U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Sierra Division 11

by Jack Leth, SO-OP and ALO to CG Station Lake Tahoe

Last September the Sierra Division conducted a major event patrol on Lake Tahoe covering 105 participants in a long distance SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard) event. We requested (and got) an AUX AIR aircraft to assist us in this event. There was a post on the news blog of this event. You can see the post by clicking on this link.

Because this was such a win-win event for all three of the major components of Operations (Air-Surface-Mobile Radio) it was decided to make a 50 minute presentation covering it at the District Training session (D-Train) held in Monterey, CA the weekend of 17 & 18 Mar 2012.

Jack Leth (SO-OP) and Ron Darcey (ADSO-AVT)

The presentation focused on the coordination of the three disciplines and the pre-event briefing which put everyone on the same page. Since we report to CG Station Lake Tahoe they were an integral part of the pre-event brief.

Attendees at the presentation were encouraged by the District Captain (Response) during the opening comments to investigate the use of AUX AIR aircraft in special events.

I believe the "how we did it" was well received by the attendees; their questions would indicate this is something that will be considered for future events.

This type of sharing is why we have D-Train!

Jerry Gilmore and his crew from Flotilla 1 made a presentation on Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 at Truckee High School to emphasize the dangers of cold water immersion. They discussed the recent drowning of a kayaker at Donner Lake who died a short distance from shore.

To read more about this presentation and view a video done by Reno TV Station, KOLO 8 click here.

By Jack Leth 

Sierra Division Operations Officer

As our summer season of special events was winding down our biggest one was coming up and was of major concern due to several factors.

- It was a SUP (stand up paddleboard) event that would run from the South end of Lake Tahoe (Camp Richardson) to the North end (Kings Beach), a total of over 17 nautical miles. And, it goes right up the middle of the lake, some distance from either shore. For folks in the San Francisco Bay area this would be equal to a race from Angel Island to the San Mateo bridge. Obviously Lake Tahoe does not have the ship and boat traffic the San Francisco Bay does but it's still a long way to do stand up paddling.

-While the lead participants are world class athletes, the back of the pack includes kids, out of shape but eager participants, and novices.

-This time of the year we can get the first of the winter type storms coming far enough South to whip up significant wind (but no precipitation). If the summer pattern is still present the afternoon "zephyr" can give us winds of 12 mph or more. This type of weather generally is more than the back of the pack can handle and some of these folks need to be rescued.

Their safety is totally the responsibility of the organizer but the CG Auxiliary puts assets out there to assist the organizer if he is overwhelmed and declares an emergency. We also assist enforcing the safety zone and/or try to ensure that there are no disruptions on the event perimeter.

When the organizer estimated 100 participants we decided to ramp up our preparations. The rationale was sort of like Hurricane Irene...plan for the worst and then enjoy if it doesn't come to pass.

For this event we decided to get some assistance from the Auxiliary Air group. We just weren't sure if they could really see a standup paddle board from their minimum altitude of 1,000 feet above the lake. So, we scheduled an orientation meeting at CG Station Lake Tahoe, to be followed by the aircraft actually trying to spot a standup paddle board we had "planted" out in the middle of the lake.

Planning meeting

(l to r) Gordon Evans AUXAIR Aircraft Commander,  Jack Leth Aux Operations Officer,

BM1 Travis Fraser Stn Tahoe Executive Petty Officer and Auxiliary Liaison,

BM3 Reid Roach OD and Coxswain of the Station's ready boat the day of the event.

After the meeting the plane found the board we had planted and advised they could see it and the blue Type IV cushion we had leashed to it to simulate a PIW (person in the water) so we firmed up our plans to include the twin engine aircraft. We also took the opportunity to do some training with the aircraft so we had effective coordination during the event.

Because we had five boats (surface facilities) and one airplane we activated an ACU (Auxiliary Communications Unit) to handle all the radio traffic and keep it off the Station's primary frequency.

The day of the event was a beautiful day with no wind (great news!). Unfortunately the organizer was unable to provide the assets specified in his CG permit to insure the safety of his participants so the decision was made that the Auxiliary should step up and provide closer support than we do normally do.

The Auxiliary team was in place and ready.

Gordon Evans (Aircraft  Commander) and one of his observers (Jerry Terman) prepare to get in the air from the South Lake Tahoe Airport

Bill Stolz (owner and Coxswain on Camie Marie) shown underway.

Note the 3 foot by 3 foot International Orange Banner on his Bimini top. This helps the Aux aircraft identify the surface assets working the event.

 So, this is what they look like from our boats.

However, this is how they look from the air. In fact, a little work with Photoshop probably makes the picture a little better than what the observers really see from the plane.

 

Eventually they all made it to the finish line (red arch) at Kings Beach. Glad to hear it when the organizer reported all 105 of his participants were accounted for.

That let us all RTB (return to base) with the good feeling that comes from a job well done.

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