Four members of Clearwater Flotilla 11-01 faced off this weekend at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, NJ for the opportunity to compete in the 2006 International Search and Rescue competition, held in October in Portsmouth, VA. Their win ensured them a spot as one of six teams to represent the United States against six teams from Canada.
Karen Miller, Greg Gamache, John Keyes and Mel Manning began practicing a year ago for events such as search and rescue planning and execution, operating a dewatering pump, knot tying skills, heaving line throwing and damage control (i.e. patching a ruptured pipe). Quickness, proficiency and teamwork determine a team's score, with the highest overall score declared the winner.
The ISAR competition was started in 2000 as a way to promote the efforts of thousands of volunteers in both the United States and Canadian Auxiliary. The location alternates between a U.S. Coast Guard Station and a Canadian Coast Guard Station each year. To learn more about the International Search and Rescue Competition taking place in October, please visit http://www.internationalsar.com/index.html.