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Locals Win Rescue Contest

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By CARL ORTH, The Suncoast News

Published: October 10, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Four men from U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary units in north Pinellas County and west Pasco County have headed home from Canada after placing first in an international search and rescue competition.

An American team took top honors in the contest for the first time in the event's eight-year history, said Tom Loughlin, public affairs officer for Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 11.

Kevin McConn of New Port Richey led teammates Don Hoge of New Port Richey, Jim Ryder of Safety Harbor and Max Garrison of Palm Harbor.
McConn is a member of the Tarpon Springs Flotilla, and the other three are from the Dunedin Flotilla.

Both units are part of Division 11, which runs from Clearwater to Hudson and is commanded by Karen L. Miller.

Miller, the team's primary instructor and No. 1 supporter, likes to say she uses the 'carrot and prod' approach.

Also cheering the team members were their auxiliary mates and Coast Guard personnel from Station Sand Key off Gulf Boulevard in Clearwater.
Rigorous Preparation
The events in the search and rescue competition test endurance and ingenuity.

To prepare, the local winners practiced night navigation, awoke early to study communications procedures and devoted afternoons to drills.

They wore work uniforms under the brutal Florida sun.

The winners advanced to international competition after claiming the title for District 7, which extends from South Carolina to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Then the team became the Atlantic Seaboard champs.

In Toronto, the competition was substantial among champions from the other three Coast Guard regions and the four best Canadian teams.

Bailing Out, Tying Knots
Skill-testing exercises involved:

•Rowing a 14-foot wooden boat across a pond to a 'sinking ship' with a large hole in its side, using materials at hand to make repairs, activating a water pump and draining the vessel, then putting away the pump and hoses and rowing back - in just a few minutes.

•Taking over communications when a Coast Guard station loses power and, at the same time, responding to a mayday from a fast-sinking ship. Afterward contestants must coordinate medical care when someone onboard begins suffering symptoms of a heart attack.

•Having two men row a rubber dinghy while a third man throws a long line to a floating object and the fourth team member is on land tying the types of knots a judge calls out.

•Shouting directions to lead a blindfolded teammate through a watery obstacle course.

•Answering 60 questions on navigation rules and aids, and other maritime topics.

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