Cooperative Living June 2024 - 13

COOPERATIVE FOCUS
" A father and son brought a sailboat
Offi ce aſt er distressed boaters initially
call 911. Boaters can also contact them
directly through VHF Channel 16, or
an app called " I am responding " that
Northumberland County subscribes
to as yet another way to reach available
rescue volunteers.
A captain and crew totaling three to
50
YEARS
An average year brings
about 60 distress calls.
Storms, motors that
won't start, crab pots
or pound nets tangled
in motors can all
lead to calls for help.
four people per rescue vessel are assigned
on a weekly calendar basis through a
quarterly scheduling system. Volunteers,
who must be available at all times during
their scheduled time slots, are oſt en
self-described boaters, many of whom
have been on the water all their lives.
An average year brings about 60
distress calls; in 2023 the rescue handled
69 calls. Storms, motors that won't start,
crab pots or pound nets in shallower
areas that can tangle motors can all lead
to calls for help.
Although most people think of the
augmented reality system permitting
long-range identifi cation of navigational
aids and other objects. Th e group's rescue
vessels are staged in Cockrell Creek in
Reedville, Smith Point Marina on the
Little Wicomico River and Olverson's
Marina on the Yeocomico River.
Th e rescue group receives no regular
monetary support from any state or
governmental agency, although they
say they have received a smattering of
grants from a few foundations.
Operating funds primarily come
from an annual mail solicitation,
donations and fundraising events such
as a Spring Oyster Roast each March.
When needed, Reedville's Smith
Point Sea Rescue is dispatched through
the Northumberland County Sheriff 's
co-opliving.com
U.S. Coast Guard as the go-to entity
when trouble at sea arises, Gwaltney
points out that the nearest Coast Guard
station is about 42 land miles away in
Hudgins, adjacent to the Gwynn's Island
Bridge in Mathews County.
Virginia Marine Police also
respond to distress calls. Th e
closest U.S. Coast Guard air
chopper rescue stations are
in Elizabeth City, N.C., and
Ocean City, Md.
THERE FOR EVERYONE
Smith Point Sea Rescue
handles all kinds of rescue
scenarios, says Michael
" Quentin " Haynie, a former
U.S. Navy member who " grew
up on the water here, " ran
tugboats and now works as
a carpenter.
Smith Point Sea Recue
volunteers in action, assisting
boaters in distress.
June 2024 * Cooperative Living * 11
down here, " he says, recalling one 2015
rescue incident in which the team had to
tow a boat that had run aground. " Th ey
sailed onto a sandbar. Th e Chesapeake
Bay looks deep everywhere, but it's
not ... it slopes until you get into the
shipping channel. You get people who
are new, novice boaters and things can
go wrong. "
But even experienced boaters can fall
victim to the Chesapeake Bay. Reedville
resident Matt Smith, who owns a
northern Virginia advertising agency and
collects and uses antique wooden boats,
had to call Smith Point Sea Rescue for
help in July 2020.
" I know these waters very well, "
he says, " Th ere's a submerged pile of
rocks where the old Great Wicomico
Lighthouse was removed a few years ago.
Th e pile of rocks is still underwater and
unmarked. I wasn't thinking, was cutting
a corner and ran right up on the rocks, "
he remembers.
Smith was piloting Sweet Pea, his
1968 40-foot wooden trawler built in
Reedville by his wife's grandfather. He
recalls that rescuers arrived in about
twenty minutes.
(continued on page 12)
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living June 2024

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