June meeting cancelled

The scheduled monthly station meeting this Wednesday, June 8, is cancelled due to a light agenda and, more importantly, a conflict with Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals! We'll catch up at the next meeting on July 13. Go Canucks! 

Tolonen repairs

The Tolonen is out of service to resolve a problem with engines overheating. Mechanics believe they have found the problem in the cooling system, and we're waiting for parts. We hope to have the vessel up and running shortly. The 733 is running well.

Incidents

The number of missions is ramping up again. We've had four calls since May 1, handled by Robert, Mike, Ellen, Mick, Given, Hans and Jeremy. Thanks to all our crewmembers for maintaining 24/7 SAR service as we head into the busy boating season. 

Training

Please note Mike's recent email about training updates on the website, and we invite you take advantage of as many training offerings as you can. 

Events

We very much appreciate everyone who is helping out with another busy summer season of community events. Recently we had a good presence at the Swiftsure yacht race, which was uneventful compared to last year's stormy event. 

Please watch for Alf's emails seeking volunteer crews, particularly for the annual Dragon Boat race. There was a capsize last year which prompted race organizers to beef up their safety protocols, and they have asked us to provide safety coverage throughout the race weekend. It's a fun event, and the organizers are supporting us with a $1500 contribution to the station. 

Society

Under the leadership of Chris Mellett, the society board members are working hard on this year's gaming grant application and several other funding opportunities. The goal is to obtain a much larger grant than we have received in the past couple of years in order to catch up on some much needed investments in equipment. 

Looking forward to a great summer on the water!

Regards,

Rob

Rob Duffus
Station Leader
Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Station 35 (Victoria)

Hi Folks,

I sent these recommendations to my crew, and I thought they might be useful for
other members as well. Anyone else feel free to chime in if you have other
suggestions.

Please NO COTTON on the boat. Read up more on different materials:

http://tiny.cc/zldhh

I recommend multiple layers of clothing, merino, fleece, polypropylene or other
synthetics, merino being the best choice as it's warm, thin, odour absorbing
and
non-flamable (also most expensive).

Proper layering:

http://tiny.cc/burdh

Please ensure that you have

1. Thermal underwear layers
2. Thermal socks
3. Warm layers for upper part of the body
4. Gloves
5. Tuque
6. Fleece balaclava for the face

Another item that is useful is inexpensive heat packs that you can activate by
twisting (at MEC $1-2 each).

I recommend a spare set of all these items packed in your waterproof duffle as
well in case you get wet.

All this equipment can be obtained at MEC and/or Capital Iron or other similar
stores. It does cost
quite a bit, but it's worth investing in as your life depends on it. It can also
be
reused if you do any sort of outdoors activity in cold weather.

See you soon, and remember NO COTTON.

Ivan

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update on a few Station 35 matters. 

First, a big thank you to all the crews who have kept us up and running 24/7 through the winter.  We've had some middle-of-the-night and some stormy weather calls, all handled quickly and professionally. 

One of the recent calls, handled by Simon, Jon, Julie and Tim, involved a disabled military Zodiac south of the VH buoy.  It was too rough for two accompanying military boats to tow the stricken vessel, so Simon's crew took it in tow.  Having drifted for three hours, the two personnel on board were very cold and wet.  They warmed up aboard our vessel and were dropped off at CFB Esquimalt.  HQ has flagged this as an "outstanding operation".

We've also received recognition by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre for our part in last year's "Good Friday Storm".  Kudos to Tom, Tim, Paul and Ainslie for their work that day in very challenging conditions.  You can see the recognition certificate and accompanying letter on the station web site at www.vmrs.org

At the risk (well, the certainty) of leaving someone out, I would like to acknowledge our crew members - some with years of experience, some who are relatively new -  who are key to providing our first-rate search and rescue service:

Robert Miller

Rheannon Brooks

Paul Fry

Julie Williams

Werner Hofstatter

Alf Bradley

Mick McGregor

Sandra Tucker

Ame Hicks

Chris Mellett

Lucas Carvery

David Poilevre

Brian Daly

Ainslie Avery

JF Bureau

Tony Collins

Frank Williams

Ellen Wood

Mika Ogilvie

Jeremy Christensen

Hans Weber

Chris Rasmussen

Special recognition to two members who, sadly,  are leaving the station, at least for now: Jon Parker (pursuing his studies) and Rich McIlmoyle (focusing on parenting).   We hope to see you both back!  And a tip of the VMRS ball-cap to our supporting members, includingIan Marshall, who help behind the scenes, and to all our coxswains: Mark, Shawn, Given, Nick, Mike, Tim, Tom, and Simon.

 

TRAINING

A few of our members are putting in extra hours towards a higher training standard.  We have had trouble fielding enough "Advanced Crew" to meet the crewing requirements for the Tolonen.  The CCGA-P definition of Advanced Crew includes RHIOT school, and we aren't able to get folks to RHIOT quickly enough to meet our operational needs.  However it appears CCGA-P will soon accept "Pre-RHIOT" qualifications for the Advanced Crew position on the Tolonen (backing up the Coxswain) which is a welcome development.  Thanks to Alf, Rheannon, Paul, JF, Brian, Chris, Mick, Gerhardt and Jeremy who are working towards that standard.

Training officer Mike Deigan is creating some new training opportunities for us, particularly at the advanced crew level.  Please take advantage of these activities and let him know your interest in higher level training such as SARNAV. 

We are being offered a Marine Emergency Duties (MED A-3) course, open to all.  Mike will be canvassing us as to whether we want a full day session or two shorter sessions.  Stay tuned. 

EQUIPMENT

As mentioned at the last meeting, there's a new system to ensure our equipment is well-maintained.  Once a year each crew will be responsible for cleaning and maintaining the floater suits, vests, first aid kits, and other gear.  A schedule is posted in the Pilot House.  Many hands will make this a quick chore.  Thanks!

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions, please get in touch. 

Regards,

Rob

Rob Duffus

Station Leader

Over the weekend of Nov. 27 & 28, advanced rescue trainer Ton Haasnoot from the Maritime Rescue Insitute in Stonehaven, Scotland visited Station 35 and provided training and sign-offs to our advanced crew and coxswains on the Tolonen. The Tolonen, the flagship of the CCGA-P, is a 40' enclosed jet lifeboat. With Ton's visit and certification of our crew, Station 35 is close to having The Tolonen operational 24/7!


Ton took our crew though a series of evaluations including: close quarters maneuvering, docking, station keeping, positive control, emergency procedures and towing operations. 


For CGGA-P operations, The Tolonen requires a coxswain certified in the operation of jet boats, SARnav and a 60 tonne Master Limited certificate in addition to having an advanced crew member and a basic crew member on board. Maintenance and operational costs are demanding for this state-of-the-art vessel and rely on donations and fundraising throughout the year. To learn more about how you can help, please visit our Society & Donations page.


To learn more about the Maritime Rescue Institute, check out their website at: http://www.maritime-rescue-institute.org. 

At approximately 16:30 on Monday, Nov. 22, Aux 35 was tasked out by JRCC to the Craigflower Bridge area of the Gorge Waterway for an adrift kyack. Monday was the onset of a cold snap and conditions were: -5 degrees, 25-35 kt wind and light snow. 


After a very cold transit through Victoria Harbour, Upper Harbour and the Gorge Waterway, coxswain Shawn Heise and Training Officer Mike Deigan navigated the Zodiac Hurricane 733 through the Tillicum Bridge tidal rapids and on to the Craigflower Bridge.


Once on scene, Aux 35 liaised with Saanich Police and Saanich Fire, learned that the kyack had been recovered and a preliminary search of the area had already been conducted. Aux 35 assisted in a more thourough shoreline search of Portage Inlet, Craigflower Bridge and the Gorge Waterway to the south to Tillicum Bridge. Another kyack was found adrift, but no other signs of persons in distress. 


All emergency services personnel were stood down by Rescue Center at approximately 18:15.


A reminder to all vessel and recreational craft owners to secure your property for the winter storm season!


Mike Deigan
Station 35, Crew 3

Just a quick update in case you missed last week's meeting.

• The CCGA-P annual general meeting was held in Nanaimo. Another successful year. Three B.C. missions were recognized as standouts, and crews from Nanaimo (Good Friday storm), Sooke (stranded swimmer) and Pender Island (float plane crash) were there to describe their events. 

• Congratulations to Mike Deigan, our latest RHIOT graduate. Mike has been busy on a variety of station projects, including improving training for advanced crew and rebuilding the station website. I hope you've checked it out. 

• Speaking of communication, as always feel free to call or email me or other members of the leadership team if you have any concerns or suggestions for improvements. We rely on your input and great ideas. 

• We welcomed four new members to the station. As always, word-of-mouth is our most effective recruiting tool so please keep letting others know about our rewarding volunteer experience. 

• The annual Safety Audit is complete and we are following up on the recommendations, including the establishment of a maintenance committee to support the boat maintenance officer. Nick, Sean, and Mark are the inaugural committee and are looking at ways to streamline maintenance and improve maintenance planning and record keeping. 

• The audit also noted that some crewmembers have not uploaded their certifications to the SMS system, so JRCC cannot be assured that we have qualified crews. This is why we have set a deadline of December 15 to get your certs into the system. If you need help, let us know. 

• Crew 4 recently assisted Station 33 with a body recovery. JRCC immediately organized a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing for both crews, and Mark White (who has been trained as a debriefer) also made himself available. Please keep in mind that this service is there should you ever need it, and we hope you won't. 

• Next meeting is on December 8. We'll have a guest speaker and a Fabulous Door Prize. 

The November storms are here. Please double-check your gear, bundle up, and keep up the good work out there!

Rob Duffus
Station Leader