Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

(MASSENA, NY) The United States Coast Guard's activities on the St. Lawrence River sometimes seem to be a well-kept secret. The Coast Guard's Ninth District operates a small boat station in Alexandria Bay and a Marine Safety Detachment in Massena. Both units are assisted by volunteers from the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Auxiliarists, all of whom have passed homeland security screening and completed FEMA emergency response courses, are highly trained volunteers, who, based on their interests, participate in on-the-water safety patrols, teach boating safety classes, conduct free vessel safety checks, and perform more than a hundred additional Coast Guard approved missions ranging from providing financial planning services to young Coast Guard personnel, to training Coast Guard Academy cadets on the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle.

The Massena based auxiliary, which conducts safety patrols on the St. Lawrence River from the Robert Moses Power Dam to the Iroquois Lock had only one boat doing safety patrols last year. This year they are pleased to announce that they will be adding at least two additional facilities to their safety patrol schedule. The boats, owned and operated by the volunteers, are there to assist anyone needing help on the water.

The below picture is an example of the identifying markers of a USCG Auxiliary patrol facility. Every patrolling vessel flies the flag of the United States, the red striped patrol flag, and patrol boards on either side identifying the vessel as being on patrol.

The auxiliarists who staff these safety patrol facilities go through the same kind of education and training required of the active duty Coast Guard, and they are required to refresh and demonstrate their skills on a regular basis. Some of the skills required include boat handling, vessel towing procedures, running search and rescue patterns, and the ever popular, knot tying.

People join the auxiliary for a lot of reasons. Number one is the opportunity to give back to their community while doing something they truly enjoy. Another very big reason is for the free educational opportunities, which include things like seamanship, rules of the road, navigation (using both paper charts and GPS), radio communications, invasive species mitigation, hazardous material response, and far more.

The local auxiliary division, which has units in Massena, Ogdensburg, Alexandria Bay, and Sackets Harbor, is trying to expand in the North Country, so they want to encourage anyone interested in boater safety to consider joining. There are volunteer opportunities for every skill set. The only requirements are that a person be 17 years of age or older, and a citizen of the United States.

For more information on joining the auxiliary call (315) 769-9507 or (315) 842-3206.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed volunteer component of the U.S. Coast Guard and supports the Coast Guard in nearly all its service missions. The Auxiliary was created by Congress in 1939. For more information, please visit http://www.cgaux.org