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Beautiful Weekend for Shake & Break
by P/C Mike Kirk, AP
The boating season on Lake Murray officially started with the
annual Shake & Break event at Flotilla Island on 4 April. The weather was great
for a change and we had a good attendance with 74 attending eating at the
cookout. Of that total, 47 members attended the fire extinguisher seminar and
demonstration; while 62 arrived on 23 boats for the day’s christening of the
fleet and cruise.
Squadron Safety Officer J Strohecker presented a classroom PowerPoint on
different types of fires followed up by a live demonstration outside. Several
members tried their hand at putting out a kerosene fire with different types of
extinguishers. Everyone picked up some good tips on fire safety aboard their
boats. Thank you J.
Thanks to Danny and Kathy Glenn and their volunteers for the cookout of
hamburgers and hot dogs. They were ready on time and delicious.
Squadron Chaplain Tommy Clawson brought some extra help in the person of his
priest, Father Lyons, who was availed to give thanks for our meal and also to
bless the fleet. The boats passed in review in front of the Coast Guard docks
and were blessed for their passenger’s safety during the coming season. We had
holy water and everything this year so we were truly blessed; many thanks to
Tommy and Father Lyons.
You should have seen the boats gathered at our docks for this event. There was
well over a million dollars worth of boats and they were all looking fine! I am
always impressed by the work our members do for each other just because they
want to, which was evident as Lake Murray inspectors conducted a dozen vessel
safety checks. This is a great review for your equipment and all the rules of
safety before you hit the water.
It is a lot of work to get into the bilges, crawl out onto the foredeck to check
lights and review the safety equipment on boat after boat but our examiners do
it all with a smile because they know it is directly helping other boaters. We
found one boat with a broken stern light, flat fire extinguisher, out of date
flares, and a stuck float switch for the bilge pump. Ultimately, the boat passed
inspection because our members worked to repair all the problems. As I’ve said
many times, this is what we do for each other.
Please never miss an opportunity to spread the good news about LMPS to others
because it is a very good place to be.
The weekend was scheduled to begin Friday 3 April with a Reference Light Cruise,
but high winds and rough water resulted in that event being cancelled for safety
reasons. But the weather cleared, as you can see in the photographs below, and
14 of the 23 boats that were out for Saturday’s events were still around Sunday.
And if you are wondering about the champagne, once again the Shake & Break
weekend was the setting for members to christen a new boat. This year, J and
Retta Strohecker christened their new 1999 Regal, Foolish Pleasure.
What a wonderful way to start the boating season. To see for yourself, click on
the first thumbnail below view the larger version of the photos provided by Lt
Jay Schabacker, squadron photographer, and Cdr Jeff Langlois.
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