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ISAR 2003 By Mel Borofsky, BC-ADG, Editor, SITREP
Ernest Hemingway authored “The Sun Also Rises.” The poets here in St. John’s have amended that title to read, “The Sun Also Rises, but it rises here first.” Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary CEO, Mr. Harry Strong is a native Newfoundlander and he relishes relating the local facts and firsts. “Cape Spear, just down the road a bit, is the easternmost spot in North America. When you stand at that spot and face the sea, everyone in North America is standing behind you.” Mr. Strong will continue, “…. and St. John’s is the oldest city in North America. The first trans-Atlantic radio transmission was made by Marconi from nearby Telegraph Hill.” The Irish-European influences are everywhere, especially in the vocal lilt of passersby as they wish you a “top of the day” and finish it off with a definite Canadian flourish…. “Eh!” Fishing is a way of life in these parts and it is evident in the topography and the people. A gorgeous fjord opens into St. John’s Harbor allowing fishing vessels easy access to the sea. Huge ships line the wharves, offloading frozen blocks of fish. These are fish processing vessels that catch the fish, and then clean and process it. Sort of the whole fish goes in the front end and comes out fish sticks at the back end. The shores of Newfoundland are a mixture of extremes, turbulent and serene, at the same time. Rolling fields of purple daisies and heather come to an abrupt end at the edge of very tall escarpments. It is then straight down to a boiling sea that is constantly crashing and slamming into the rocks below. Standing at the edge of one of these escarpments and facing east and you experience the fury, turn and face west and you are enveloped by the serenity. All of this is the backdrop to the 2003 International Search and Rescue (ISAR 2003) competitions being held this weekend in St. John’s. Auxiliarists, American and Canadian, have come together to compete and display the results of years of training and months of practice working as a team. The current series of ISAR competitions started in Montreal during the fall of 2000. The following year the events were held in Vancouver, then Milwaukee and now, St. John’s. The event will be held in Portsmouth, VA next year. There are twelve teams in all, 6 U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary teams and 6 Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary teams. Each of the major area sub-divisions of the respective organizations sends two teams, 2 from Atlantic-East Districts, 2 from Atlantic-West Districts and 2 from the Pacific Districts. Each area gets to choose their method of team selection, usually by levels of competitions starting at the Division level. Each team has four members, one of who is designated team coxswain. For the six events listed below, each team will compete with three team members who will be chosen at random by the event organizers prior to the start of competition. All ISAR events will be judged this year by Canadian standards using two judges (CCG AUX and USCG AUX) for each event. The highest scoring Canadian and US team will be awarded the Canadian and US 1st place team trophies respectively. The US and Canadian team events will be as follows: There will also be a competition for the 4th team member left out of
the above events. Four international teams of 3 participants will be
created from these twelve Auxiliarists. These 4 international teams
will compete in the following 5 events: The points scored in these 5 events will be added to their District/Region team score for calculating the total points for each District/Region team. The District/Region team with the highest overall score will be awarded the International Winner trophy. This year only one of the USCG Auxiliary areas held a run-off competition, the Atlantic East. This early August competition, located at the Coast Guard Training Center, Cape May, NJ, featured various search and rescue disciplines. Line heaving, pump knowledge and operation, chart work, communications, first aid, and a search and rescue drill were the challenges facing the participants. As with any set of competitions, someone wins and someone loses. The winners are now here in St. John’s and are ready to face the stiff opposition of the other teams. This year’s USCG Auxiliary teams represent the following Districts: District 5-Southern Region District 9-Central Region District 9-Western Region District 13 District 14
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