Coast Guard Flotilla Keeps A Close Eye On Claytor
By Chris Siess

     As the fire spread, the man jumped into the water to avoid the flames and was soon picked up by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard vessel circled the boat as it burned, making sure no one else came near in case the gas tank exploded. Luckily it didn't, and the boat burned and sank.

     That sounds like a scene out of Miami Vice or something. Instead it happened right here on Claytor Lake. The boater was unhurt and safe, rescued by the Coast Guard Auxiliary Claytor Lake unit this past summer.

     The unit, named Flotilla 83 New River Valley, just completed its third summer on the lake, practicing safety to boaters and rescuing those in need of assistance.

     “It's interesting,” said Davis Hodsden, Flotilla 83 founder, referring to the rescues. “It doesn't happen every day, but when it does our people are ready for it.”

     “Our primary objective is boating safety and education,” said Juanita Ellett, public relations officer of Flotilla 83 New River Valley.

Beyond that, there's an even more serious element to the mission.

Flotilla 83 also promotes a program called “Waterway Watch,” said Hodsden. “We encourage people to keep their eyes on the waterway.”

     The program is meant to encourage boaters to be on the watch for suspicious activity, including anything possibly related to terrorism.

     “It's a little more important than people realize,” said Flotilla 83's commander, Dean Jackson, of Claytor Lake and its dam.

     The lake provides fresh water to the area residents and is one of the few electric suppliers that can start on its own without electricity. This enabled Claytor and its dam to provide power to New York City during the blackout that shut down the city only a few years ago.

The fact that Claytor Lake is more important than local residents sometimes realize only points up the Flotilla's mission.

     With water temperatures dipping into the 50's, Flotilla 83 has already completed its final patrol for the year. But in the wake of a deadly accident in August at Smith Mountain Lake that killed a Bedford County couple and their dog, the Claytor Lake unit was reminded how quickly things can turn deadly and how fortunate the unit has been with the relative safety of Claytor.

          The Coast Guard serves a few key purposes on the lake, all with safety in mind. These include protecting boat regattas, assisting anyone in need and teaching boating safety.

     Flotilla 83 offers free safety inspections to any boaters wishing to have their vessel examined, said Ellett. They simply have to ask when they see one of the Coast Guard boats, and the crew will give suggestions as to what would make the boat safer, Hodsden explained.

     “We select different marinas and locations on the lake where people are putting boats in,” said Dean Jackson, Flotilla 83 commander.

     In all, Jackson said they have done more than 200 safety inspections on the lake.
     Flotilla 83 also sets up two safety classes during the summer for boaters interested in learning more about water safety, Ellett said. The unit has done four safety classes this year, including one with the Pulaski County High School physical education class.

     “We'll teach as many classes as there is demand for,” Jackson said. 

     “You want to teach folks,” Hodsden added. “The more they know about boating, the safer they are.”

     Hodsden was previously vice commander of the Auxiliary Flotilla 81 at Smith Mountain Lake, and commanded Flotilla 83 until this past summer when he turned the reins over to Jackson.

     “In 2000 we came here and started talking to folks and created a detachment with four people,” Hodsden said.

     The detachment became a Coast Guard Auxiliary unit in August 2003 with 18 members during its charter. The unit has grown considerably in its short life, with 50 members this summer.

     “We're not where we want to be, but our numbers have grown remarkably,” said Hodsden, who spends the winter off season recruiting new members for the upcoming year and teaching more boating safety classes.

     Hodsden's goal is to gain enough members to patrol during all peak season and holiday weekends runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

     “The theory is to be there at the heaviest times and teach and provide safety,” Hodsden said.

     Jackson said that despite having 50 members, only 21 are crew certified. But that doesn't mean the others don't help.

     “Not only do you have to have crew, you need someone on communication,” Jackson said. “And some people don't want to do crew.”

     Those interested in being out on the water complete classwork and take tests, usually in the winter. They then complete on-the-water training and testing in the spring before being crew certified for the summer, Jackson said. He expects two thirds of the 50 members will become crew certified this spring.

     Hodsden and Flotilla 83 started with one boat, but the unit has moved up to four boats fitted for rescue. They have two center console boats, a pontoon and a sailboat. Each of the vessels must be equipped with Coast Guard approved safety equipment before it can be made available for patrol use, Ellett said. Flotilla 83 also has a jet ski ready for emergency situations.

     Flotilla 83 does not have a station on the lake. All of the boats are operated out of marinas or the owners' private land on the lake. Two of the boats are run out of Conrad Brothers Marina, co-owned by Jackson.

     While the Claytor unit is relatively young, Hodsden became interested in the Coast Guard when he attended a boat show in Indiana in 1997. He visited a Coast Guard booth and signed up for a safety class with his wife.

     After taking more classes, they moved to Virginia and practiced safety exercises on the Chesapeake Bay. He then joined Flotilla 81 at Smith Mountain Lake.

     Hodsden and other Flotilla members are part of a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary network created in 1939 by Congress as a reserve service. Today the Coast Guard Auxiliary has more 33,000 active members on the water and in classrooms in over 2,000 cities and towns across the U.S. The Auxiliary saves over 500 lives and help over 15,000 boaters in distress per year, according to its website. It also conducts over 150,000 boat examinations per year and teaches more than 500,000 people in boating safety courses.

     The Coast Guard Auxiliary is completely volunteer, and all of the boats and equipment are paid for by the members, Ellett said.

     “Being able to help people,” said Jackson, who is also a volunteer firefighter, is what drives members to join such an organization.

     The Flotilla must get orders from the Coast Guard every time it goes on patrol. Out on the water, the crew relies on help from the shore as well.

     “We must have land-based radio that is in contact with the boats so that in case of emergency they can call the fire department, police and anyone else,” Hodsden said.

     Flotilla 83 has rescued 41 people from the water in three summers, including 29 in one day when a boat race held by Virginia Tech went haywire, said Jackson. There have also been many stranded boats that have needed tows back to marinas, Hodsden said.

     “Anything can happen when you are on patrol,” said Ellett.