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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Coast Guard rescues
four adrift at sea, tows to land
By Jeff Fincher
Duluth
Special to GwinnettForum.com
(Editor's Note: One group of Gwinnettians
is back home now after going through rescue at sea by the Coast
Guard. Read of their adventure!-eeb)
FEB. 27, 2004 -- Latitude Adjustment is a Catalina 470 sailboat,
47 feet long and 14 feet wide. It weighs 13 tons and has a nearly
eight foot keep below the water. It will sleep six comfortably.
It is owned and Captained by Glen McIntosh, out of Hilton Head,
S.C.
The crew for the trip was Henry Staley, Rob Sumner and me. Latitude
Adjustment left Marsh Harbor, Abaco, Bahamas on Sunday January
25 for Jacksonville, Fla. a 60 hour trip of approximately 300 miles.
Monday the wind conditions were steady at 15 knots from the Southeast
with seas three to four feet. At 1630 EST on Monday, approximately
190 miles from the Jacksonville entrance buoy, our rudder broke
while under sail. This caused the boat to immediately go into a
jibe, or that is, the sail shifted from one side to the other, a
violent and dangerous happening.
We hauled in the main sail and rolled the foresail, then dropped
the mainsail. We started the engine to control the boat and realized
immediately that we had lost the rudder.
We deployed our sea anchor to point us windward into the waves
and contacted the Coast Guard on the boat's SSB radio. We provided
the Coast Guard with our position and nature of our problem. At
the time our position was 28' 22" N, 79' 00" W, 87 miles
due east of Cape Canaveral.
At approximately 2345 EST Monday we were surprised to hear the
Coast Guard call us on our VHF radio from a C-130 aircraft. The
transmission was so clear it startled us at first. The C-130 crew
circled until Cutter Bluefin's arrival 0230 EST. The winds
had increased to 30 knots and the seas were six to eight feet, making
Bluefin's 100 mile journey more of a challenge.
The most hazardous aspect of our rescue would require our Captain,
Glen McIntosh, to go forward to receive the throw line and attach
the towline to our bow in pitching waves and darkness. For the Bluefin's
Captain it was a real challenge to maneuver the 87 foot cutter close
enough to get a successful throw line over to us and avoid collision
in the unpredictable waves.
We cut loose our sea anchor so the cutter could make the approach
without wrapping its prop in the anchor line. The first setup took
about half an hour and we began a long tow towards Cape Canaveral
at four knots per hour. Riding behind the Bluefin we fishtailed
from side to side, left to right to left, constantly swinging and
bouncing on the waves, pounding up and down over crest and trough.
Bang!!! The line chaffed and broke. It was about 0330 on Thursday.
Again, Glen went forward to the bow to receive another line. This
time he would attach a larger and heavier four inch tow line on
the dark pitching bow of the Catalina. Success, so at 0430 EST we
were under way surfing behind the Bluefin. At daylight, you
look out at the seas and get the full effect that the darkness had
not revealed. It really is a wild ride behind the Cutter Bluefin.
Around 1400 EST on Tuesday we stopped again to address line chaffing.
Using the calmer seas and remaining daylight we changed to a shackle
where we would have metal on metal. It was still tedious, but much
easier to work in the daylight and calmer seas, four to six feet.
Bluefin launched its small boat to bring us the shackle. While
stopped, we decided that one of our crew, who had suffered some
sea sickness and dehydration, would ride better aboard the Cutter.
While the transfer was tricky it was accomplished with great proficiency
and skill.
As darkness fell we were still in the Gulf Stream, and another
uncertain night remained. At sunrise, Wednesday, a cold morning,
greeted our arrival in Port Canavera, where we arrived about 0830,
making the tow about 30 hours. We had made it to shore, but the
story went unreported in the news.
It is the story of the Coast Guard personnel that risk their lives
and their heroism that goes unrecorded in the media each day. Few
people will have the opportunity to grasp and understand their daily
work the way we did while working with the crew of Bluefin.
Throughout the 30-some hours Bluefin and Latitude Adjustment
were linked by 900 feet of line, we developed a deep respect for
the crew of Bluefin. We deeply regret we did not get to meet
face to face. It had been a challenging 30 hours in which we had
used our collective experience to achieve a safe return under some
difficult conditions.
To all of the members of the Coast Guard that worked to bring us
back safely. we extend a heart felt thanks for your service!
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Georgia
gives citizens wide latitude on ways to vote
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
FEB. 27, 2004 -- The Georgia Constitution treats voters pretty
fairly. It doesn't require any sort of party registration, giving
Georgians lots of choices in any primary.
 The
upshot is that yes, Republicans can sometimes influence a Democratic
primary, such as the upcoming Presidential Preference Primary on
next Tuesday (March 2.) But so can Democrats influence Republican
primaries, too. It works both ways.
That's a far cry from the way some other states handle voter registration,
requiring that people stay, not stray, during a party primary.
And yes, some people tell us that, indeed, if they do not necessarily
have much of a choice within their party primary, they sometimes
jump over to the other party to vote. That is what could easily
happen on Tuesday. It won't necessarily be all Democrats who decide
which Democratic presidential candidate Georgians back.
After all, even if you are a die-hard Republican, it's obvious
who will be your party's presidential nominee this year: President
Bush. That's a no brainer, and not a contest in the Republican primary.
But on the Democratic side, there still remains a choice. Will
you, a Republican, swallow your pride (to the poll workers), and
ask for a Democratic ballot on Tuesday, in order to have more of
a voice in the actual selection of a Democratic candidate?
And if you do make this move, will you pick the best candidate
for the office, or the one you think President Bush could more easily
defeat? In other words, will you vote for the best Democratic candidate
to lead this nation, or will you help pick the weaker candidate
in the other party? Yep, there are some ethical concerns awaiting
you on Tuesday.
Democrats, this year, don't have to wrestle with such an ethical
question when they step in the ballot box. However, they could be
helping determine the eventual party nominee.
So, this coming Tuesday's primary could mean a little more than
it might have meant….to both Democrats……and Republicans.
* * * * *
On the flag question on the ballot, the way you vote may also be
determined by your party preference:
If you are a Democrat, will you back the blue flag that Roy Barnes
pushed through the legislature? After all, the former Governor saved
the state a lot of embarrassment, as he deftly moved the new blue
flag through the Legislature quickly, sidestepping lots of bad national
publicity. Will you vote for the blue flag in deference to the previous
governor?
If you are Republican, will you back the current red-white-blue
flag that new Gov. Sonny Perdue got through the Legislature?
If an independent, is the look of the flag more important to you
than who got it passed? Your vote could simply be determined by
which is prettiest to you, as a flag symbol for the state!
And if you are a "flagger," those who want to bring back
the pre-2001 Georgia flag which was a symbol for many who love the
Confederacy, what will you do? In reality, you do not have the flag
choice on the ballot you want. Will you just boycott the whole flag
question, since you are still mad as a wet hen about the decisions?
Flags, flags, flags: some are tired of the talk of flags. Hopefully
this upcoming balloting on the flag will halt the question, and
Georgia can remove this as an issue, and that we all come together
under the flag we vote on Tuesday.
ABOUT
OUR SPONSORS
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is the Gwinnett
Chamber of Commerce. From answering your questions and providing
a host of useful information, to promoting growth in our county,
there are people working every day to help make Gwinnett a place
where businesses thrive and success lives. For more detail, go to
www.gwinnettchamber.org.
McLEMORE'S
WORLD
Guess who's coming
to an election
Another cartoon from Bill McLemore:
FEEDBACK
2/27: North Gwinnett
student message on hope on the money!
Editor, the Forum:
Recently I wrote to the North Gwinnett High principal to express
my appreciation to North Gwinnett Senior, Steven Peele, for
his succinct article in the February 22 AJC on the HOPE Scholarship.
As a Dad with one at Georgia Tech and one at Duluth High, I've
been doing all I know how to save this very valuable program.
Steven's article hits all the buttons I've been trying to push.
It's refreshing to see a student speaking out on important issues.
I fear that parents are not aware of the magnitude of the impending
decisions being made in the Legislature.
-- Brian Luders, Duluth
2/27: Re-financing
student loans has unfair consolidation aspect
Editor, the Forum:
Under the Higher Education Act of 1965, a borrower is only
eligible for a consolidation loan if he or she has never previously
consolidated. This creates a "one-time consolidation"?
rule, and bars student borrowers from refinancing their consolidation
loans, locking those student borrowers into the market interest
rate at the time of consolidation, regardless of whether rates
fall later on. Most student borrowers are unaware of this rule
at the time they consolidate, and only find out that they can't
refinance when they try to take advantage of lower interest
rates. We were locked in years ago at 8.25 percent.
In 2003, various bills were introduced in Congress purporting
to remedy this unfair rule, all of which now sit in the House
Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The Higher Education Act HR2505 & HR2504 provides the most
relief from high interest rates to student borrowers, who are
not trying to get out of paying debt, but should be able to
take advantage of the market's lower interest rates.
-- Chris Connelly, Snellville
NEWS
2/27: UGA to provide
info on degree programs at Gwinnett Center
Prospective students interested in learning about degree programs
offered by the University of Georgia at Gwinnett are invited
to attend an open house from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March
16, at the Gwinnett University Center in Lawrenceville.
An admissions representative and coordinators for UGA's undergraduate
degree programs will be available to discuss higher education
opportunities in the Atrium of Building B at the Gwinnett University
Center, located just off Highway 316 at Collins Hill Road.
UGA currently offers seven bachelor's degree programs at the
Gwinnett University Center. These upper-division programs are
open to transfer students with at least a 2.5 grade point average
who have earned at least 60 hours of transferable course work
at other institutions, as well as students who already hold
a bachelor's degree and are seeking a second degree.
The degree offerings include:
-
a Bachelor of Business Administration offered
by UGA's Terry College of Business
-
two bachelor's degrees in Interdisciplinary
Studies offered by UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
- one emphasizing the biological sciences and the other emphasizing
the social sciences;
-
three Bachelor of Science in Education degrees
offered by UGA's College of Education - including a unique
interdisciplinary program in instructional psychology, training
and technology and teacher certification programs in science
education and special education;
-
a Bachelor of Social Work offered by UGA's
School of Social Work.
ENCYCLOPEDIA
TIDBIT
2/27: Oglethorpe
was visionary, reformer, leader for Georgia
As visionary, social reformer, and military leader, James Oglethorpe
conceived of and implemented his plan to establish the colony
of Georgia. It was through his initiatives in England in 1732
that the British government authorized the establishment of
its first new colony in North America in more than five decades.
Later that year he led the expedition of colonists that landed
in Savannah early in 1733. Oglethorpe spent most of the next
decade in Georgia, where he directed the economic and political
development of the new colony, defended it militarily, and continued
to generate support and recruit settlers in England and other
parts of Europe.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Way you can surprise
lots of people, with little effort
"Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish
the rest."
-- Mark Twain, via Annette Gelbrich, Norcross.
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