The Marine Mammal Care Cen-ter in San Pedro held its’ an-nual Seal Day Festival. On handwere members of Flotilla 3-5 toman a Coast Guard Auxiliarybooth. 3-5 members RobertRobins(IPFC), Eric Castrobran(VFC) and Kim Castrobran (FC)were joined by Coast GuardPetty Officer Monica Hewett.

The festival highlights the cen-ter’s efforts to educate thepublic on the work they do tocare for injured or sick sealsand sealions. The festival in-cluded several booths promot-ing various causes and primar-ily their relationship to the ma-rine environment of the greaterLos Angeles area.

Flotilla 3-5’s booth was quitepopular with the visitors as theywere treated to informativediscussions on boating safety,including the use of PersonalFlotation Devices (PFDs) and

other important issues facingboaters. Many of the visitorstook home giveaways includingfloating key chains, whistles,and boating safety informationbrouchures.

It was a great opportunity topublicize the activities of theCoast Guard and the Auxiliary.

Over 1000 visitors attended theevent.

Eric & Kim Castrobran, MonicaHewett, Robert Robins at SealDay. May 21, 2007

Flotilla 3-5 at Seal Day Festivities

Bob Robins is getting new members onboardRobert (Bob) Robins, Flotilla 3-5’s Immediate Past FlotillaCommander (IPFC) has beenbusy processing new membersfor Flotilla 3-5. Bob has beenhandling the fingerprinting andpaperwork involved in gettingprospective new members intothe Auxiliary and into 3-5. Bobis a true workhorse, taking timeout of his already busy sched-ule to meet with individualswho have chosen to serve inthe Auxiliary. Bob has beentrained to do the fingerprintingprocedure and is one of only a

handful of Auxiliarists in District11sr who perform this vitaltask. We at 3-5 are most fortu-nate to have Bob on the team.

(Bob Robins processing newmembers Alex Hess and BrainDelbovo)

Volume 1, Issue III

Tidbits

Vessel Exams-Join the VE Teamand promoteSafe Boating.Contact KimCastrobran FSO-VE

Aux Forms-available onlinego to our web-site:www.aux35.org

The Newsletter of the United States Coast Guard AuxiliaryDistrict 11 SR,

Flotilla 3-5Summer/Fall 2007 Volume 1, Issue III

Inside this issue:

The Bridge 2

New Member JoeTucker

2

Wako & April’sAwards

2

Aux Public AffairsClass

3

Nuts Over Knots 3

New Members/Public Affairs Class

4

Calendar 6

I would like to take the opportu-nity to thank all our membersfor their enthusiastic supportand work during the first half of2007. We have accomplishedquite a few things along the

way. First and foremost, a su-per job on making it to ourmonthly meetings. We havehad an almost perfect atten-dance of the membership atour meetings.

Our flotilla membership hasgrown by the addition of newmembers and we are currentlyprocessing a few more prospec-tive members. A strong andparticipating membership iscrucial to the success of a flo-tilla and the Auxiliary as awhole.

We now have a fully functioningwebsite which illustrates whowe are and what we do. Make

sure to visit it atwww.aux35.org periodically tosee the new additions and or tocheck on information within theCoast Guard and Auxiliary withits many links.

As you see, we have incorpo-rated a new format for thenewsletter. We trust you willenjoy it and its’ interesting andinformative segments.

Keep up the good work and forcontinued success in 2007 andbeyond!

Kim CastrobranFlotilla Commander (FC), 3 -5

Wako Winters receiving hiscertificate from Kim Castro-bran, FC.

Flotilla 3-5’s own Wako Wintersand April Wright were recog-nized for their extensive work inthe Vessel Safety Check pro-gram and Marine Dealer Visita-tion program. Wako and April-have put in countless hours inthese important programs.Congratulations Wako and Aprilon a job well done.

April Wright Receives her Cer-tificate from Kim Castrobran,FC.

The Bridge

Wako Winters and April Wright receive awards

Joe Tucker is on a roll!

New 3-5 Member Joe Tucker

It seems like it was just yester-day that a gentleman by thename of Joseph Tucker cameas an invited guest to one ofour flotilla meetings. Well, notthat much later, Joe is onboardas a member of 3-5. He hasalready completed ICS 100,200, 700 and 800! Wow, greatjob Joe! We look forward to yourenthusiasm and contributionsto the success of 3-5!

Page 2Volume 1, Issue III

Since I joined the Auxiliaryover five years ago, get-ting “Crew Qualified” hasalways been a goal.Whenever I would men-tion taking a crew class,the name “Wako” wouldsoon follow. HearingWako’s name over andover, and then having myfather-in-law also recom-mend his class, I figuredthere must be somethingto this. Well, now I under-

stand. I just completedmy 5th crew class withWako, and I can’t sayenough about it. I neverthought I would say crewand fun in the same sen-tence, however it truly is ablast. We have friendly“knot races”, plotting puz-zles and tons of encour-agement. The instructorteam that Wako assem-bled includes: HowardKay(“The Knotty Profes-sor”)

(3-1), Eric Berg(15-2),Ned Richter(3-8), JohnVilicich(3-1) and RichardCurry. The “Team” hasgone over and above toshare their knowledgeand expertise and theirtime. If a fellow Auxilaristever mentions takingcrew, you can be surethat my reply will be“Wako Winters”.

Wako’s Crew by Rose Castrobran

Volume 1, Issue III Page 3

(l/r) Crew Class students Robert Overpeck(3-8), Rose and Kim Castrobran (3-5) with

their PFDs on!

l/r: Crew Instructors ErikBerg (15-2) and Ned Richter(3-8) take a moment during

class

The historic setting of the Portsmouth Norfolk area was the location for the Aux 12 Public Affairs Cschool class. Flotilla 3-5 members Kim and Rose Castrobran were among the students attending .The class is focused in preparing Auxiliarists for public affairs duties. Included in the course was anoverview of the use of photography and how best to utilize pictures to tell the story. The course also

included theopportunity forstudents toprepare pressreleases andhold mockpress inter-views.

Flotilla 3-5 Members attend Aux 12 Public Affairs Class Portsmouth, VA

By Kim Castrobran

Quote of the Quarter

Flotilla 3-5 welcomed the arrival of three new members, l/r: Rene Martin,Vanita Peter and D. Alex Hess.

Flotilla 3-5 Welcomes New Members

Page 4Volume 1, Issue III

“The class

is focused

in preparing

Auxiliarists

for public

affairs

duties.”

"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplishsomething stand in the way of your doing it. The timewill pass anyway; we might just as well put that passingtime to the best possible use."

~ Earl Nightingale

The websites for Point Vicenteand Point Hueneme Light-houses are up and running.

As members of the Auxiliary weare able to work alongside theCoast Guard regulars whenassigned to a Coast Guard Unit.Three members of Flotilla 3-5are also members of the CoastGuard’s Aids to NavigationTeam Los Angeles/Long Beach.Eric, Rose & Kim Castrobranhelp repair and maintain navi-gational aids including light-houses along the SouthernCalifornia coast. Eric overseesthe activities at Point VicenteLighthouse in Rancho PalosVerdes and Rose & Kim at Point

Hueneme Lighthouse in PortHueneme, near Ventura. Thelighthouses are open monthlyto visitors. Check out the newwebsites at:

www.huenemelight.org

Lighthouse Websites are Up and Running

Flotilla 3-5 Staff Officers for 2007Eric Castrobran Flotilla Staff Officer- Aids to Navigation (FSO-AN)Eric Castrobran Flotilla Staff Officer- Communications (FSO-CM)Kim Castrobran Flotilla Staff Officer- Communications Services (FSO-CS)Jack Forster Flotilla Staff Officer- Finance (FSO-FN)Wako Winters Flotilla Staff Officer- Information Systems (FSO-IS)Robert Robins Flotilla Staff Officer- Materials (FSO-MA)Kim Castrobran Flotilla Staff Officer- Marine Safety (FSO-MS)Wako Winters Flotilla Staff Officer- Member Training (FSO-MT)Lury Abreu Flotilla Staff Officer- Operations (FSO-OP)Rose Castrobran Flotilla Staff Officer- Public Affairs (FSO-PA)Kim Castrobran Flotilla Staff Officer- Publications (FSO-PB)Rose Castrobran Flotilla Staff Officer- Public Education (FSO-PE)Robert Robins Flotilla Staff Officer- Personnel Services (FSO-PS)Robert Robins Flotilla Staff Officer- Program Visitor (FSO-PVApril Wright Flotilla Staff Officer - Secretary of Record (FSO-SR)Kim Castrobran Flotilla Staff Officer – Vessel Examiner (FSO-VE)

Volume 1, Issue III

“The

lighthouses

are open

monthly to

visitors.”

HappyHalloween

Page 5

www.vicentelight.org

Danny Cisneros (left) shows Brian Delbovo the proper wayto fold Old Glory.

(r/l) Fran Price sharing amoment with April

Wright at the Flotilla meeting.

(r/l) Kim Castrobran(FC) presentsAward to Eric Castrobran (VFC)

The Beacon ,Editor:Kim Castrobran,FSO-PB/FCP.O. Box 1243South Pasadena, CA91031Fax 626-796-9396Email:kcb@k-online.com

This Newsletter ispublished by Flotilla 3-5,

US Coast Guard Auxiliaryat no cost to the

government. Cost is borneby Flotilla 3-5, a volunteer,

unpaid, civilian groupwhose mission is to

support the Coast Guard inits’ mission and promote

boating safety.

Flotilla 3-5

The overarching mission of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxil-iary is to contribute to the safety and security of our

citizens, ports, waterways and coastal regions. We willbalance our missions of Recreational Boating Safety andCoast Guard Support with Maritime Homeland Security

and other challenges that emerge as a result of ourgrowing understanding of changes required in the post-

9/11 era.

Flotilla CalendarFlotilla CalendarFlotilla Meeting:Flotilla Meeting: 29 August 20071900-2100 hrs 26 September 2007(7pm — 9pm) 17 October 2007 (Flotilla Elections)

Meeting Location: Kaiser Conference Center26285 S. Vermont Ave., Harbor City, CA 90710

District Conference: January 4-6, Costa Mesa Hilton, Costa Mesa

Point Vicente Lighthouse Open House - www.vicentelight.orgThe second Saturday of each month, 10am to 3pm (except March when it is open the firstSaturday, in conjunction with Whale of A Day)31550 Palos Verdes Dr. West, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Point Hueneme Lighthouse Open House - www.huenemelight.orgThe third Saturday of each month, 10am to 3pm (last shuttle at port gate 2:30pm)120 W. Port Hueneme Road, Port Hueneme, CA (January thru November)

Visit 3-5 on the web at:www.aux35.org

United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

District 11SPublication Approval

C. P. (Bud) LathropADSO-PB10 October 2007