katharine Law, ExO
Lt/C Michael Fontaine, SEO
Lt/C Thomas Griffin, AO
Lt/C Barbara Goddard, Secretary
Lt Karen Glaze, Member at Large
P/C Bob Hubbard, Member at Large
Lt Ken Glaze, Membership Chair
Lt Richard Barck, VSC Chair
Lt Lynda Juniper, Chair, Boat Shows

Absent:
Lt/C John Isaksen, Treasurer
1st/Lt Catherine Isaksen, Asst Treasurer
1st/Lt Dan Carlin, ASEO
Lt Tom Fota, IT Chair
P/Lt/C Sterling Campbell, Member at Large

MINUTES: The minutes of 8 March 2004 were approved as posted.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Dick Barck has helped registered entrants in the Ensenada Race to comply with all US and Mexican requirements. The next Cruiser Nav Contest will held on Saturday, April 10th, and there are expected to be between four and eight boats. All are encouraged to come.

The next GMM will be held on May 7th, rather than on the usual second Friday, because SWYC will be involved in hosting the 14th Lipton Cup Regatta the following weekend. Tom Fota should send an e-mail announcement to members clarifying the date.

The commander noted that news of the death of P/C Robert Sharp had been forwarded to the Last Horizons column of The Ensign, and the notice should appear in an upcoming issue. Articles for The Ship’s Mail, due by 15 April, should be forwarded to the editor, Steve Bakalis.

OFFICERS’ REPORTS:

CDR DAVE BAER announced that bridge members needing to attend Leadership Development [formerly OT] should plan to attend the 6-hour class to be taught by D/C Chet White, who has volunteered to teach the course. Participation in this class for all bridge officers is a “Star Award” element, and is required for anyone working toward a full certificate. The date chosen is Saturday, May 8th, at Southwestern Yacht Club.

Commander Baer reported that Dan Carlin had been contacted by a catch-and-release fishing club with a request for a safety presentation to fishing tournament observers. At Dave’s suggestion, Safety Officer Dick Gaffney offered a 2-1/2 hour safety certification program for 25 to 30 people, which was well received. Dick promoted the Boating course and incorporated some USPS materials. He has since been asked to present similar programs to other fishing groups. Commander Baer acknowledged the great job done by Dick and has asked him to outline the presentation in the event we receive such a request in the future and Dick is not available to accept the assignment.

The commander also reported that the most recent Sail Fleet Race had conflicted with the San Diego Cruiser Navigation Contest in that the final mark for the sail race was also the end line for CNC. The problem had been solved by deferring the start of the Sail Fleet Race for a half hour; but the commander noted that similar conflicts next year could be avoided by publishing dates in an area-wide race calendar by November this year.

Dave Baer had attended the meeting at SWYC of the San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs, which was comprised of most local boating organizations. Although SDSPS is not a voting member, we are welcomed to attend SDAYC meetings, and it is a great way to find out what is going on around the Bay.

The commander reported that P/C Shaun McArdle had talked with a Rear Commander in the USCG Auxiliary about holding a joint raft-up, possibly a “star” [stern-to] raft-up, during National Safe Boating Week as a way of attracting publicity for both organizations. Several ExCom members commented that a joint activity would be a good thing but a successful star raft-up would require eight or more boats, and maneuvering problems could be anticipated.

ExO Katie Law called upon Dick Barck, VSC Chair, who has already completed 16 vessel safety checks (VSCs) to date, the largest number in District 28. Dick had spoken to Gordo Parham, who has committed to do 20 exams. Katie has passed the Vessel Examiner’s test and will be a fully qualified VE after she performs five VSCs under supervision. Bob Hubbard is assisting with her training. She encouraged others to qualify for the job. There was discussion about whether a VSC could be made obligatory for all boats in SDSPS competitions; e.g. the Sail Fleet Race boats.

The ExO thanked the volunteers who worked the San Luis Rey Squadron booth at the Fred Hall Boat Show, but reported that the consensus was that most show attendees were more interested in fishing equipment than boating courses. But our new banner was prominently displayed and some interest was generated for our summer Boating course, as well as courses in North County. Lynda Juniper will check with SLR Squadron to determine which SDSPS members volunteered at the show. The “Day at the Docks” will be held on Sunday, 25 April, at the Sportfishing Landing, and the ExO needs additional volunteers to staff our booth at that event. Lynda will assist Tom Fota in putting a sign-up sheet on the website. A Public Relations Officer still needs to be recruited.

SEO Mike Fontaine reported that sights submitted by Van Diehl and Dave Weimer have been accepted, and both are now Navigators. The Seamanship course is under way, with Boating class graduates. The Cruise Planning class, given by Ted and Claudia Bowler, held its graduating raft-up on April 3 & 4. Ted and Claudia have enjoyed teaching the course so much that they are planning a cruise to Hawaii in May. Eight or nine graduates of the AP course enrolled in JN. Sail 101 & 102 will start on April 13th. Sending class announcements by e-mail is proving a great money saver, as well as making it easier for Mike. He has been informed by National that instructors will henceforth be allowed to give their own tests, rather than having to get other members to monitor exams. The new Boating course will include MapTech charts on CDs, to make the courses more interesting, as well as MapTech segments for Piloting, AP, JN and N. Mike would like to offer a GPS course to teach people how to use their own GPS receivers, but we need an instructor for this, as well as for Instructor Development. Some squadrons use the GPS course as a money maker. He also learned from National that, over the past few years, 60 percent of the public courses are now Boat Smart and only 40 percent are the Boating course.

AO Tom Griffin informed the ExCom that our May GMM program will focus on the unique position San Diego occupies in terms of security issues. The US Coast Guard is in command of overall security, but a number of other agencies (including the Navy and the Border Patrol) are also “stakeholders” in process, and San Diego will be a test area for the Department of Homeland Security. Capt. Jessica Cummins of the Harbor Police will be our guest and discuss these issues.

SECRETARY Barbara Goddard reported that Tom Fota has ordered the projector, which will be delivered soon. She apologized for the difficulty in transmitting the prior ExCom minutes, which resulted from a technical glitz at AOL, and hopes the problem has been solved. She also received a list of new members from Ken Glaze, recruited from the spring Boating course.

Treasurer John Isaksen, who was unable to attend the meeting, sent a written report dated 4 Apr 04, which showed Squadron assets $896 more than on the same date last year. John pointed out in his accompanying note that this also included $1,020 donated for the purchase of the new projector, which had not been reimbursed. Thus, assets were actually several hundred dollars less than in 2003.

OLD BUSINESS:

The Squadron has not been reimbursed by District for the new banner and poster. Dick Barck noted that, in order to get the funds, the invoice and a photo of the new acquisitions will need to be forwarded with the reimbursement request. Katie Law will get the banner back from SLR Squadron.

NEW BUSINESS:

A motion was made, seconded and passed to donate $25 to the USPS Education Fund in memory of P/C Robert Sharp, who had accumulated 27 merit marks.

Activities for participation in National Safe Boating Week [May 21-28] were discussed, including a school art contest, a public service to get rid of expired flares and offering VSCs. It was agreed that offering VSCs at West Marine was not an effective use of our efforts. Dick Barck has approached several yacht brokerages and reported that bringing up the issue of “safety” at the point of sale was less than enthusiastically received. Since the Coast Guard no longer sponsors a program to destroy expired flares and the fire department has quit accepting them, disposing of old flares is a problem for boaters. One East Coast squadron accepts flares as a public service, but Ken Glaze warned that transporting them would be an issue for us since US DOT rules apply to the transport of incendiary or hazardous materials. Dick Gaffney is trying to find out what the San Diego options are.

Dave Baer suggested that SDSPS might provide volunteers to help Silvergate Yacht Club with its annual Wheelchair Regatta in June, when several hundred handicapped people are given boat rides. They need volunteers both in providing boats and to help with boat lines, crowd control and other jobs. It was felt that our help would be good publicity, and Dave will explore the opportunities.

The commander also noted that nobody has yet come forward to fill the position of Public Relations Officer. The ExO will draft a notice for The Ship’s Mail, seeking a volunteer. The need for advertising a late summer Boat Smart or ABC course (possibly to be taught by Ed Mraz) was discussed. Mike Fontaine noted that ads could be run in The Log and other local publications, as well as having notices posted in local marinas and on community bulletin boards.

The meeting was adjourned at 2100. The next meeting will be held at the commander’s home on 3 May at 1900.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara A. Goddard

Secretary