Excerpts from the latest Scuttlebutt issue.

Greetings from N1GYX

As I sit here listening to the net and writing this article, I realize I am in a unique position that rarely happens to the Commodore of the Club. That is: leading the past year's activities and yet being able to help plan next year's as well.

In 2006 we have a great new Scuttlebutt editor, had another super picnic in Melbourne, NO HURRICANES affecting our cruising grounds on the East Coast, and a wonderful group of volunteers running the Net. Marti KF4TRG produced an impressive new edition of our Weather Reporters Guide, while holding down the weather coordinator and Vice Commodore position. Thanks Marti. We even had two roundtables to allow our members to voice their opinions and contribute suggestion for the operations of the Net. Typically, most of comments dealt with weather and position reporting, but the poor propagation was also high on the list. Elections saw THREE members running for Rear Commodore. Thanks to all that volunteered.

Now it is time to welcome Tom K4WJC and Chuck ND7K into their new positions. Again this year the Vice and Rear Commodores will have something to do. Tom will be handling the weather coordinator job, while Chuck inherits position reporting from Tom. We are lucky to have so many returning volunteers. I really appreciate the hard work of Jeannie N4WFM our Secretary/Treasurer. Jeannie has suggested, and I agree, that next year we should hold elections open until Dec. 15 so that more of our cruising portion of the membership will have ample opportunity to vote. We are still getting ballots in the mail as this is written, Dec 10. The By-Laws will need to be amended to reflect this change. After this issue is mailed I will be announcing the proposed change on the net for everyone to comment upon. Please address your written comments, if any, to officers@waterwayradio.net. That way all the officers will be sent copies of your thoughts automatically. This is a simple change and I believe the incoming officers will still have plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming year.

One last thought, if you have been considering, and even if you have not, volunteering to help on the Net, please contact me. We can use more weather readers, fleet captains and both North and South relays. Subs are always appreciated as well. Only one day a week or just a couple of times a month, even as a substitute, please volunteer. It is easy and all the positions have instructions or guidelines to help you get started. I started while cruising, so do not let the fact you are living on your boat hold you back.

Fair Winds and smooth seas in 2007. See you on the net!

73 —Ron N1GYX

Katrina has affected millions of lives, and is still. Many lives have forever changed. My Katrina story is just one story of one person whose life has changed because of Katrina.

Our boat, Sans Fruscins, is a 1977 Columbia 8.7 meter. Sans Fruscins is the only boat my wife and I could ever agree on: seaworthy, (my specs), and wide enough to dance below (her specs). "Sans Fruscins" translates to "without a penny in my pocket". That is a very apt description of where I stand on the ladder of boats and boating.

An old maritime custom says when you step a mast you should place a coin under the base for good luck. A friend of mine put a penny under his mast; I had to buy his boat so he would have money for medicine. He eventually died of cancer. I did not want that to happen to me, so when we bought Sans Fruscins we wanted a valuable coin under the mast. We chose a French coin to go with the French name.

We bought the most expensive French coin we could find (or afford) and put it under the mast, hoping it would bring good luck. Keep this coin in mind as the story progresses.

For 25 years we have had a sailboat on the MS/LA gulf coast. I know every good hurricane hole from Mobile to New Orleans. The best was Oak Harbor Marina, on Interstate 10 at Lake Pontchartrain, in Slidell La. Oak Harbor was built to hurricane specifications: floating docks, thick concrete pilings, located in a deep lagoon, protected from the wind by condos. Everyone felt safe there. Then along came Katrina.

Expecting the worst, I called our insurance company and told them to assign a claim number. I watched the news, looked at satellite images on the web, and told my friends that in my mind I had written off Sans Fruscins. No way could she survive. The picture I saw of Oak Harbor on the web was one of total devastation.

After Katrina passed I received a call from an insurance adjuster. He said Sans Fruscins was floating! I told him, "No way! You must have the wrong boat!" He convinced me he had the right boat and all was well, except that a spring line had parted which allowed the bow to climb the dock. There were wood chips on the bow, but the gel coat was not broken' Tough old boat!.... (Remember the coin ?)

The sail bag was still on the bow, mainsail cover still on and the dodger still up. I would have removed all these had I been able to get to Slidell before the storm. Friends from the neighboring boat had double tied both boats in the middle of the slip. This kept the boats off the dock so that neither one was damaged.

I went to Slidell the Wednesday following Katrina. The nearby subdivision was apparently submerged during the storm. Boats were in the street, up on the interstate to New Orleans, and near the condo swimming pool. Destruction everywhere. Our dock was the only one in the marina that was not damaged or destroyed. Investigation revealed the dock had actually gone up and off its pilings near Sans Fruscins, and had miraculously come back down in the proper place on the pilings. This would indicate a tidal surge of at least 16 feet. (Remember the coin?)

Floating debris was everywhere. We tied off a refrigerator to keep it away. A sunken shrimp boat lay just astern. Pieces of lumber, 4x4's, 6x6's and pilings floated around. I could visualize the damage that would be caused by the debris if a storm of any significance came in. Because the marina was making no effort to secure the debris or to clear it out, or to secure the loose boats, I called my insurance company; they hired a marine services company to remove our boat from the slip, take it to a boat yard on the western end of Lake Pontchartrain, inspect the hull and return the boat to us. But it wouldn't be that easily done. (To be continued)

Bill Gray, WB5BNV

The CW Net held the annual election for its only elected officer, net manager, in November. Running unopposed for this exalted office was Jay Stormer, AE4MZ, who won handily. Congratulations Jay, you are the CW Net Manager for 2007! We all look forward to working with you in the coming year. Since Jay is the net manager elect, I'm now a lame duck until the first of the year when Jay takes over.

As I write this, I'm ashore in Jackson, TN under a winter storm watch while my boat waits for me in Carrabelle, FL. It seems that I'm a bit late in going south this year and am paying the price with all this cold weather. Am really looking forward to getting back aboard and heading for the Florida Keys. Looking forward to those good lunches at the Marathon Yacht Club with ND7K and all the gang.

The CW net is continuing in a normal fashion with around 15-20 check-ins per day. Recently, we have had many members have eyeball QSO'S. I, AG4ND, met Frank, W4DLZ in Carrabelle, FL. Bob, KA30CS, and XYL met Frank, KD40YX, and XYL in Summerville, SC while both were traveling in their land yachts. It's always nice to meet people in person who've you've had contact with over the air. On SSB, you have a mental image of the person you are talking to and it can be very different from reality. However, on CW, the differences can be pretty extreme. When listening to someone's CW fist, you have no idea as to what that person looks or even sounds like.

The CW net meets every morning at 0700 Eastern time and runs for about 45 minutes. Friday is straight key day and Sunday is QRQ day. On most other days, the net runs at about 20-23 WPM (faster on Sunday and slower on Friday) but NCS will always slow down if requested.

73 and CU on CW in the AM - Forrest, AG4ND

The following members or their families have received cards or flowers from the Sunshine Fund recently.

     Julie Robinson   - Silent Key
     (wife of Howard, W1EUU)

     N4DFJ - Phil Kniskern   - Illness

     KD5MDY - Dr. Roger Wolfert  - Illness

     Ann Maxfield   - Illness
     (wife of Tom, KG4RNO / C6ATM)

     KF4TRG - Marti Brown   - Hospitalized

     N4OWP - Bob Nimmo - Illness

The Sunshine fund is not funded through your dues, but is supported by donations collected over the year. Our fund is in need of additional support and if you feel it in your heart to donate, it would be appreciated.

If you are aware of a club member in need of some Sunshine, please contact me via phone (correct in the roster), new email address kc4bgq@earthlink.net., or sunshine@waterwayradio.net.

Please provide me with as much information as possible and a point of contact. This especially holds true if someone is in the hospital. When you receive flowers, please let me know, so I can confirm they were received.

I want to thank the members of the WRCC for your support. I could not do it without you.

Jean Freeman, KC4BGQ - Sunshine Fund Chairman

Remember the classic cartoon drawings we've all seen, of sailors on a sandy, palm tree-lined beach picking up a bottle containing a note? Well, it really happens in the Bahamas, but not often. We've found three over the last 19 years of combing the beaches of that beautiful island nation.

I couldn't believe my eyes when Carol yelled and held up a bottle containing a note as we walked the windward beach across the harbor from Clarencetown, Long Island. The Johnny Walker "Swing" bottle was tightly capped, and released a slight aroma of premium scotch as we removed the note. We only understood the longitude, latitude and date; it was written in Spanish. Ashore in Clarencetown, we learned from a translator the bottle and note were released by a Spanish fisherman 18 months earlier, some 50 miles off the Portuguese coast. We posted the fisherman a letter from Clarencetown containing the coordinates where we found his message. Returning to our home in Maryland that summer, we found a letter inviting us to vacation with him in Spain. The letter contained directions to his home both by land and sea.

Beachcombing takes on a new life after once finding the elusive bottle containing a note. Bottles partially buried in the sand are never left unearthed. They must be examined.

Moonshadow's log indicates we arrived in Clarencetown from Rum Cay March 14,1989. The bottle was found the following day. On March 22, 2006, seventeen years later at Double Breasted Cay in the Jumentos, 70 miles south west of Clarencetown, Carol found another bottled note. The tightly sealed wine bottle contained a post card that unfortunately the senders failed to address. There's a nice photo of the cruise ship Costa Romantica, but no message. Bob Nimmo, N40WP, Googled the ship and reported it as an Italian cruise ship that only sails the Med. Maybe they got close enough to Gibraltar for the westerly flowing currents to carry it to the Bahamas.

The following week we moved to nearby Hog Cay. Some say this is the most beautiful of the Jumento cays, a statement with which we tend to agree. We found a small, difficult goat path across the island to the windward beach; flotsam and jetsam everywhere along with hundreds of bottles to examine. Carol was soon waving another bottle. Unbelievable - after a seventeen year dry spell we've found two within a week.

The heavily abraded dark green wine bottle appears to have had a rough journey. We see a folded note inside a Zip-lock bag, but both are soggy from the leaking cork. The plastic bag has been rotted by the sun; it shreds as we try to remove it without breaking the bottle. Finally using seizing wire and tweezers we remove the note intact. Unfolding it is disappointing. Sun and salt water have taken a toll, making the note mostly unreadable. The heavily soaked schoolbook type paper soon dries in the cockpit, but the faded block printing improves little. Using a variety of magnifying devices, we felt confident we had a zip code. Again we called on N40WP and he later reported it was for Smithtown, New York. A few letters of Smithtown were visible on the note, so we felt confident the zip was correct. Perhaps the sender was from Smithtown, but where was the bottle released?

Soon after returning to our place in N. Ft. Myers, we installed Comeast's high speed cable and dug out the note again. Google maps, U. S. Post Office data, Nassau County property records and other sites, along with the scattered numbers and letters visible on the note, produced a phone number in Smithtown, out on Long Island, New York.

Finally in late July, I spoke to Joe Brittman of Smithtown. Mr. Brittman and his two sons Jared and Zack were fishing off Montauk Point aboard their boat many years ago and Jared, the younger of the two, released the bottle. Joe didn't recall how many years ago this happened, but said the boys were small. Jared's now thirteen.

Tom, KE3JO

It was good seeing so many of you at the picnic. We have such an amazing variety of people in this net. To me, that's what makes it SO MUCH FUN.

In case you are wondering why you didn't see an article from me last year, let me just say I am a firm believer in the old adage, "Better to say nothing and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." Now if I can just learn to do that on the Net . . .

As your Rear Commodore this past year, I have been on a fairly steep learning curve. Shortly after being volunteered (I got used to that in the military years ago) to be Fleet Captain and thus coordinator of the daily Fleet Captains, I found I had a lot to learn about the whole process of Float Plans and Position Reports. That was the first of many "duh" moments for me this year and probably the reason Ron, N1GYX, asked me to fill that position. None of us are born knowing this stuff, damn it! The learning process usually went something like this, 1. Read (Net Guide) 2. Ask (Ron, N1GYX; Jeanie, N4WFM; Paul, KM4MA) 3. Do it WRONG ... repeat 1. & 2. until 3. Do it RIGHT.

To all new members, I highly recommend the above process IN THAT ORDER. Please read the Net Guide; you'll be amazed how much good information is in there. And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our other great information asset, the Website with which Bill, N4UMS, does such a great job. Then ask away ... on the net ... after the net ... you'll probably be pleased with the wealth of information on many subjects available from our members and net participants.

In early December, I added an amplifier, a high-power tuner and a new antenna to my shack (I had always been barefoot). Thanks to help from Paul, KM4MA; Cori, KE4WQD; Chuck, ND7K; new member Rick, W4GE; and others, I can hopefully send a better signal into South Florida and the Bahamas this year. After 20 years of living aboard Links, this "living in a house" stuff still feels kind of strange. I still have lots to learn.

I'm looking forward to this year as your Vice Commodore. By the way, thanks for your vote; with your support I clobbered my opponent. I have much more to learn about amateur radio and WRCC, but it's as easy as I., 2., 3. Remember how as kids we started every game with 1,2,3 GO!

73, Tom, K4WJC - Vice Commodore

Nearly 30 folks joined the Land Cruisers in Loop A pavilion at Wickham campground for "Happy Hour" after the very successful Waterway Picnic November 9. They also gathered the day before and day after the picnic and fun was had by all getting updates on each other's activities and recalling old times. Most were there in camping rigs varying from tents to big diesel pushers.

Land Cruisers are mostly Waterway Members who want to keep up with one another in an informal way whether or not they are on their boats, traveling by land or at home. Everyone is welcome to check in and talk on the Land Cruiser's Net which meets every Wednesday following the Waterway Net.

— Don Hughes, N4EOW

I would like to report that the club checking account and the Sunshine Fund are doing nicely now that the Dues and donations are coming in regularly.

If everyone who is currently a member were to renew, we would have 743 member families and 983 individual memberships in our little club. That includes the 12 new members who have signed up since October. Let's hope I don't receive many more resignations (I have received 7 so far from the Bill and Ballot mailing).

Keep passing the word around and get those new members to join. They will be happy you did!

And, don't forget that burgee when you are traveling down the ICW or anchored in your favorite spot. You just never know who might inquire about that nice flag. Fly it proudly, and watch for your fellow members. Camaraderie is what we like to see.

I hope that everyone has had a great start to the 2007 year, and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome aboard the new Officers, Ron, Tom and Chuck (well, Chuck's new to the ranks, anyway..) and thank the 2006 slate of officers for a job well done.

Thanks Ron, Marti and Tom for all your hard work. It truly is appreciated.

88, Your humble secretary -- Jeanie, N4WFM

Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Update

Cruisers Net: Every morning on VHF channel 68 there is a cruisers/ boaters net that starts at 9:00 AM, The Net covers topics such as new boat check-ins, departing vessels, announcements of interest to the boating community from local establishments, information on finding anything you might need during your stay including local services/ parts for boat repair & medical care, a buy/sell/trade section and finally the Net ends with a trivia question or two. Get connected and check out the Net!

Neighborhood Watch Forming: We are currently planning to implement a harbor wide neighborhood watch program. Similar to a land based neighborhood Watch, we will use block captains and phone trees. Unlike the landlubbers system, we will also be using the marine VHF radio's Digital Selective Calling (DSC) function to alert folks to any criminal activity, public health issues, homeland security issues, hazards to mariners and the like. I'll be doing some seminars on how to set up and use the DSC function on a VHF radio this winter. Stay tuned to the WRCC Net for more details.

Mooring Field.- The City of Marathon plans to install more moorings in the harbor. To date, no notices of exactly when this will begin have been distributed. There are currently no anchoring ordinances or restrictions in Boot Key Harbor. The existing mooring balls are obtained on a first come, first served basis.

Anchoring Restrictions Update

Miami Beach.- According to my friends, Greg And Linda Henley, aboard the S/V Flirt, the local Miami Beach police continue to enforce their local anchoring ordinance restricting anchoring to three days. This id is in spite of a Florida State law that was passed in June of 2006 that makes these restrictions for cruising vessels unlawful! Be sure to check out the WRCC's web site for more information on this important issue. As the Anchor twirls!

Good News Re: Malaria and Great Exuma Island

This from the Centers for Disease Control: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has rescinded recommendations for malaria preventive medication (prophylaxis) for travel to Great Exuma, Bahamas, because no new malaria cases in travelers have been reported from the area since June 19, 2006. Travelers are advised to follow standard CDC health recommendations for travel to the Caribbean and no longer need to take an anti-malarial drug when they visit the Bahamas." Source: Current as of November 22, 2006 http: //www.cdc.gov/travel/2006/malaria_bahamas.htm

Marti, KF4TRG

A short history of the Waterway Net gatherings and the birth of the Waterway Net Picnic at Wickham Park in Melbourne:

Burke, W4BKZ, and Beth Edwards started hosting an afternoon party called "Burke's Beer Bash" in the fall of the year and continued this tradition for several years. They provided the liquid refreshments and finger food. Beth continued the tradition after Burke passed away until it became too much work for her.

About that time Jim and Donna Bowers, WA5KMA and KC4RYP, started a gathering of friends and family called the "Pig Roast", and it soon expanded to include all members of the Waterway Net. By its own enthusiasm, it soon turned into a Waterway Net gathering. This event was held in late October. Jim supplied liquid refreshments, the roasted pig and the entire fixings for the meal. Many of the attendees provided dishes to eat at this pig roast. It turned into a lot of work on Jim's part as he spent more than a week getting ready for the event and much time after to take down and return the tent tops he rented, chairs and furniture he had borrowed, etc. After a few years, he decided it became too much of an effort to continue hosting.

Jeanie Schreiber, N4WFM, was Commodore at the time Jim announced there would be no more Pig Roasts. She asked Bob Durocher, KN4IG, Vice Commodore, to find a location and make arrangements for a replacement gathering for the Waterway Net. Bob decided the gathering needed to be as simple as possible and maybe it would be something we could keep going for the foreseeable future. He decided on a pot-luck picnic and chose the site of Wickham Park. I was asked to get the local supplies, etc. for the picnic and he made all the other arrangements. After his term as Commodore was over, I made the arrangements for the picnic, which has been successful with the help of all the volunteer helpers. I have continued to try to keep the arrangements as simple as possible.

A flea market was added to the picnic in 2004, which has been successful and there has been an increase in the number of participants at the sales tables.

The picnic is now being held in a large pavilion which has all the facilities under one roof and provides shelter from the weather.

88 - Lona, KN4RB

SB EDITOR: Four boats anchored south of the Eau Gallie Causeway for the WRCC picnic. Rick Dillen, 1403 Pineapple Avenue, Melbourne, FL 32935 had a "Welcome SSCA" sign in his back yard and welcomed our dinghies. His house is in the corner near the road, close to the library pickup arranged by Ned and will be convenient for the SSCA GAM. A thank you letter has been written to Rick Dillen and the information will be saved to contact him next year to put his hospitality offer in the Scuttlebutt.

Jim and Linda Evans AF2L

SB EDITOR: Thank you for your kind "thank you" letter for letting the SSCA boaters tic up to our dock. Actually our dock is no longer useable thanks to three hurricanes. So the boaters simply beached their dinghies in our yard this year and last. We have the only sandy beach south of the Eau Gallie Causeway, and it is perfectly suited for dinghy beaching.

We look forward each year for the Seven Seas boats to arrive, and enjoy meeting and talking to the mariners.

You may certainly tell the SSCA members and WRCC members that they will be welcome to use our beach again next year, and anytime they are passing by Melbourne.

Rich and Nancy Dillen
1403 Pineapple Avenue
321-259-6907

SB EDITOR: For the first time in years there will be no Ham fest in Miami in February '07. The reason given is the football Super Bowl will be in Miami the weekend the Miami Fest usually occurs. The following weekend is always the Orlando Fest, which is growing in popularity and will be February 9-11, 2007. Attendance at the Miami Fest had decreased for several years now. It appears the management of the Miami Ham Fest is trying to salvage something for a new date and format.

Chuck ND7K

Thanks For A Great Year! My sincere thanks to the club for allowing me the privilege of serving as your Vice Commodore during 2006! I think that somehow my work as the weather coordinator may have removed my hurricane magnet attraction too--which is an added plus!

In parting, I'd like to toast you all with a toast that one of my patients taught me: "Here's to the tall ships. Here's to the small ships. Here's to all the ships that sail the sea. But here's to the best ship, our friendship. Have a drink with me!"

73's & 88's - Marti Brown, KF4TRG

SB EDITOR: It may interest some of our brass pounders that in 1952, CW was used extensively in the Korean war. I was a sergeant in a forward infantry company, and we had very good voice radios (PRC IOs). However the Chinese jammed every frequency they could find with Chinese music, which could absolutely wipe out any voice communications. We found that we could usually copy CW through the music. As I recall, we used ANGRC 9s for the CW. The Chinese never did find a way to jam this method. Also, encrypted ciphers were always sent using CW.

Gordon Groves K3GG

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