Division Eleven Wins International ISAR ... - USCGAUX District 7

What started as
one Jet Ski and no
thoughts of using it
for Coast Guard
Patrols has turned
in to a fleet of
seven and still
growing.
Jerry and Janee
Henderson bought
their first PWC
about six years
ago. It soon became
apparent that
they didn’t want to
share it. “It’s my
turn!” became their
mantra. It wasn’t
long before a second
jet ski was purchased.
And then there were two. Janee and Jerry were both already Coxswains when they began
reading the requirements to become PWC Operators. “We had already completed a lot of
the tasks as Coxswains”, Janee said, “so we were half-way there as PWC Operators.”
Where to get the practical training around the Treasure Coast in Florida was the issue. No
one locally was qualified as a PWC Operator or PWC QE for training. “We ended up calling
Joe Lori on the west coast of Florida and asking a lot of questions on how to get the water
training. He sent us the maneuvers and courses we needed to be able to perform to pass
the ‘on the water’ portion of the
PWC Operator Qualifications.”
With some practice, they passed
the PWC QE and have been doing
Jet Ski patrols for about five
years.
Then came Gary and Terry
Barth. They had both been on a
jet ski only once before. (It was
just a two-seater and not as stable
as the ones generally used
on Patrol.) Our Ohio friends assured
us, “You can’t tip it over,”
Terry remembers. We were in
Lake Erie, just sitting in neutral
waiting for our friends to join us,
when all of a sudden a wave
flipped us over! So, when Jerry
and Janee talked about how sta-
The Wave of the Future:
Introducing Flotilla 58’s “Jet (ski) Set.”
By Terry Barth, SO-MA, Division 5
Gary Barth, Flotilla Commander (Elect) 58 on Personal Watercraft
(PWC) patrol on the Indian River. Photo by Terry Barth, Materials
Officer, Division 5.
Janee Henderson, DCP-5 calling Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce to report
position. Photo By Terry Barth, Materials Officer, Division 5.
(Continued on page 29)
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