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Brockville Squadron Brockville Squadron

MAREP/Safety

Announcement regarding Loran-C Service

On January 7, 2010 , the United States Coast Guard (USCG) announced that termination of the U.S. Loran-C signal and phased decommissioning of the U.S. Loran-C infrastructure will commence on February 8, 2010 . All U.S. Loran-C stations are expected to cease transmitting by October 1, 2010 .

The Loran-C systems in Canada and U.S. work in tandem. Once the U.S. service is discontinued, the Canadian system will not be operational. Consequently, Canada will also decommission its Loran-C system in 2010. The official date for termination in Canada has not been set at this time although, it is expected to take place on or before October 1, 2010 .

Authorities in Canada and the U.S. will be collaborating on plans to discontinue Loran-C systems to minimize disruption in navigation services. Updates will be provided on this website and in CCG's monthly Notice to Mariners as further detail becomes available.

Comments should be directed to the Manager, Aids to Navigation, Canadian Coast Guard at 200 Kent St. , 5 th floor, Ottawa , Canada K1A 0E6 , by e-mail at [contact webmaster for email information] or by phone at (613) 998-1405 within three months of 2010-Jan-08. Any objections raised must state the facts on which they are based and should include supporting information on safety, commerce and public benefit. Roger.

Pleasure Craft Courtesy Safety Checks Program

In cooperation with the Office of Boating Safety and alongside the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, our Organization will continue to conduct Pleasure Craft Courtesy Checks (PCCC) within the province of Ontario this year, if and when invited to do so by the pleasure craft owners and operators.

The goal of this program is to provide a FREE "Safety Checks" of vessels at a convenient time and location for the boating public in as many areas of Ontario as possible. The Brockville Squadron is one of the participants for our area and as such, have 3 qualified specialists to conduct this service. These Specialists are: Steve Palfrey, Ted Jenkins, and Don Cruickshank.

Members and the boating public are invited to make use of this important service to make sure their vessel meets all the Coast Guard Safety Regulations. We can put you in touch with Steve, Don (the former two on the Bridge page) or Ted whenever you wish. Roger.

RVCC Program - Boating Safety Specialists Needed

On January 16th, 2010 I participated in a Transport Canada lead course teach CPS Members to do Recreational Vessel Courtesy Check (RVCC) inspections.

This is a continuation of a program started in 2009 where CPS Members completed about 1,000 RVCC inspections - of which 600 inspections were done right here in Ontario.

I am asking for your assistance to get the word out that I am available to train anyone in Rideau District to do RVCC inspections. In that regard I have attached an article that I would appreciate if you could put it in your Squadron newsletter and even on your Squadron website.

If any of your Squadron Members are interested in this training please ask them to get in contact with me directly at {contact information available} so that we can schedule training.

Regards,
Gordon Abry, AP - Past Commander, Ottawa Power and Sail Squadron

Free Recreational Vessel Courtesy Checks

If you are interested in doing Recreational Vessel Courtesy Checks (RVCC), please read on.

Transport Canada has asked the Canadian Power & Sail Squadron (CPS) organisation to raise awareness of boating safety issues and increase the number of pleasure craft operators following safe boating practices. CPS volunteers (or Boating Safety Specialists) completed about 1,000 Recreational Vessel Courtesy Checks in 2009 and CPS is looking forward to surpassing that number for 2010. 600 RVCC inspections were completed in Ontario alone.

In a nutshell, here is what a RVCC Boating Safety Specialist does. Referencing the appropriate section in the "Safe Boating Guide", (determined by the vessel length) the Boating Safety Specialist goes through the list of minimum safety equipment required to be on board as set by Transport Canada. The Boating Safety Specialist uses a Transport Canada form to check off the safety equipment on board and if everything is there the Boating Safety Specialist issues the boat owner a 2010 RVCC decal.

Since boating laws have changed and fines are heavy we are assisting the boating community to keep them legal and providing them knowledge to boat safely. This knowledge will save the boater from getting a possible fine from the OPP and will enhance their pleasure boating experience.

I did many RVCC inspections in 2009 and found that visiting different boaters to be lots of fun and was a very rewarding experience. I was amazed at some of the myths that boaters had about the safety equipment that they were required to have on board.

I have taken a Transport Canada course that allows me to train CPS RVCC Boating Safety Specialists and I have a short 2.5 hour FREE training session that I can give to anyone in the Squadron to become a CPS RVCC Boating Safety Specialist.

I hope you are interested in this program.

To sign up please send me an email at {contact information available} to get details about timing of a training session in your Squadron.

Regards,
Gord

Brockville Squadron - MAREP/Safety Page
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-from Roger:

2010 January

We ask each member to make it a practice to carry a few CPS MAREP Report Forms on board their vessel and submit the report promptly so that the useful information would reach CHS while still fresh and valid.

MAREP Report Forms and Storage MAREP Display Boxes are being fabricated and printed and will be distributed at the following locations (if granted):

As more of these Storage MAREP Display Boxes are fabricated, the Marinas west of Brockville will be covered up to Gananoque.

Either drop the completed form back in the box and alert me of the report or send me the report via regular mail.

Cheers to all.

Roger

Brockville Squadron - MAREP/Safety Page
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Marine Reporting

Our MAREP Officer is Roger Duchesne whose mandate is to continue to improve and coordinate the Marine Surveys and Chart Updates in our area of survey. We encourage members of our Squadron and also the general boating public, to help in our observation and reporting process.

Feel free to contact Roger to report navigational hazards, changes on land and river not shown or shown wrongly or even omitted on the Charts. If you would like to be part of the MAREP team, please sign up on the using the online form and forward to our Squadron address and we will be contacting you soon.

In essence, Marine Reporting means that citizens can offer suggestions for correction and updates to the Canadian Hydrographic Service, from whence cometh our official charts. The CHS has a (semi?)-formalized relationship about this with the CPS, and on a local and district level, Roger's our man!

We have a reporting form available here (requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Brockville Squadron - MAREP/Safety Page
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River Levels

News Release -2011-Mar-31

Control Board considers rise in recent levels

IJC

(As of 2010 November:) The International Joint Commission is an independent body established by the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to prevent and resolve disputes over the use of waters shared by the United States and Canada. IJC responsibilities include approving orders for the construction and operation of certain projects that change the natural levels and flows of boundary waters to ensure compliance with the terms of the treaty. The IUGLS is examining changes in the regulation of outflows from Lake Superior through control structures on the St. Mary's River at Sault Ste. Marie.

Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River Board

The Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River Board (LOSL) is undertaking a five-year study for the International Joint Commission (IJC) to access and evaluate the current criteria used for regulating water levels on Lake Ontario and in the St. Lawrence River. The study team engaged by the IJC is a bi-national group of diverse experts from Government, Academia, Native communities, and Interest groups representing the geographical, scientific and community concerns of the Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River System.

Click the links in the preceding paragraphs for more information.

Brockville Squadron - MAREP/Safety Page
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Brockville Squadron - MAREP/Safety Page
Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons
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Brockville Squadron
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-first posted: 2004-02-04
-updated: 2011-04-01