KNOW THE BOATING "RULES OF THE ROAD"?
HAVE KIDS WHO NEED BOATING CERTIFICATION?
COMFORTABLE HANDLING YOUR BOAT IF YOU HAD TO?

The Anclote Key Sail and Power Squadron, which covers the area from Dunedin to Hudson, will offer  "The Squadron Boating Course" at 7:00PM on Tuesdays Sept. 16, 23, 30, Oct. 7, 21, and 28, 2008.  This 12 hour course, plus 2 hour review and exam, will be held at the Gulf Harbors Civic Center, 4610 Floramar Terrace, in New Port Richey.

The cost is $45.00 for the student manual, course plotter and dividers (for chart lessons). It  covers Rules of the Road, Boat Handling, Seamanship, Needed Equipment, Lines and Knots, Aids to Navigation, Trailering, Adverse Conditions and Chart Use. 

A "safe boating" class is a simple way to learn the basics of boating for you, your kids, and other family members who want to better understand the rules of boating or be better equipped if called upon to help should the need arise.

You will receive a Squadron Certificate and a Florida ID after passing the final exam. 

Preregistration is required since there is limited space.

Call or email Howard Mielke, 727-785-7923, omielke@aol.com   for information and registration.

Check out the Squadron website at www.usps.org/localusps/anclote.

UNITED STATES POWER SQUADRONS
Dedicated to making boating safer and more fun

Learn to SCUBA Dive
By Tom Robinson

The course where you learn to SCUBA Dive consists of three parts; Knowledge Development, Confined Water Dives, and Open Water Checkout Dives.

Boating Safety Supported by Florida Marine Industry
By Kirby Collins

Florida is the perfect for getting out on the water with family and friends, but a boating accident could not only ruin the day, it could cost lives.

Every year this event collects tons of garbage lurking in the mangroves and along our coastal waterways. Among the debris collected is fishing line which kill seabirds when they become entangled in its web.

Site captains are Betsy Crisp, Pasco County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences faculty member for the University of Florida and Kurt Conover, director of business development for Regional Medical Center of Bayonet Point.

This year the event is scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon on September 20th.

Practice has just gotten underway and both teams could use a couple of more players to augment the team. Paperwork will be rushed through and fees will be worked out if necessary to get your child in on all the fun for both players and parents alike.

If you have a child that wants to play or know of someone who might be interested please contact the below organizers to make it happen.

This is a Key West style street party featuring live music on 3 different stages - the Havana Stage, Margaritaville Stage, and the Cavalaire Stage.

There will also be a classic car cruise-in, food vendors, tropical arts and crafts, 2 tropcial beer gardens and a cigar hut where folks can kick back and enjoy their "KUBA Cigars!"

The event is on Friday, August 15, 2008. It starts at 5PM and runs until 11PM.

Old "Flint Head"

"Flint Head" is one of the old nicknames for the Wood Stork. I think this came about due to the featherless black head that easily makes this bird one of our ugliest wading birds. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which was proven in 2006 as 11,000 pairs mated and nested throughout its southeast range.