C-130 Flyover

The weather on this Tuesday morning was typical for the Outer Banks of North Carolina – sunny and breezy. This was a perfect day to conduct on the water training for a group of high school juniors and seniors who are boating enthusiasts.

Eleven students, from Cape Hatteras (NC) High School attended a boating safety course centered on the Coast Guard Auxiliary Boating Skills and Seamanship course. The classes were taught by the Coast Guard and the Outer Banks Auxiliary Flotilla 16-7. The class meets every day for one and one half hours and the students receive one hour of credit upon completion.

To help generate enthusiasm in support of safe boating and to let the students practice what they are learning, Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 16-7 invited the eleven students to Colington Harbor (NC) for a day of “hands on” learning and experience.

Their day began with a 0900 arrival followed by introductions, briefings and, using five 16-7 vessel facilities, on the water teaching. The morning class consisted of proper pre underway briefings, casting off lines, radio usage, overtaking and crossing drills, man overboard drills and docking. Each student participated in demonstrating his knowledge during each drill.

We returned to the dock around 1130 where the students had a chance to practice their charting skills. They were given the task of charting our courses for the afternoon activities. It was quite interesting to watch their efforts as there seemed to be a great deal of competition among the plotters. “We have to get it right and precise the first time,” said one of the students. In the end, everyone came up with the correct courses. All were anxious to put their efforts to the test.

Chart work exercise

But, first it was time to eat! Some of the Auxiliarists who did not participate in the on the water exercises were gracious enough to prepare a wonderful lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, and fixings. No one left hungry.

We were fortunate to have a photographer from the newspaper, “Virginian Pilot,” Drew Wilson and Greenville, SC television station WITN reporter Aaron Tuell along for the afternoon activities. Both expressed a desire to be included in this event and did an outstanding job of documenting and covering the events of the day. Drew captured some great pictures and Aaron spent quite a lot of time conducting on camera interviews of the students, their teacher, and our Flotilla Commander – Jim Fordham.

After lunch we reboarded the facilities and headed out to meet “Tom Cat” an Auxiliary vessel facility that is outfitted to work with helicopters. “Tom Cat” was taking part in a helicopter and C-130 aircraft exercise. “This is great; an opportunity to watch close up,” said one of the students..

Unfortunately, because of a high priority commitment, the helicopter portion of the exercise has to cancel. However, the C –130 aircraft exercise was impressive. The pilots practiced dropping water pumps and survival gear to the simulated “distressed” vessel.

The students got a real thrill when each facility had the opportunity to be on the receiving end of a message block. This is when the C–130 flies straight toward the facility at an altitude that gets your attention. All students were amazed when the pilot, prior to his approach, asked the coxswain, “how high is your antenna.”

As the plane passed over our vessel, a message in a weighted plastic bag and attached to a kite tail is dropped from the open bay door of the aircraft. The intent is to drop the bag as close to our vessel as possible and for us to retrieve it before it sinks. All attempts were quite close and all were retrieved in short order.

Retreiving a pump

After the C–130 exercise we continued teaching several planned topics. Putting their earlier plotting exercise to practical application and proper anchoring techniques were two covered areas of interest.

We then returned to our dock and the students were shown the correct way to fuel a vessel. There followed a short debriefing and then we headed to the bus for a 1500 departure.

Throughout the day the students participated in many drills and witnessed the proper methods in conducting safe boating practices. Our goal is that they will return to the Cape Hatteras area, where boating and fishing have been in some of their families for generations, with a little more understanding of the benefits of proper safety procedures, techniques and communication.

The planning and coordinating with the Coast Guard, the high school and the securing of vessel facilities and Auxiliary personnel took more than a month to come to fruition. This was a full day for all of our available coxswains, crew and instructors. Each vessel facility had to have a coxswain and one or two crew depending on the size of the vessel and an instructor aboard. The interest and eagerness to be a part of this day was evident as some Auxiliarists had to reschedule prior personal engagements. But, that’s the way Flotilla 16-7 has always been – active, eager, and always ready to serve.

The efforts of Flotilla 16-7 were rewarded the next day with a large pictorial spread on the front page of the Outer Banks section of the “Virginian Pilot” and a terrific report that included student interviews on WITN television.

The coverage ran many times throughout the day and, hopefully, was seen by many future Auxiliarists. “You earned an A+ for the day,” said the students and their teacher.