Excerpts from the latest Scuttlebutt issue.

Greetings from N1GYX

It's 2006!, Happy New Year and ....where does the time go? Seems like only yesterday, when I watched Charlie, on the Good Neighbor, careen his boat on Big Majors Spot beach. Later he gave me a copy of the WRCC roster and got me on the net. That same year, Norma, W8PZH had me helping with ham exams in Georgetown Exumas, Winter 96. Lots of good memories since then.

A new year and a new group of officers for the WRCC. Welcome aboard to Marti Brown, KF4TRG our new Vice Commodore, and Tom Rader, K4WJC as Rear Commodore. Thanks to all the volunteers from last year that have signed up again this year, may it be a great year for all. A special thanks to Bob C6ALD our hardworking outgoing Commodore!

What will we do with our new year? First, we continue the great net we have and strive to make it better. It surely is not broken, so no fixing is necessary, but how can we make it better? First, let's get some input. We will be having a round table discussion in January (21st) to seek input by voice, but don't forget that you can also provide input to our officers by phone, fax and email as well.

Then some things I would like to see done. One, the Vice and Rear Commodores do not have assigned tasks according to our by-laws. I would like to see that change. Both the Vice Commodore and Rear commodore can benefit from having to recruit and schedule volunteers. So, Marti is our new Weather Coordinator, while Tom is handling the Fleet Captain responsibilities. Marti has already updated the Weather Reporters information. Second, it is time for a new Net Guide. Lots of sections could stand refreshing and, as times have changed, some new sections need to be added. We need input and help here as well. The goal for publication of the Third Edition is with the Fall Scuttlebutt. What would you like to see in the Net Guide? We need to know now if we are to meet our timetable.

Some other changes are already underway, for example, the tech net on Sundays is progressing. A PSK31 net is making its mark and seems to have taken hold on the after net Monday time slot. Still not much progress on the social hour due to other informal nets that took over that spot when our informal gathering went by the wayside some years ago. Any suggestions on another way or place to try to bring the social hour back to life?

Before I close, we have a great group of volunteers and thanks to you all. But, we have all seen good folks leave us over the years as life styles change and other good reasons. So, we need to keep bringing in new volunteers to keep the net alive and active. It is easy to start as a daily weather reporter or daily fleet captain, how about north or south relay to learn the ropes? We have scripts for all the positions or simply listen to the others now and imagine how you can help. Just let Tom, Marti or me know you are willing and we will help you over that same hurdle we all overcame.

We survived the rush of "Bill and Ballot" time yet again. Of the 772 envelopes that I sent out on November 1st, I received 403 of them in time to be counted for balloting by the end of November. An additional 40 members voted via email. While that is only a 57% return rate for voting, I have to say that an additional 97 ballots were received in December. Of those 97 ballots, 45 of them actually did vote, but they arrived too late to be counted (I checked, it would not have made a difference in the voting results). So, having said that, I would like to congratulate the new officers, Ron, Marti, and Tom, and say that I look forward to working with the new crew.

The pre-addressed envelopes that I send with the Bill and Ballot have been greatly appreciated by me and my mail carrier. It makes our lives so much simpler because of the unique size and the printing on the front. Thank you for using it (96% did use it) and please use it next year, if at all possible. You can check out the graph of the number of envelopes that I received during the month of November in the next column. We averaged over 20 ballots a day, with a peak of 66 on the 12th.

The treasury is quite stable at this point. We have just over $16,000 in the checking account and our expenses for printing and mailing the 2006 Roster and the quarterly newsletters are expected to cost about $11,000. The other funds will be used for the Sunshine Fund and to purchase some more burgees for sale to members.

Don't forget to check out the club web site www.waterwayradio.net. Bill has been doing a super job of keeping it up to date. We are averaging almost 20,000 hits a month so people are looking at it. And, I do receive new applications that have been downloaded from the web site. We have added merchandise with pictures so you can see our burgees, pins, and now shirts. Check it out.

Respectfully submitted,  Jeanie - N4WFM,  WRCC Sec-Treas

The CW net remains very active. We continue to have new check-ins and these along with the regulars keep the average number of check-ins at around twenty per day. One thing I've noticed lately is the increase it the number of QRP (5 watts or less) check ins. While not as strong as a good QRC signal they're usually quite readable or CW.

Many of the members of the Waterway Cruising Club are on boats using battery power, it would make sense to take a look at CW as a mode of communication, especially as emergency backup for use where the batteries are low and the engine won't start. A SSB rig will draw 20-30 amps while sending and a couple of amps or receive. A QRP CW rig will draw a few milliamps on receive and less than 2 amps on transmit while getting out as far as the SSB signal drawing much more current.

The efficiency of CW is demonstrated almost daily for me. While I'm ashore in TN and ND7K is in Marathon, I can normally read him 599 on CW while on SSB, I car hardly read him at all. While it's not like that every day, he's always much more readable on CW than SSB.

Over time, the CW net has been creeping of in speed as the operators get used to CW. The normal speed is currently around 22-25 WPM which is too fast for many people who do not regularly use CW. However, any NCS or operator will be glad to slow down to whatever speed an operator wishes.

On Fridays, we still have Straight Key Day where the speeds are considerably slower. We used to have other days that were slow speed days but they have faded away with time. If anyone is interested in having a slow speed CW net, let me know. I can be reached AG4ND@winlink.org or on the Waterway Club CW or SSB Nets.

Early last year someone on the CW net suggested that it would be nice to be able to operate CW as easily as one could operate RTTY or PSK 31.

We discussed it for a while and I took on the challenge of writing a CW terminal program which would allow that. The program is now available on my web site at http://fmyers.com. It's free to anyone who wishes to use it.

The CW Net starts at 07:00 Eastern time every day on 7.050 Mhz. and usually ends before the SSB net begins. Many ops. start gathering on frequency a half hour or more early. Join us-we'll look forward to hearing you on CW!

73, Forrest, AG4ND

I don't really know how to start thanking all the people who have helped to make this past year so pleasant and painless for me, as Commodore of the Waterway Net.

It was a sad year in some ways, as we lost quite a few valued members of the Net. We all especially miss Ken, W2VJB, and Dave, KG0KE. My thanks go to John, KF4OIP, for stepping in as Rear Commodore when we lost Ken. Also, heartfelt thanks go to Jean, KC4BGQ, for bravely continuing to act as both Sunshine Lady and WX reported in spite of the sad loss of her husband Phil, K2HRZ.

I am also endlessly grateful to all the Net Controls, Net Relays, WX reporters and Fleet Captains who kept the Net running every day, especially the "old reliables" who are always there, and always willing to sub for an absent member.

But I would especially like to thank two Net members who do an enormous amount of work behind the scenes: Don, W5TNA, who does such a superb job of producing Scuttlebutt every 3 months; and our secretary Jeanie, N4WFM, without whom the Net would be total chaos. She was always there to tell me what I needed to do, when to do it, and how to do it - and all in the nicest way possible. We are so lucky to have people like Don and Jeanie.

The year ahead should be a great one, with three good, competent, enthusiastic officers to run the show. My very best wishes go to Ron, N1GYX, Marti, KF4TRG, and Tom, K4WJC, for the coming year.

And last but not least, I'd like to thank my wife Ali, C6ALE, for letting me keep the radio in the bathroom all year, and my cat Blackie for waking me up on time every morning. Best wishes to all in the New Year

- Bob, C6ALD

The following members or their families have received cards or flowers from the Sunshine Fund during the past three months.

OCTOBER 2005

   N4HMP - Kay Mueller: Hospitalized

DECEMBER 2005

   N4GHF - Hal Sutphen: Silent Key
   KB3KR - Lawry Bennetts: Eye surgery
   WB2GAG - Bernie Stahl: Hospitalized
   WB4GQK - Jim Johnston: Hospitalized

If you are aware of a club member you think has need of some Sunshine, please contact me via phone or e-mail (the information is in the current roster) or sunshine@waterwayradio.net. This especially holds true if someone is in the hospital. I would appreciate you letting me know when you receive flowers so I can confirm they were received. Jean Freeman KC4BGQ

(Ed. Note: Jean also wished to add a personal note in this Sunshine Report) "My family and I want to thank the Waterway Radio and Cruising Club for the beautiful tropical arrangement of flowers sent to me after Phil became a silent key. We also thank those of you who were able to attend Phil's "Celebration of Life" service, sent cards, donations to Hospice, e-mails, telephone calls, food, prayers, and comforting words in memory of Phil. It was very heartwarming and we appreciate your thoughtfulness. " Jean Freeman - KC4BGQ

Hi, Gang ! I had not written much medical news for awhile because I wasn't sure what might interest you. Now, I have an experience with a boat collision you should hear about. It happened in Biscayne Bay on a moonless night one-half mile off of Coral Gables between the private Cocoplum Marina and the better known Mattheson Park Marina.

Two boats were going in opposite directions at about 25 kt. The one was a Contender of 24 ft., and the other a Sea Craft of 22 ft. Four persons were on the Contender and two were in the Sea Craft.. It is very likely that one (perhaps both) were running without lights. They crashed! The crash produced six victims. That's what I want to tell you about. One person had only minor injuries, two were critically injured and my people had them air lifted to Ryder Trauma Center. One had a broken arm and ribs and was taken to a nearby hospital.

The sixth victim could not be located. We boaters all aspire to do the right things when we get involved in such human disasters. In this case, the details provide a rich learning experience.

a.) The process of reporting and calling for help,

b.) The shore facilities that can respond to near-shore boating accidents

c. ) The communications problems presented in the whole situation and,

d. ) The resources and methods of the Coast Guard.

Much of the information I learned at the Monday morning critique we just held on the incident.

If we or someone nearby is involved in a boating incident with injuries or otherwise immediate danger to life or property we need to think of how to call for help. The Coast Guard tells us that "most people use their cell phones". "THIS IS A MISTAKE !" The cell phone call connection is frequently lost. This means Coast Guard has insufficient information on which to base their search and response. There is no tape to replay to glean the most from the call. USE THE MARINE VHF! The link is more dependable. Plus, the call is recorded and can be (and often is) replayed over-and-over to better assist the Search-and- Rescue response team. Boaters are urged to have at least a hand held marine VHF two-way radio. An installed VHF is better and to have both is the best plan. Do try to report your location accurately.

In our incident, a passing boat "Good Samaritan" called in reporting a boating accident with people in the water and gave an accurate Lat/Long. The call was by cell phone. The call went by cell phone to the wrong city, in this case to the City of Miami fire/police dispatch center.

They, in turn, passed the call to the Coast Guard. (The Coast Guard may be interested but they have no Paramedics equipped for immediate responses to metropolitan rescues. The Miami dispatchers were savvy enough to contact our Coral Gables Marine Patrol boat with its one man crew - "just to alert him" - and told him not to respond.

Our Marine Patrol officer (we'll call "Vinny") wrote down the Lat/Long and knew at once the incident was in his Coral Gables waters ! He contacted the Coral Gables Emergency Dispatch Center and called for Fire/Rescue and a double check on the Coast Guard. It was a pitch black night. Even so, armed with the Lat/Long, Vinny found the scene within a very few minutes. There was only the one crashed boat and it was half sunk in the 3 ft. of water. There had to have been a second boat but it was not to be seen in the darkness. He found two victims in the water, the conscious one keeping the comatose one afloat to some extent. He got these aboard his patrol boat and raced them to shore, at nearly 50 mph., where our fire/rescue paramedics were now waiting to provide medical care. Vinny then raced back to the crash scene and found more victims, still on the sinking boat. Two had significant injuries and one was only slightly injured. Vinny asked if there were any more and was told, "No, that's all." but during the transport one victim looked up and said, "No, no, Carlos is missing !"

- Jim, K4TCV

Vice Commodore - Marti Brown

This column will be targeted to reporting notes of interest to boaters about conditions affecting the waterways, shoals, hazards to mariners, bridges under repair, lock closures/openings, marina closures/openings and the like. Please send information to: vicecommodore@waterwayradio.net

Chub Cay Marina, Bahamas:

The marina is closed. There are no customs services, no fuel and no dockage. The tentative opening date is March 2006. Stay tuned.

Miami Beach, Florida Anchoring Ordinance:

In 2005, the City of Miami Beach has passed a one week anchoring limit ordinance. Some amendments were also passed that will allow the one week limit to be waived in the event of illness, repairs or hazardous weather.

Marathon, Florida Keys:

Bayside Marina Closures due to Hurricane Wilma: Banana Bay and Faro Blanco Bayside. All Atlantic side marinas are fully operational.

Keys Boatworks has been sold. The yard will remain open and fully functional until Summer 2006.

Lake Okeechobee Waterway:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announces closure of Okeechobee Waterway from Moore Haven to St. Lucie Locks October 26, 2005.

Jacksonville, Fla. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, announced that in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma, the Okeechobee Waterway has been closed until further notice, from the Moore Haven Lock to Wilma, the Okeechobee Waterway has been closed until further notice, from the Moore Haven Lock to the St. Lucie Lock. A sunken boat, debris and floating vegetation are hindering safe navigation.

Addendum:   "Further information may be obtained on the Jacksonville District web site at www.saj.usace.army.mil, on the Coastal Navigation and/or Water Management pages, by clicking on Navigation Bulletins and Lock Closure information, or by calling the South Florida Operations Office at (863) 983-8101."

(Ed. Note: We've asked newly elected Vice Commodore Marti Brown to begin writing a Vice Commodore column which will begin with the next issue of "Scuttlebutt").

What a stormy hurricane season 2005 was! It will certainly go down in the history books. There were 26 named storms, 7 Major (category 3 or higher). Vince was the first tropical cyclone in recorded history to make landfall in Spain. Hurricane Wilma marked the first time three Category 5 hurricanes formed in the Atlantic basin in a single season and Wilma now holds the record for the lowest barometric pressure ever recorded in an Atlantic basin hurricane; 882 millibars. As I write this update in early December, Hurricane Epsilon was still churning away far out in the Atlantic. Hurricane season has been officially over since the end of November 30th.

Marathon, in the Florida Keys, was brushed by three hurricanes and one tropical storm in 2005. Wilma, the last hurricane to edge past us provided a storm surge on the Florida Bay side of eight feet. Marathon's airport was under four feet of water and the Fire/ Rescue station adjacent to the airport, had to evacuate the station. Most all of the marinas, restaurants and homes on the Bay side of the Keys were badly damaged or destroyed by the surge. I estimate Wilma's sustained winds to have been around 100 MPH with higher gusts-Category l. Amazingly, there were no deaths in the Keys with any of these storms.

Many people elected to stay on their boats; a decision they would luckily live to regret. Numerous unattended boats sunk and/or blew into the mangroves on the Eastern end of Boot Key Harbor. I drove around town about 9 AM and stopped at the City Marina. The boats in Boot Key Harbor were struggling in 50 knot sustained West winds on the backside of Wilma. From my perch at the seawall I watched a friend's 49 foot sailboat as it careened through the mooring field. The lines tied to the mooring pennant gave way from chafe.

I had taken my boat out of Boot Key Harbor and tied her off to the mangroves in Whiskey Creek. When I saw the 24 hour wind and wave forecast on October 21 st I decided to evacuate to the hospital instead of going to a friend's house on the Florida Bay side. NOAA predicted 50-55 foot waves in the Yucatan channel. I figured that the Bay side of the Keys was going to get one heck of a surge as Wilma roared past us.

I found shelter at the hospital and worked the emergency room with Scotty and Doctor Cynthia Johnston. It was a little daunting knowing that there were only three of us to care for the 50,000+ residents that had not evacuated. We had been on generator power since about 2 AM and the ER was a little toasty. The fire/rescue scanner was nonstop with reports of house fires, car fires, propane canisters floating free and spewing their volatile contents. There were reports of people trapped in their flooded cars. I worried about what we would do if we received severe burn victims, crush injuries and near drownings. We had no lab, no x-ray, no in-patient, no surgical services and no way to get seriously injured patients off the Keys. Luckily, the injuries we saw were not catastrophic. They included lacerations (one fool sliced his arm while attempting to take his storm shutters off when it was still blowing about 35 knots!), dislocations and broken bones. We heard that sections of US 1 were impassable and that Key West was under water. It wasn't until later that evening that the wind slowed down enough that we could get a helicopter in safely.

A FEMA Disaster Medical Assistance Team, comprised of two nurses, two paramedics and a physician, was deployed to the hospital. They are from Tennessee and had never experienced a hurricane. At first they said it was fun and then it got a bit scary for them. We put them to bed as Scotty, Doc & the DMAT team members were some of the finest people you would ever want to meet!

Cell phones after the storm were intermittent, many land lines were down, but the hospital phones worked perfectly. I only had a two meter hand-held and I really wished that I had a portable HF rig. If we had been hit dead on by Category 3 Wilma the damage and injuries would've been much worse. Ham radio or satellite phone would've been the only options. Santa came early and I now have a rig in the car. Now that I've got portable HF comms maybe I won't need it? Hope springs eternal.

Chuck, ND7K and his wife Chris had 42 inches of flood water and muck inside their house courtesy of Wilma (they live behind the airport on the Florida bayside). Chuck's Ham shack was submerged-luckily he had put his radios up on the second floor but, his 2-meter repeater antenna was beaten up by the wind and storm surge. It now pointing to the North. The good news is that the repeater is back and operational since the morning of Hurricane Wilma.

Other Business: Ron, N1GYX, has asked me to assist as the weather coordinator for 2006.

Note: If you are planning a visit to Marathon and hope to tie up in a marina on the Florida Bayside, you should call ahead.

Marti, KF4TRG

"Many sailors have always wanted the amateur radio license but were never successful in passing the required Morse Code examination for worldwide long-range SSB and E-mail communications. "Learning Morse Code and passing the required CW test is the main reason I can't use my marine SSB on ham radio frequencies," comments Jaquelyn Hillier from San Francisco. "The code is something like learning music and playing the piano--I'm not musical, and all the dots and dashes sound the same to me. And sitting in front of a group of ham test examiners staring at me during the Morse Code pressure test-- no thank you, I will wait until the FCC drops the Morse Code test requirement like most other countries have already done," adds Hillier, aptly pointing out that many countries throughout the world have already eliminated the ham radio Morse Code "pressure exam." And the code test is indeed performing under pressure. Even though the CW speed was reduced from 13 wpm down to 5 wpm, your code copy must be nearly perfect for the 5-minute test in order to answer 7 out of 10 questions for a passing score.

The WRC-03 Final Acts (Worldradio Conference in 2003) amended Article 25 of the radio regulations to now allow all countries to determine whether they would keep or kick out the Morse Code test for worldwide ham radio operation. Our country is now one of hundreds that will soon drop CW testing requirements for the long-range ham radio General class and Extra class licenses. "Morse Code has become obsolete in practically all other contemporary communications systems, due to the emergency of satellite and digital communications technologies," comments the National Conference of Volunteer Exam Coordinators, the very group that oversees ham radio examinations.

"Morse Code testing is an unnecessary burden on applicants," adds the National Testing Group, with many volunteer ham radio examiners echoing their sentiments and recount test room horror stories where sailors and RVers come together at a convention, pre-studied the Morse Code dots and dashes months before the event, and failed terribly due to the pressure of an unknown code test with a team of volunteer examiners watching their every pencil stroke during the 5 wpm, 5-minute examination.

Sailors won't need to wait long before the FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order becomes the law. There will be a 60-day comment date plus 15 additional days for reply comments before the FCC turns WT Docket #05-235 into law. First of the year in 2006 looks promising, with spring about the longest where CURRENT rules still require the 5 wpm code test for high-frequency voice and e-mail operation. But many mariners are hitting the books NOW to pass the entry-level Element 2 35 question test and General class Element 3 35-question General written exam BEFORE the code test is eliminated. Successfully passing both Elements 2 and 3 leads to the Technician class license with a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) validating the General theory test passing for 365 days. The CSCE won't convey General class worldwide radio operating privileges until AFTER the code test date hits in Spring. A paperwork update would then upgrade any new operator to worldwide General class frequencies without the code test.

The "only paperwork" upgrade for anyone with a valid CSCE for General class theory may be accomplished nearly worldwide by 3-member accredited testing teams who may offer exams and paperwork upgrades inside and outside the USA. And more good news--the new privileges INSTANTLY kick in as soon as the paperwork is completed abroad or here in the USA. And there is talk of the 2 written exams maybe getting tougher, now that the code test is going away--so many sailors and long-haul skippers and cruisers are getting all of the written paperwork out of the way NOW rather than waiting for the rules to change first of next year with the elimination of the Morse Code test.

The elimination of the Morse Code examination will have no impact on the ham radio tradition of sending basic dots and dashes to convey messages under emergency conditions. The Morse Code will always be part of ham radio's heritage, and I actually expect more people to begin learning the code now that it is no longer a test requirement after the first couple of months of 2006. Dots and dashes will survive, and by international agreement the ham radio Morse Code test will no longer be required around this Spring.

For additional details on this Rulemaking, plus information on how to accomplish the paperwork anywhere in the world, contact 800/669-9594 and ask for the Volunteer Examination Coordinator. This same group also has up-to-date written examination training materials, too.

73's-Gordon West, WB6NOA

Past Issues: Fall 2004    Winter 2005    Spring 2005    Summer 2005    Fall 2005