Scuttlebutt Summer 2020 Page 1 Scuttlebutt Vol. 33 No. 3 Waterway Radio and Cruising Club ‘Serving Radio Amateurs Afloat Since 1963’ I suppose the biggest news since I last wrote this column, is the “new normal” life that has been thrust upon all of us – the Covid-19 virus that has turned our world upside down. Simple activities that were once routine - like pulling into a marina for fuel, or picking up supplies, can no longer be taken for granted. Special entry or exit rules, permits, and times must be dealt with when making what used to be a normal, enjoyable passage, like to the Bahamas, now an arduous un- dertaking. I certainly take my hat off to the Honoura- ble Hubert Minnis, Bahamian Prime Minister, and his government for the excellent manner with how they have handled this Pandemic, minimizing what could have been a far worse disaster than what actually occurred. As for the latest news from the Net operations sce- ne, and in my constant quest to “spread the man- agement responsibilities around”, I am proud to an- nounce that we have added another Staff Officer position. This is an idea that I had been kicking around since my first term, back in 2018. It is called the “WRCC Announcements & Cruising Information Coordinator”. The purpose being, is to have a cen- From Your Commodore — Brian Hunsaker, W5YE tralized input and oversight person that maintains our Announcements page, keeping it fresh, beneficial, and up-to-date, while at the same time, removing stale, outdated news items that are no longer of val- ue. I am very happy to announce that one of our experi- enced member-sailors, current Net Control, and for- mer Commodore, Bob Norman, KE4OIL, has stepped up to the plate and took on this important assign- ment. And the best part is - WE GOT TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! Wife and First Mate Julie, KE4OIM, came with the assignment! So, now Bob is the “Announcements & Cruising Infor- mation Coordinator”, and along with Julie to assist him, they are in charge of reviewing submissions for the Announcements page, gathering appropriate data on their own, and generally overseeing management of that important information source of our Duty As- signments Sheets. In the short time they've been at the helm, Bob and Julie have already made a noticea- ble improvement in this portion of our Net program. All but the very basic entries, will be checked over by Bob before being posted in Sheets. In my opinion, this is something that was long overdue, since on many times a posting would languish on the weekly, and even monthly, Sheet long after the time of interest, or need, had passed. Many thanks to Bob and Julie! It's members like Bob & Julie that make our net so spe- cial to our cruising community. On June 1, 2020, along with the start of the hurricane season, our Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN), and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, takes effect as it (Continued on page 2)
12
Embed
Scuttlebutt Summer 2020 Page 1 Scuttlebutt · Scuttlebutt Summer 2020 Page 1 Scuttlebutt Vol. 33 No. 3 Waterway Radio and Cruising Club ‘Serving Radio Amateurs Afloat Since 1963’
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Scuttlebutt Summer 2020 Page 1
Scuttlebutt Vol. 33 No. 3
Waterway Radio and Cruising Club ‘Serving Radio Amateurs Afloat Since 1963’
I suppose the biggest
news since I last
wrote this column, is
the “new normal” life
that has been thrust
upon all of us – the
Covid-19 virus that
has turned our world
upside down. Simple
activities that were
once routine - like
pulling into a marina for fuel, or picking up supplies,
can no longer be taken for granted. Special entry or
exit rules, permits, and times must be dealt with
when making what used to be a normal, enjoyable
passage, like to the Bahamas, now an arduous un-
dertaking. I certainly take my hat off to the Honoura-
ble Hubert Minnis, Bahamian Prime Minister, and his
government for the excellent manner with how they
have handled this Pandemic, minimizing what could
have been a far worse disaster than what actually
occurred.
As for the latest news from the Net operations sce-
ne, and in my constant quest to “spread the man-
agement responsibilities around”, I am proud to an-
nounce that we have added another Staff Officer
position. This is an idea that I had been kicking
around since my first term, back in 2018. It is called
the “WRCC Announcements & Cruising Information
Coordinator”. The purpose being, is to have a cen-
From Your Commodore — Brian Hunsaker, W5YE
tralized input and oversight person that maintains our
Announcements page, keeping it fresh, beneficial,
and up-to-date, while at the same time, removing
stale, outdated news items that are no longer of val-
ue.
I am very happy to announce that one of our experi-
enced member-sailors, current Net Control, and for-
mer Commodore, Bob Norman, KE4OIL, has stepped
up to the plate and took on this important assign-
ment. And the best part is - WE GOT TWO FOR THE
PRICE OF ONE! Wife and First Mate Julie, KE4OIM,
came with the assignment!
So, now Bob is the “Announcements & Cruising Infor-
mation Coordinator”, and along with Julie to assist
him, they are in charge of reviewing submissions for
the Announcements page, gathering appropriate data
on their own, and generally overseeing management
of that important information source of our Duty As-
signments Sheets. In the short time they've been at
the helm, Bob and Julie have already made a noticea-
ble improvement in this portion of our Net program.
All but the very basic entries, will be checked over by
Bob before being posted in Sheets. In my opinion, this
is something that was long overdue, since on many
times a posting would languish on the weekly, and
even monthly, Sheet long after the time of interest, or
need, had passed. Many thanks to Bob and Julie! It's
members like Bob & Julie that make our net so spe-
cial to our cruising community.
On June 1, 2020, along with the start of the hurricane
season, our Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with
the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN), and the National
Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, takes effect as it
(Continued on page 2)
Page 2
Scuttlebutt Summer 2020
pertains to the use of 7.268 MHz., during our normal
hours of operation from 0745 EDT for about an hour.
Basically put, we (WRCC) have agreed to relinquish
control of the frequency to the HWN & NHC, in the
event they need the 40 meter propagation while
working traffic to and from an affected area of a hurri-
cane, or the remnants of one. We also agreed to
stand by and assist the appropriate net control (HWN,
NHC) who may request our assistance in relaying traf-
fic for them.
I would like to end this article with a simple request
from each of you who read the Scuttlebutt, and agree
that the Waterway Radio & Cruising Club is a worth-
while endeavor .... Make an effort to bring in one new
member by the time you're reading the next issue this
Fall.
Please be safe, and take the necessary precautions
Scuttlebutt is published quarterly to inform membership about Waterway Net news, activities and items of interest. Club Officers and Staff: Commodore: Brian Hunsaker W5YE Vice Commodore: Ridge Gardner N3JUY Rear Commodore: Bob Gebeaux KA3OCS Sec/Treas: Jeanie Schreiber N4WFM Send Roster Updates & Address Changes to: [email protected] Fleet Capt.: Bill Turney WS4Y USCG Liaison: Glenn Tuttle K9TUT Safety Officer: Dick Giddings W3RDT Scuttlebutt Editor: Art Howard KC0TPG Send articles and pictures to: [email protected] Exam. Coordinator: Open XXXX Fleet Surgeon: Open XXXX Sunshine Fund: Debbie Lerner KD4GRR Requests: [email protected] Weather Coord.: Ridge Gardner N3JUY Historian: Wes and Sandy Whitley AF4N, KE4EJ Webmaster: Bill Boyle N4UMS Contributions: Please send to: Jeanie Schreiber N4WFM Membership Application may be downloaded from the WRCC web-site: www.waterwayradio.net
Inside This Issue Commodore’s Message ............... 1 KE4ZXW PARTS WITH VIRGINIA AIR SPACE STATION ........... 2 BoatUS Says FCC's Message to Boat-ers and Those Relying on GPS: 'Tough Luck' ........................... 3 Comments from the Sick Bay ....... 4 Secretary/Treasure’s Report ........ 5 Roster Updates ........................ 6 Companion Nets to the WRCC Net 7 WRCC CW Net ....................... 7 Around the Waterways ............... 7 Obituary ................................ 9 Sunshine ................................. 9 Luncheon Schedule .................... 9 Sea Chest ............................... 10
Scuttlebutt Waterway Radio and Cruising Club
27 Cheyenne Ct.
Palm Coast, FL
32137-8966
Bob Dylan wrote a song “The Times They Are a-Changin’” in
a different era but my how the times have changed these
last few months. And it looks like it is not over yet.
So stay safe, self isolate, stay home, and make more con-
tacts on your Ham Radio. We Hams may have an easier
time of it since we have a hobby that allows social distanc-
ing while talking with our friends and colleagues over the airways. What a wonder-
ful hobby!
The propagation this summer has not enabled me to check into the net. Most sig-
nals are very weak. I can hear Ohio well but the East Coast is down in the static
level. I am waiting for better propagation so I may check into the WRCC Net.
Stay safe everyone. Follow CDC guidelines and hopefully we can get past this pan-
demic. As always, spend a few extra minutes talking to a friend or family member.
It is time well spent, since we do not know what tomorrow will bring. Friendships
and relationships reign supreme!
Please continue to share your news, stories, photos, items of interest, comments