We were out yesterday and spent some time with Anne and Andy Devos (your Training Officer) at his rendezvous just north of Regatta Bay. There is still time to drop by and say hello. When we dropped by there were about six boats rafted up to the Lady Anne D, or anchored nearby with their dinghies tied up.
The weather is just perfect and the hospitality aboard the Lady Anne D is even better.
There will be a Parry Sound Power and Sail Squadron rendezvous this weekend organized by Training Officer Andy Devos. The original invitation is available from this link. All are welcome. Anne and I will be boating by on Saturday, and I know that others are planning on bringing their boats and ‘sleeping over’.
Oh, the weather promises to be perfect for Friday and Saturday. Sunday is another issue, so arrive early to enjoy the weather and the company of other boaters.
Parry Sound Forecast: August 28 – September 3
We went by yesterday and saw that the Copegog picnic area dock, one of our favourite quick stop spots in the Georgian Bay Biosphere, had been repaired in the last couple of weeks. I’m not sure who is responsible but they have our thanks and appreciation. Unlike earlier in the season (as shown below) the dock is able to accommodate as many as four boats in the 20 to 30 foot size range.
Copegog docks before the August repair. (For scale that’s a 21 foot Scout tied up to the dock).
Power Squadron members Anne and Andy Devos (Squadron Training Officer) invite all interested to boat over and join them for a Labour Day weekend rendezvous. Stay for the day, night or weekend and enjoy a little rest, relaxation and boating fun. The more the merrier. It’s a great opportunity to share experiences and meet other boaters.
The location is: 45° 23.24 N, 80° 19.68 W.
If you’re a Power and Sail Squadron member you know how to find it. If you’re not, you can figure it out. Or take one of the upcoming Power and Sail Squadron courses this winter to be prepared for next year. If it sounds like fun and you can’t figure out where it is, send us a note and we’ll happy to fill you in with the location details (communications@parrysoundsquadron.ca) .
Andy and Anne will be there from Friday afternoon through Monday.
It’s better on the Bay.
We have our Facebook page up and operational. For many of you this may be a much easier way to keep up-to-date on happenings on the water in the Parry Sound area and Squadron activities.
Our page can be found at “Parry Sound Boating”. Please take a look and like our page so that you can receive a direct feed of the latest news.
Have something to post; articles, boating links or photos? Send a message to communications@parrysoundsquadron.ca to get it on our Facebook wall. Want to post on a regular basis? Let us know and we can provide you with editorial privileges. Until we are proven wrong we’ll assume that more information is better than too little.
Oh, and a safety tip. Don’t forget to keep an eye out behind you. Things can ‘sneak’ up and surprise you. If we hadn’t seen it our self we would have thought this was a case of ‘jumping the shark’. Boat safely.
PWC meets boat, no one wins.
The federal government plans to close the Coast Guard Radio Station at Thunder Bay and move the services it provides to Sarnia by 2014.
Thunder Bay Coast Guard Radio is a considered by many boaters to be a vital communications link for marine traffic on Georgian Bay.
The plan is that Sarnia will monitor VHF Channel 16, the International Distress Channel, for the Canadian waters of Lake Superior, St. Mary’s River, the North Channel, Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers, Lake St. Clair, and the western portion of Lake Erie as well as broadcast important weather and safety information.
CAW Local 2182, which represents Thunder Bay Coast Guard Radio, is presently mounting a public awareness campaign, to state that moving these communications services further away from the areas they serve as a cost cutting measure may put lives at risk.
They are asking that boaters who feel strongly about this issue write their MP.
John Mason, Andy Devos and I were at Gordon Bay Marine and Hamer Bay Marine this Saturday to do courtesy safety boat checks (CPS Recreational Vessel Courtesy (RVCC) Program). This basically involves checking recreational boats to ensure they are in compliance with the mandatory safety equipment requirements. If they aren’t we let the owners know what what is required to be in compliance. Those boats that are in compliance are issued stickers for 2012 indicating they have been checked by the Canadian Power Squadron Courtesy Program. It might not help is they are stopped by the OPP, but at least they know they should pass, and where all the safety equipment is stowed.
We managed to ‘pass’ about a dozen boats while we were at the marinas. In general all the boats we checked met the applicable safety requirements. In a couple of cases where the boats were short of the necessary equipment they were able to pick up the equipment at the marina shops, and received their safety sticker. In many cases there was a little bit of a ‘hunt and seek’ process to find the equipment. That doesn’t bode well for an emergency where actions need to be taken quickly. But the courtesy check alerted them to this issue.
The most common ‘failure’ I saw with the boats did not relate to safety. Rather it concerned carrying their boat registration. This is a newer requirement and is similar to an auto vehicle registration. If you have it keep a copy on board. If you don’t you need to contact Transport Canada for a copy. They should be able to provide you with a copy of the registration document if you can give them your vessel’s registration number (the number on either side of the bow). If the boat is not registered in your name, perhaps a second hand boat purchase, they will require you to transfer the boat to your name and at the same time perhaps pay the necessary taxes. Regardless, if you are stopped by the OPP and aren’t able to produce a pleasure craft registration document you are liable for a fine of $250.
So better safe than sorry. Boat safe, stay safe.
Jo B – Communications Officer
Those of you who have read the preceding posts are well aware that there will not be a formal service for Past Commander Dr. Latzel. I received the following message earlier today and am happy to post it as written (it was directed to the people at Torrance Funeral Home from Hubert’s family):
Hello Steve,
the link to donations for my dad is this (a little awkward, but it works):
http://bit.ly/CPSdonate
– it allows general donations in multiples of $10.
Please specify that
– for “in Memory of”, please put in “P/Cdr Hubert Latzel”
Could you have this posted on your site?
Thanks,
Markus
I think that this is a great way to express our appreciation for Hubert’s contribution as a Parry Sound Power Squadron member and friend to many in the community. But I’d like the squadron to consider another way to commemorate Hubert.
It’s not often that an individual in a completely innocent way expresses one of their deepest wishes. This was the case with Hubert. Those of you who were at the last meeting of the Parry Sound Power Squadron Bridge will remember his wish/recommendation that the squadron take on the rehabilitation of the dock at Regatta Bay on Franklin Island. Hubert discussed the obvious need for repair and the impending challenge of working through the bureaucratic red tape to see it realized. He was direct and passionate in making this proposal to the Bridge.
Is this perhaps the best way for the squadron to honour the memory of a friend and past commander? I think it is and and I will be bringing it before the Bridge at our next meeting. It’s not often that life and fate provides the opportunity to fulfill what was perhaps a man’s last wish. Hubert had a wonderful and selfless idea that I hope the Parry Sound Power Squadron will work to realize.
The following was provided to me earlier today. I guess we will need to finish the next meeting of the Bridge a little early and take the time for a drink in memory of Hubert.
Hubert Latzel: Suddenly, but of natural causes on his boat, near one of his favourite islands on Thursday June 28, 2012 in his 72nd year. Loving father of Edrik, Markus and his wife Marilyn. Proud grandfather of Maya and Marissa. Fondly remembered by all his boating friends. Cremation has taken place.
A private family service will be held at a later date. Cremation arrangements entrusted to the Torrance Funeral Home and Chapel.
If desired, donations to the Parry Sound Power and Sail Squadron would be appreciated.
Condolences may be sent to steve@torrancefuneralhome.com Please put the family name in the subject line, and they will forward the message to the family.
There was a report today that 3 children were killed in a boating accident off of New York’s Long Island. The 1984 Silverton of unspecified length was carrying 27 people at the time it capsized Wednesday night after watching the local fireworks (sound familiar?). Twenty-four passengers and crew were rescued by fellow boaters but the children, 8, 11 and 12 were apparently trapped below deck. There are reports the boat was swamped by another vessel which can only suggest the boat was unreasonably overloaded.
If you are reading this you already know better. But it’s still a good idea to point out potential safety risks to other boaters that got the ‘card’ but didn’t get the ‘education’. It may annoy them, but ‘better safe than sorry’.
It was fun watching local boaters, I estimate more than 200 boats, leave after the Canada Day fireworks in Parry Sound. They were smart enough to be careful because there certainly is the opportunity for an accident with that many boats heading down the South Channel.
Parry Sound Boating 