VIND Council April 29, 2018

District Officers’ Reports

District Commander

I attended the Change of Watch for District 16 of USPS, held at Oak Harbor, Washington, March 10,2018

Lois and I arrived Friday evening and met D/C Matt Lombardi,District Lt. Abdel-Monem, and USPS V/C Ben Coons. Pacific Mainland Districtwas represented by D/C Gary CLow.

Highlights;

One of the first items was a quick wake up call Q & A;

1)How many emergency exits are available?

2)How many fire extinguishers are available?

It was challenging with respect to being a visitor and unfamiliar surroundings but it got the point across - keep track of your safety at all times.

Of interestregarding being aware of your surroundings,is the most recent experience by John Gullick as told by Joe Gatfield;

A word of advice….do not wear a life saving device with a pull cord attached through a hotel where the Vice President of the United States is staying…..you will meet several Secret Service agents and their respective German Shepherds….ask John Gullick….all ended well!!"

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About USPS membership;

- it is not the U.S. Postal Service!

- Historical;Mary Paige Abbott was the first female commanderof USPS (2006)

- Branding &Taglines;"America's Boating Club", "I have a boat too"

- losing 1500 member per year but that number has begun tostabilized

- Barriers to joining;

- appears to be too militaristic - dress code isintimidating

- millennials are comfortable with electronics but do notunderstand mechanicalitems

- evolutionof the privateboat ownership- early boats were custom built, to current boats that are smaller and can be stored at home

- the past couple of years of hurricane season has taken a tollon membership because of the damage and loss of vessels

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Safety;

Dan Shipman USCG, Boating Program and Derek Van Dyke WA State Parks Dept;

a)Boating Risks include Environment, Mechanical, Safety, and Social.

Good taglines;

"Well trained mariners use betterskills and knowledge"

"Safety is a chain of events - till you run out of chain!"

Boating Statistics for Washington State, 2016;"Why Safety Matters"Most accidents were a combination of operator behavior and inattention. 98 accidents, including 31 collisions - 2 with a fixed object!

13not wearing a PFD23inexperienced

15drowned33inattention

13non motor16no lookouts

42ejected from vessel12disregarding navigation rules

24capsized8 restricted vision

7struck by another vessel13excessive speed

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I have attended most squadron AGMs and havefound points of interest with each squadron. Squadron survival is paramount. Changing the way we do things should be under constantreview. Please read my about my thoughts re: Squadron Survival and I welcome all comments.

The single fact that I focus on is the exchange between older members and newer members and that they sometimes do not mix.

When we leave a new student to find their way, alone, it does not instill comradeship nor acceptance.

I also attended an afternoon seminar hosted by Gabriola Squadron regrading the derelict boat situation in our waters. It was disappointing to learn how little money is coming from the federal government.

Ion Barnes

D/C VIND

Educational Officer

Having attended the National Educational Department meetings in Toronto I actually have quite a lot to report:

  1. The Introduction to Weather course was put on as an online course by Murray Richmond of VISD. He is currently working on putting together a Boating 2 course in a Moodle environment. I am going to listen in to a Seamanship presentation tomorrow at 1600P. These online courses are available for a Squadron to download and use to put on a course. These online courses are username and password protected. With most courses an arrangement has to be made for students to have a local mentor to help with practical demonstrations. This mentorship can take place using Skype or Facetime or in person depending on circumstances. This could include how to use a plotter, how to tie knots, how to use a sextant. The challenge is to get squadrons and members to volunteer to take on this task. How do we identify?
  2. P/C/C Tony Gardiner put on the first online course. He chose Junior Navigator/Boating6/Offshore Navigation as his course and has had great success using Go To Meeting.
  3. More seminars are in the works. Available now is the AIS Seminar. This has a member cost of $14.00 per manual which is approximately the size of Boating Basics but not as lengthy. This seminar does not go into which button to push or any other specifics of AIS use. It is strictly meant to be a guide for the boater considering purchasing this technology. This seminar deals with questions such as:
  1. Do I need AIS for my style of boating?
  2. Which type of AIS do I need? Transponder or transceiver? Type A or Type B?
  3. How much can I expect to pay for AIS technology?
  1. Collision Regulations, Paddling and Boarding Smart, Celestial Navigation in a Nutshell (meant to be a teaser to interest people in taking Boating 5 and 6).
  2. Seminars come with slide presentations and Instructor’s Notes include a power point presentation.
  3. At the time of the meeting National was looking for someone to come with an 80th anniversary logo.
  4. Boating 5 (Advanced Pilot) Course update should be coming very soon. It is in Editorial now.
  5. Instructor Development is being reformatted so it can be put on in 1 day rather than the weekend commitment presently called for.
  6. Another course, Officer Training now known as Operations Training, is also being shortened to be put on in 1 day.
  7. The Outreach team is/has come up with a glossary to make communicating with others simpler. Currently there are too many words or phrases which each of us take to mean something different.
  8. USPS is trying to rebrand themselves as AmericasBoatingClub.org or AmericasBoatingChannel.com . Their animation library is available for viewing at the latter website. These are either short or very short depending on the subject being covered.
  9. As NEO Peter has kept us up to date as far as he can, the new computer system will be up and running in the near future. We hope!
  10. There will be a location on the new system for every squadron to have their website hosted.
  11. John Gullick is now the Chairman of the Canadian Safe Boating Council.
  12. John had the pleasure of modeling the first life jacket or PFD approved by Transport Canada AND United States Coast Guard jointly.

In my opinion all SEOs should go to the CPS-ECP.ca website, login, click on Officers Web then on Meetings and then on Meeting Presentation Recording Links. You do not have to listen to the whole 2 days of meetings but can pick and choose what could be of interest to you.

Respectfully submitted,

DEO Alexa Stochmal AP

North Star Editor

Only one North Star is now produced each year, which includes the required notice of the AGM and the Nominating Committee Report. This year it must be mailed or emailed to all members by May 19 at the latest. As I will be in the UK May 10 until May 31, I will need all information for the North Star by May 7. Any later details must be added in by Wayne Smiley, to whom I will send the issue up to that point.

Sheila Boutcher

Membership Officer

Current Membership Status and New Member Applications in past 3 months

Squadron / Active Members / New in 2018
Cape Lazo / 186 / 7
Cowichan / 200 / 5
Gabriola Island / 65 / 0
Mount Brenton / 67 / 0
Nanaimo / 318 / 7
Nanoose / 193 / 1
Port Alberni / 34 / 0
Powell River / 24 / 0
Ripple Rock / 133 / 1
Totals / 1220 / 21

National Conference and DMO Committee -

I attended a National Membership Committee / DMO Go-To-Meeting April 4.

Keeping our membership numbers from dropping is a real concern and occupies a fair amount of the resources of our organization, both at the squadron level and nationally. We must attract new members, and also provide incentive for members to stay members for the long term.

Signing up students is the job of the local squadron executive and this task must be approached as diligently as possible. There was a time when the work of the education departments locally and nationally were sufficient to attract interest in CPS, however, demographics and the electronic world in which we live is a climate where new, young boaters do not instinctively look to us as a place to belong, even after taking a boating course. We have found that advertising ourselves has become essential. Look for noticeably increased visibility of our brand in the coming months.

Retention of existing members is also a significant challenge. We are constantly improving our member benefits package and it is through these benefits and increased communications that we hope to see results in our member retention. One example of this that will show up in your hands within the year is a CPS Member smartphone app that will give you constantly up-to-date access to discounts from suppliers, as well as access to information about local courses, events and contacts.

Finally, SMO's will soon have a chance (and a good reason) to reach out one-on-one to every squadron member. When the new IT system is launched, every member will be required to update their on-line profile and SMO's should personally contact and encourage members to do so. A good time to reinforce the benefits of membership.

Respectfully submitted,Nic Miller, VIND Membership Officer

Privacy Officer

There has been no issue to address since last report.

I haven’t had confirmation that the new system at National is up and running, but will await the process on any privacy issues.

Sorry I have to regret this meeting – it’s our 57th wedding anniversary and I have other priorities.

Respectfully submitted,

Don Butt, AP

Financial Officer

I have prepared statements as at March 31, 2018

Since the last report of Dec 31, 2017, we have received funds totalling $620.00 from National for our share of member dues / courses . Cheques have been issued in the amount of $508.24. Surplus for the year ending March 31, 2018 was $2,708.07 with total cash in bank of

$27,645.91.

Respectfully submitted

Carol Green