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Volume 114, Issue 3
Page 8
Marine Safety
It was my privilege to ride along with
Auxiliarist Tony Madonna in his facility on
24 JUN 2017. This was, however, no "joy
ride" as its purpose was to retrieve debris
from Lake Clarke (Susquehanna River) in
Division 19's AOR during the patrol
weekend of Flotilla 19-04 of which
Auxiliarist Madonna and myself are
members.
The clean-up began at 0930 with a sweep of
the Division's dock area yielding plastic trash,
a long re-bar, as well as a discarded boat
fender. After getting underway, we kept eyes
peeled for any debris in the water or near the
shoreline. I am pleased to report that the
waters and shoreline of Lake Clarke for the
roughly 4 mile round-trip are relatively clean.
When we did encounter a bottle or two or a
plastic bag, it was scooped-up in a fishing net
Retrieval of two items, did, however, present
problems. First, on the York County shore, we spied a lid to a children's sandbox. I won't mention the brand, but
it is green and in the design of a turtle. If you have children or grandchildren, you probably are familiar with the
type. Auxiliarist Madonna displayed expert seamanship and boat-handling skill, maneuvering us so that with the
use of an extendable grappling pole, the lid was hauled onto the vessel. Venturing over to the Lancaster County
shoreline, we saw a propane tank which again, through Auxiliarist Madonna's skill, we were positioned to retrieve
from its resting place on the shore employing the pole once again.
We spent the remainder of our time on the water assisting the other 19-04 facility practice stern-to-bow, side-by-
side towing, and carrying-out a "man overboard" drill. Plastic recovered will be taken to a plastics recycling facility
while the same will be d one for the metal debris at a separate facility. Other trash items were properly disposed-
of.
I extend my thanks to Auxiliarist Madonna for all that he did before, during, and after our debris clean-up activity.
Semper Paratus,
Gregg R. Bollinger, ThD
ADSO-MS (W), SO-MS Div. 19, FSO-MS Flot. 19-04