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Serving The Public

Local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Ready To Assist

Pictured are Jim Lindstrom and Jim Strenger, both members of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary flotilla located in Dunkirk. The volunteer agency, which serves Chautauqua County, offers boating courses and even receives orders from the U.S. Coast Guard. P-J photo by Jordan W. Patterson

A local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary exists, regardless if it has largely operated under the radar. And for Jim Lindstrom and Jim Stenger, it was a perfect fit for them in retirement.

The local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, based out of Dunkirk, is a volunteer agency within the U.S. Coast Guard that receives select missions and offers boater safety courses to area residents.

“Our No. 1 mission is to get out to the public about boater safety,” Stenger told The Post-Journal.

Stenger, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Dunkirk Flotilla commander, said the 15-member operation primarily focuses on water safety and is not a law enforcement entity. Still, the auxiliary is technically a subdivision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. While members wear similar outfits to the Coast Guard, he emphasized that auxiliary members have no authority nor do they want any.

“Our objective is to go out and meet the boaters and tell them things about boating safety,” Stenger said.

The Dunkirk flotilla is one of five around Western New York within the Coast Guard Auxiliary Division 3 based in Buffalo. Members undergo safety trainings and as a unit are given orders from the Coast Guard. Throughout the year, the auxiliary will conduct waterway safety checks in areas from the Peace Bridge in Buffalo to the Ohio border.

The Dunkirk flotilla has three facilities, or vehicles, that include two boats and an airplane. The Dunkirk auxiliary is able to utilize the plane to conduct checks.

Lindstrom, the Dunkirk Flotilla treasurer, and Stenger had lunch recently as Lindstrom’s Ashville residence where the two detailed why they became an auxiliary member of the Coast Guard. Both have been in the auxiliary for about five years.

“I was retired and I just thought the Coast Guard Auxiliary kind of intrigued me with community activities and just getting involved,” said Lindstrom, a lifelong resident of Chautauqua County. “I met with the Dunkirk commander and one thing led to another. I thought it would be something I really enjoyed doing. I haven’t regretted it since. It’s been fun.”

Added Stenger, an Army veteran and retired law enforcement officer, “It was just giving back to the community and getting involved in Homeland Security which is something I’ve had a lot of training for. I figured as long as I had all this training I’d put it to use in a volunteer way.”

Stenger maintained that the volunteer outfit wants to reinforce boating safety as its primary objective. He said there were 633 boating fatalities nationwide in 2018 that totaled $46 million in property damage. He added that a good portion of those incidents could have been easily prevented, noting that 77% of total boating fatalities are due to drowning.

“Obviously, there are too many deaths and injuries that could be reduced if people just wore their life jackets,” Stenger said, “and also eliminate the use of alcohol while operating a boat. Alcohol is the leading contributor to boating accidents.”

Of those 633 deaths, 19% were alcohol related.

Oftentimes, auxiliary members will see civilian boaters on the water without a life jacket equipped. Minors are required by law to wear life jackets while on a boat or a personal water craft, but adults are not mandated by law to use a life preserver. However, Stenger said wearing one could save boaters’ lives.

Stenger said much of their boating safety efforts consist of approaching boaters with information on either Lake Erie or Chautauqua Lake to conduct vessel safety checks based on a Coast Guard inspection sheet.

“It’s just for their safety,” Stenger said. “(The safety performance) doesn’t go anywhere except to (the boat owners). It lets them know if they passed the Coast Guard standard for being safe.”

Passing the auxiliary’s inspection allows for some monetary reductions with boating insurance, too. The inspections are strictly conducted on a volunteer basis. Stenger said boat owners will often contact the auxiliary to undergo a vessel safety check.

Additionally, the auxiliary hosts boater safety courses. Those who undergo the Coast Guard instruction are eligible to operate a boat across the nation. Courses offered through other agencies is limited to certain geographic areas. Each course are completed in eight hour sessions offered around four times a year.

A new law from New York state, over a five-year time frame, will require all operators of waterway vehicles to have completed a safety course. The law is known as Brianna’s Law. As of Jan. 1, those born on or after Jan. 1, 1993, are required to undergo a course. By 2025, however, all operators will be required to have taken a class regardless of age. Stenger said the auxiliary wants to get the word out about the change.

New to the auxiliary is a partnership with local Boy Scouts of America groups through their Sea Scout program. Youth Sea Scouts are enabled to join the auxiliary at age 14, much earlier than the normal age requirement of 17. Those younger members can then participate in the training programs the auxiliary offers giving them an “edge” as Stenger described it.

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