Cold Water Training

18 Feb 2010, 1700, Air Temp 38 Degrees, Water Temp 35 Degrees

Most mariners are well practiced in donning survival suits- it is a required shipboard drill.  And most mariners have at some point in their career put one on and jumped into a nice warm swimming pool.  But the day you really need that survival suit to save your life will not be like a drill, and water will certainly not be like a swimming pool.  What to expect when you jump into 35 degree water?  Will a survival suit really keep you warm?  Only one way to find out!  The verdict?  Yes.  The word from our midshipmen is that experiencing how survival gear can work in the elements it was designed for gives them a whole new respect for the equipment made to save their lives.

Kings Point Sailing on the West Coast

We've got two upcoming events in the Los Angeles area- The first event, The 2010 Cal Maritime LA Harbor Cup will be held March 12-14. We are putting together a group of Dinghy and Offshore Sailors who we hope will be able to get over the jetlag and perform better than our last west coast trip two years ago. Then on May 14-16 we will send some of our younger Dinghy Team members to the Balboa Yacht Club Youth Match Race Regatta. With the recent format change to the Intercollegiate Sloop Nationals, we are looking to develop the match racing skills of some of our sailors- especially as Kings Point will be hosting the inaugural event this fall. Any LA locals who would like to help our sailors out with housing or a van for either of these events would be greatly appreciated!

Kings Pointers In Haiti

Pic 230

Pic 229

Pic 227

Pic 226

Just recieved these pictures from Haiti where KP Alumni have been pitching in with port repair and operations. Here is an update from Captain Brian Hall '84 who is the Marine Transportation Department Head here at KP. Great to see my classmates Don Babcock and Ezra Mead! As for those that were sailors- these I know...perhaps the others as well.
Ezra Mead- Offshore Sailing
Adm Buzby- Power Squadron - RWO
Kyle Stearns- RWO

On photo 226 and 227 personnel as follows LCDR Don Babcock USN, '95, CO Assault Craft Unit 2 ; RADM Mark Buzby USN, '79, CO Military Sealift Command, CDR Ezra Mead USN, '95, CO MSC EPU 109, CAPT Brian Hall USN, 84, CO NCAGS Det. E
Photos 229 and 230 shows port operations and damage to the port.

We are here supporting the delivery of humanitarian aid such as food, water, medicine and equipment through the port. Other grads supporting the effort include:
CAPT Rich Horn '81 MASTER USNS Lummus
Chief Mate Pete Kirk '90 Lummus
Third Mate John Bozzi '86 Lummus

CDR Dow Knight USN '93 4TH Fleet Staff

Chief Mate Jan Genemans SS Cornhusker.

Mate Kyle Stearns, 09 MV ,Victoria Hunt

The Humanitarian Aid is brought in by container ship and barge and then lightered ashore by Landing Craft Units (LCU). We are assisting the Haitian people by restoring Port Operations, Pilot Services in order to provide food, water, medical services, equipment and generators.


Please keep the victims of the earthquake in your thoughts and prayers.

Brian

Kings Point Snow Day

We are always looking forward to spring- but if it must be winter.....let it snow!

Congrats to Team Barnegat Bay- Stay Tuned for More!

Team Barnegat Bay Qualifies for the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics

Miami , Fla. (January 30, 2010) - Peeter Must (KP 05') and Carl Horrocks of Team Barnegat Bay have qualified to join the elite ranks of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) after finishing 2^nd among American competitors in US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR. Earning a position on the USSTAG roster signifies achieving a critical milestone as Team Barnegat Bay pursues Olympic dreams of London in 2012. The diligent training throughout 2009 that merited Must and Horrocks a place on the USSTAG is only just beginning. Team Barnegat Bay will now begin competing full time on the Olympic class sailing circuit. Must and Horrocks are now tasked with preparing for and competing in six European events in Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, England and Poland. A fundraiser will be held in April at the Toms River Yacht Club in an effort to alleviate the tremendous financial burden associated with Team Barnegat Bay’s Olympic campaign. Further updates and information can be found at www.barnegatbay49er.com.

Kings Point Welcomes a Tallship Captain to Summerwind

Captain Kabak at the helm of Alchemy

The Kings Point Waterfront is pleased to welcome aboard Captain Jonathan Kabak as Master of the Academy’s 1929 Alden designed schooner Summerwind. A born and raised New Yorker, Jonathan has spent nearly two decades working in Sail Training and Sea Education, while sailing aboard a diverse range of vessels from historic schooners to a modern, purpose built oceanographic research brigantine. In between running Tallships, he has worked in the marine services and pollution response industries. When asked what his favorite job on the water has been he said, “Education under sail is what I love most!”

No stranger to the Academy, Jonathan first came to the Kings Point Waterfront while working at the South Street Seaport Museum as Captain of the 1893 fishing schooner Lettie G. Howard. Working with the Department of Waterfront Activities staff, he developed an onboard training program as part of the two week Indoctrination for new students that focused on team building and seamanship for new Midshipmen. He has also joined KP staff when they have offered Safety at Sea training for the Newport Bermuda Race and the Storm Trysail Club’s Junior Sailing Program.

Most recently Jonathan was working for the Sea Education Association based in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, which offers semester college programs, aboard their square rigged training vessel the Corwith Cramer where he sailed as Chief Mate and taught Nautical Science. This year alone his voyages took him from St. Croix, USVI to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. “Long ocean passages are the ideal time to turn the ship over to the students,” he said. “Not only do they learn the practical skills of seafaring like celestial navigation and sail handling, but they learn how to work together in an environment that is at the least challenging and at its worst unforgiving.”

We are excited to have not only a seasoned mariner joining our ranks but an accomplished and dedicated educator as well. “This position is a dream come true. It creates an opportunity to combine my passions for sailing, teaching and historic ships.” Look for opportunities to meet Jonathan and tour the Summerwind as she makes appearances at classic yachting events, tallship races, and classic boat shows throughout New England this coming summer.

Jonathan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Franklin Pierce University. He holds a 500ton Ocean Master’s License for Steam, Motor and Auxiliary Sail. Currently he resides somewhere at sea and in Providence, RI with his wife Jennifer.