Hiawatha Valley Sail & Power Squadron

Just another beginning

2010-09-19T23:36:00.003-05:00

The air is crip and cool. Yep, we all know what that means. It means a new season of boating. Well, boating laying up that is.

There are many things to do if you winterize yourself. There is just one thing to do if you pay someone to winterize for you. But do you know what you are paying for and do you know if it has been done correctly?

I am truely amazed as to how many people call themselves boaters but don't even know what is needed to be done to the boat to make it safe for winter. Even if you pay someone, they make mistakes and YOU should be able to know if the right things have been done and done right.

I would expect the free seminar the Hiawatha Valley Sail & Power Squadrond is doing on 23/Sep/10 would be plumb full.

Kids no matter the age

2010-08-01T01:00:00.003-05:00

A kid is a kid.
No matter the age.
They want to sail and boat and play.
You look and you ponder why these old men,
Spend such times,
Spend such cents.
To build such a boat that really shouldn't get wet.
Look to their insides,

...and then you get it.

Jean was happy

2010-05-06T15:56:00.000-05:00

Last years "Splash Bash" was a blast...or should I say "splash"? Jean P was happy she could get her favorite beer. This year's start of the new boating season will be be different.

It will be a GREAT BIG Birthday Party to celebrate HVSPS' 10 Year Anniversary. Make sure to register at www.hiawathavalleyps.org

A Grandma & her phone

2010-04-22T13:54:00.003-05:00

I had a Grandma who lived on a small rural farm in western Minnesota. She was not a very progressive person because "all these new things are so complicated". I can definately understand given that she lived in a house with no in door running water until the late 60's. But that was more about money than conviniences.

I remember when she upgraded the in door bathroom (yes, my Dad used an out house growing up) and moved the shower. The shower was in the middle of her basement so it could use one and only drain in the house. Because this shower was in the middle of the basement, it had a circular curtain around the shower head. You can imagine the 6 in the family would make the trip down to the basement in order to shower in the middle of the basement. Not what you would call practical use of space but it was practical use of money and time. However it was kind of cool when you reached out of the shower to grab the shampoo and you ended up with a jar of homemade strawberry jam.

Then there was the progression from the party phone line to an idividual phoneline with a great rotary dial on it. I am not sure when this happened but it was a step for her. One that didn't revolve around money but around convenience. No longer having to deal with the neighbor down the way (1+ miles away that is) listening in on your private conversation.

But that is where it stopped. No need to move to the touch-tone phone or the wireless phone because they were all too complicated and the rotary phone worked just fine. She made this switch probabley in here late 50's or early 60's. Then she was set for life. No need to change, grow, or learn new and different ways.

I look at things a little differently. If you don't change and get out of your comfort zone from time to time you will grow old and start to believe the world is too complicated and because it is too complicated, you will cut yourself off from other options.

I write this at a time when I see people wanting to have everything on paper and electronically. There are pros and cons to both. But in a volunteer organization I see spending the time to send out the same communications in both formats a redundace of time, effort and communications.

I understand the people who like their rotary phone. I understand the people who like their wireless phone. But do these people understand that it takes more time and effort from volunteers to maintain and administer both types of phones?

-9 and high +10

2010-01-04T11:39:00.002-06:00

Is it so wrong to be living in MN and dreaming of warmer weather from Oct until May? Is it cheating on MN if you are here but your heart wants to be sailing the miles of open seas and not the confines of a lake or the narrows of a river?

What is On Al's Mind?

2009-09-08T09:59:00.007-05:00

Now that Al is in retirement, what do you think Al is thinking so hard about? If he does this too much he might have a "brain strain".

Post a response as to what you think would be the best caption for this photo.

D10 Summer Rendezvous

2009-06-23T15:28:00.012-05:00

Hello ...

Here's a few quick notes on the D/10 Summer Rendezvous:

We drove over on Friday ... a five hour drive ... in some heavy rains. However, the Friday evening "Over the Transom" cookoff competition went off, in spite of some muggy temps! Although we came in 4th (of 7 teams -- right in the middle of the pack) we had a BLAST. Okay, I guess Minnetonka won ... too bad I didn't get a photo of the Transom Mike Skelly built. Did anyone else? There was a LOT of food ... Ribs, shrimp boil, skewers and "eggs in a bag" (which I hope we try later this summer!).

Here's a shot Lyle Peschke took of me while we were setting up. It shows our theme ... "HIAWATHA VALLEY STICKS IT ... we think outside the bun!" (FYI - we put Meat, veggies and dessert on skewers!) We all wore red, white & blue (see our tablecloths under the sign).

Here's a shot of Al Harmon with a few of our chicken and beef satays and veggie skewers:

I'm so sorry I missed a shot of our dessert ... squares of angel food cake, strawberries and blueberries on a skewer ... with chocolate or strawberry syrup -- delish!

Al ran a magnificent dinghy rodeo on Saturday. Since we participated, I forgot to get some photos ... maybe we can come up with some from some other attendees? Al can give you all the details on this event. He really pulled out a winner. People really loved it. Nine teams competed ... everyone running the events in Dick Baker's dinghy (thank you Dick & Cindy Baker). (NOTE: Denny and I are hoping Dinghy Rodeo can be a squadron event one day soon!)

Now, there were a LOT of posters ... I think I heard there were over 60 of them. Again, I was asleep at the wheel ... but did get a picture of each of the winners posters (but not necessarily their names). I hope some of you can fill in the details.

Here is the one poster that is going on to NATIONAL! It was by Jack Bjelland of Shakopee (Linnea - I'm guessing that is one of the Scouts?):

I LOVED this poster ... I believe Mike Skelly (holding the poster) said these kids would be notified of their placement at the DISTRICT level!

The following 2 posters each came in 3rd place in their age category (and therefore don't go on to national ... but still did very well!):

(Is this the one by Tom & Joanne's grandson?)

And is this one done by a relative of John Lawrence?

Okay, so I didn't do so well taking photos ... but we had a great time and we were kept BUSY doing activities and eating. (The amount of food in Oshkosh is always AMAZING ... we had Fajitas on Saturday night ... and the beef was grilled beef tenderloin. I tell you, Suzanne Carmen is amazing with her ideas for fun meals with "whatever is on special" that week. Or should I be thanking Piggly Wiggly for putting the tenderloin on sale?)

The weather was simply gorgeous on Saturday. It was high 80s, and, although a little breezy for one of Al's rodeo events, a perfect day for lazing by the lake!

Others on the list who attended, please add as you see fit! If you have questions, or have photographs to add ... please do so.

TTFN

Jean Peterson

$5 Door "penalty" Fee

2009-06-01T10:53:00.005-05:00

By now, you probablely have read in the recent newsletter about the decision to add $5 to people attending squadron events who failed to pre-register for the event. Tom make a good argument on why pre-registration is important if not critical when planning events. The strongest argument is for logistical planning and food for attendees.

I have only recently planned a small event and was stressed about how to budget for decorations. If it was a major event and we had to plan for food selection and quantity, I don't think I would have been able to contain my wife's stess levels.

I know other people have called members personally to see if they would be attending and have "penciled" in those that would be attending and collected at the door. I applaud those who have made the calls. Personally, I don't have the time between work, two kids in 4 sports, house chores, boat chores, and boating on the weekends (and business travel when things pick up) to spend the time to call around to adults who have been notified at least 3-6 different ways of an upcoming event AND how to register.

I have to plan my life out at least one week in advance as it is and I make appropriate reservations for many things: hotels, rental cars, air plane tickets, kids doctor appointments, my doctor appointments. Why do I need to wait until the day of to know if I can make an event or not? If I truely don't know if I can make an event until the last minute, I should be penalized. I am when I make reservations for hotels, cars, and plane tickets.

Joanne brings up a good point about the $5 fee as it applies to potential new members and friends attending with members. These type of events normally are not on their radar and usually more spur of the moment decisions to attend with friends/family members.

I was at the ExCom meeting when this topic was discussed. We didn't really consider how to address this scenario. I think there are valid points the ExCom should discuss and decide on how last minute guests should be charged.

Of course, last minute attendees still add stress for handling logistic, food, etc. for any event.

What is your thought? Add your comments to this post by clicking on the "comments" link below or by clicking here.

Wait, Wait, Wait, Wait, GO!!!!!!!!

2009-05-11T21:49:00.004-05:00

That is what it feels like to me. Every fall I take my boat out of the water. I winterized, change the oil in the lower units, put up the tarp and strap it down securely and put out mouse traps, moth balls, and fabric softener sheets (I am told it works and haven't had issues yet).

And then, I wait.
Wait for it to get colder.
Wait for it to get snowier.
Wait for the snow to melt.
Wait for it to get warm enough to summerize.
Wait for her to be dropped in.
Wait for it to be warm enough to go boating.
Wait for the weekend family commitments to be done.
Wait, wait, wait.

I am done waiting. It's time to GO!!!

As much as I like the Triangle Day events this coming weekend, I can not wait for Sunday. It is time to go.
Go to the boat.
Go start the engines.
Go for a ride.
Go and feel the rock of the boat.
Go listen to the music over the engines.
Go to Red Wing.
Go to Stillwater.
Go to St. Paul.

Just Go, Go, Go.

Moving a Boat & Her Crew

2009-01-17T12:09:00.008-06:00

There are many (almost too many) books out there on one's journey around the US and the world by boat. All of the author's were in search of excitement and adventures and willing to share those adventures with those who may have not had the opportunity to and may long to experience the same type of adventures.

In Moving a Boat & Her Crew, author and captain Gene Jurrens does the same. What I like about Captain Jurrens approach is that it reads like a Ship's Log taking you through the timeline of the adventure. I have only had the opportunity to read the pre-view but I am interested in the rest of his adventure and hope to learn a few nuggets for my next trip up to the Kinney and more for a life goal of sailing the Caribbean for a few year (once retired, so I have some time).

What draws me in to this story is the Minnesota connection which gives me hope that my dreams are possible. I get this feeling from what I have read up to now as well as listening to the stories from members who have had some great adventures of their own.

You can pre-view the book HERE.

What are your thoughts?

What's the tide table say??

2008-12-19T22:04:00.001-06:00

You always hear of pleasure boaters forgetting to ensure enough clearance when anchoring. The good news is even the pro's will make a mistake from time to time. The good news for this guy is he should be able to be floating again in about 6-8 hours.

So you thought blogging is cool, how about Twittering

2008-12-18T22:52:00.002-06:00

Twitter.com is a site that lets you post little snippets of messages that people can follow. For instance, you saw something funny, you could post a twitter and all your friends would see it. The fun thing is many phones these days can support the postings from where ever you are at.

How much fun would it be to see what your friends are seeing or doing through out the whole summer while on their boats?

Check out a sampling at http://twitter.com/panama69

New Olympic Sport - Dumpster Diving

2008-07-30T09:49:00.002-05:00

Boaters are cheap. Well at least I try to be since the act of boating isn't the cheapest past time around. I have used non-marine rated items on and around the boat from time to time to save on expenses. For instance the cable wire I use at my slip is your run of the mill coax cable rather than the marine version. I easily justify it by the fact there is no salt water where I boat and is in no harsher conditions than what the cable company places it in when it runs it to my house under 4 inches of dirt.

But what about seaching through the dumpsters at your marina Saturday morning before your departure or Sunday evening before heading home? Are you really that cheap? I am.

My wife finds the act very embarrasing and wishes for me to stop doing it. Now don't get me wrong, I don't hop the side and sift through every piece of discarded rubbish there is before hitting the water or heading home but I do give it a good look to see if there is a treasure worth "high hurtling" in to the pile.

I have "rescued" 5 fenders that are still in good shape. Two of them are used on the edge of my slip to help me when I decide my boat needs to see just how strong the fingers are. I have saved a good piece of 9/16" anchor line that was discarded because the bitter end was starting to rot. I cut of the 10 ft end and now have about 140' of good line.

I will admit that these finds haven't made the boat in to a profit center, however, if you saw 250 green backs in a dumpster wouldn't you reach in?

And Then There Was One

2008-06-06T23:41:00.002-05:00

If you haven't read "The Will of the Sea" entry you should read through it below. As I was reading my May issue of Sail Magazine (www.sailmagazine.com), I came upon an update of Reid Stowe who is attempting to sail at sea for 1,000 days nonstop without ever touching land (Take a look at his website listed below).

His traveling companion, Soanya Ahmad, has thrown in the towel February 22, 2008 after suffering from constant seasickness since late November 2007. Soanya lasted 306 days on this adventure which I must tip my hat to her since she had no prior sailing experience and by the sounds of it really no boating experience before hooking up with a much older Rowe for this adventure.

I personally like the dream and the adventure of Rowe but I though out the question to the readers: Do you think Reid acted as a responsible captain taking such a green horn on an adventure like this or do you think he was blinded by wanting someone with him on what will prove to be a lonely voyage that he was willing to take anyone regardless of how little experience they had?

I do have to hand it to Reid though, no matter how much I would look at the "Great Loop" and think of how much planning, adventure and risk there is in that long voyage, his trip makes the "Great Loop" look like walk in the park.

One of his websites, http://1000days.net/home/ is actually pretty fun to visit just to see his past and current locations via Google maps and Google earth views (links on left side of his site).

Just a short 588 more days until he can experience the feel of solid ground beneath his feet and sand between his toes.

How should USPS promote the organization

2008-02-09T10:28:00.000-06:00

Traditionally, the organization seems to have done it through mostly one-to-one marketing and boating shows. No real national advertising campaign to promote the merits of the organization.

I would think boosting membership shouldn't hinge around a narrow focus as when I first joined, many of my other boating friends had no idea what the USPS was nor had they heard of it before.

The good news is the USPS does get some national print exposure magazines such as Sail - www.sailmagazine.com - (January 2008, page 10) with their short article on "Boating Guid to America" where they reference USPS' www.boatingguidetoamerica.com website. This site is in cooperation with Maptech.

I would think the national organization should make a little more effort in getting local & national exposure through utilizing venues that reach a more diverse community such as TV. This doesn't need to be an expensive proposition as most local station are always looking for "feel good" and local event stories for the local news. This gets noticed in the local community and often these stories get picked up by the national main stream.

Just a thought.

'Twas the month before winter

2007-11-09T22:52:00.000-06:00

If you are anything like me, you will have gotten all your winterizing done by now and are slowing down for the winter.

As I try to take my mind off boating, I find that I am drawn back to thoughts of what I need/want to do on the boat next spring or places I want to go to and then you pick up that Sailing magazine. I read of wonderful tropical voyages and see beautiful pictures of boats on clear blue ocean with a palm tree in the back ground and start to feel cheeted of great boating experiences while my boat is sitting above 2 1/2 feet of snow.

Ahhh, how sweet it would be if global warming really would hit. MN would be warm year round and I would have a boat to survive in as the seas rose high due to all the ice melting at the poles.

Ya, I know that would not be a good scenario, but if it does happen at least I have already been able to find the silver lining.

The Will of the Sea

2007-08-22T00:06:00.001-05:00

So you say you are into boating? How much so? I ran across a blog on Reid & Soanya where are trying to create a record of sailing 1,000 days without stopping or resupplying. 1,000 days is a long time, about 2 3/4 years of not setting foot on dry land. I love the sea and boats but I think a stint of dry land is also good too.

My view is sailing is a pleasurable way to travel to see new and different parts of the world. If you never get off your boat, aren't really in a prison? Or would it be more just torture since everything would be just outside your grasp?

Take a look at their adventure at http://1000daysatsea.blogspot.com/ or http://1000days.net/home/

Boat licensing

2007-08-12T21:09:00.001-05:00

Should the state require basic boating courses for sail and/or power boats over a given size or motor size? Let's face it, the boating organization has some pretty good lobbiest. That said, when you consider all the dangers and risks in boating shouldn't it require at the bare minimum a boat safty course to be taken and passed either before or with in six months of registering a boat that meets size or motor size limits? The state and federal goverment require this for mopeds, motor cycles, cars, and such when being used on public roads. Why shouldn't this be required of boaters who are traveling on public water ways?

As a case in point, I grew up in the Panama Canal Zone. For my father to rent a simple john boat with 15-20 horse motor on it, he had to carry a US Coast Guard boating license. I think this was a little extream but I can recall him studing for the exam which did make him a safer boater than if he didn't have to pass any exam.

What is your thoughts?

USPS Education Requirements

2007-08-07T00:52:00.000-05:00

I personally am not a big fan with the fact that the USPS has dropped the educational requirement to become a member of the USPS. I think it is some what on par with giving your 16 year old the keys to the car with out them going through any basic drivers education courses or passing a drivers exam.

I understand the marketing aspect of the move. Very similar to the Chinese government realizing their society will dwindle without women as part of their society and in an effort to promote the female population in the country, the government offered a monetary "bonus" to families who gave birth and kept their daughters.

This move indicates that the USPS seriously believes people look at the USPS and get to the part of the application form that mentions needing to have attended at least a "Boat Smart" class and say to themselves, "NO WAY! I am not going to be a part of an organization that requires me to know something about the rules of boating."

Seriously, that can not be why membership is declining. Could it be that people have so many other commitments in their lives between work and the kids soccer, baseball, softball (fill in anything else) that something had to give?

Why do you think membership is stagnating/declining? Leave your thoughts.

It's Blogging Time

2007-04-29T10:02:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the new feature of the Hiawatha Valley Power Squadron's website, blogging. No, I don't accept that people think that blogging is only for the young. If presidents, heads of state, candidates, and CEO's of companies can do it, then everyone can.

Use this area as a place where you can post your thoughts and reply to other's thoughts.

The blog will be monitored and in appropriate postings will be removed so let's keep it clean and fun.