Evening star., 1940-11-07
SaiIboaf Enthusiasts
Form FIotiIIa of
Coast Guard Reserve
II Present Applications
For Small Croft Unit,
First on East Coast

A 16-foot saiIboat might not have
the space to man a 5-lnch gun. but
local sailing enthusiasts, II in all,
last night banded together at Capt.
tai Yacht Club to form the first
flotilla of the United States Coast
Guard Reserve on the East Seaboard
boasting a membership entirely of
sailboat owners.
Organization of the group-to be
known as Fotilla No. 16 of the Nor
folk District-marked the fourth
unit of the year-old reserve to be
formed in Washington since last
fall.
While designed to promote among
boat owners the saving of life and
property af1oat, the way is open,
under an act now before Congress,
for members of reserve units in
GLIDING the one created last night,
to offer their services and boats to
the United States for military pur-
poses during war or a national
emergency.
COmdr. ONeiII Speaks.
Comdr. Merlin OyNeill, chief di-
rector of the reserve, explained to
the group, the majority of whom
own boats 20 feet or under in
length, that passage of bill would
create a new reserve which would
be military in character and would
offer yachtsmen opportunity to en-
list for three years during an emer-
gency period.
The present reserve, he said,
would be renamed Coast Guard
Auxiliary and retain its purpose of
building up an organization of boat
owners interested in promoting
safety at sea.
"The present need of the Coast
Guard for trained personnel is
rather acute" Comdr. O'Neill said.
eve hope to find in the reServiSts
such material" He explained the
present reserve came into being
shortly after the war in Europe
began. but that the act actually
was approved by the President in
May of last year.
With the spread of the war, Coast
Guard headquarters received nu-
merous requests from yachtsmen
that the reserve be militarized, he
said. 1t was then that Coast Guard
officials took up serious conSidera-
ton of forming a new reserve. He
said he expected favorable action
on the new legislation before the
end of this month.
Bay Fishermen Sign Up.
1t. C. A. Anderson, director of the
Norfolk district of the reserve ans
assistant to Comdr. O'Neill, told of
the spread of the reserve, even to
fishermen of the lower Chesapeake
Bay and the Virginia Capes area. He
said there were now $50 reservists
in his district, which paralleled a
growth throughout the country.
He pictured small boats, in time
of war, equipped with radio tele-
phone and patrolling isolated inland
waterways as the regular Coast
Guard personnel assumed widening
duties of wartime patrol offshore.
A third speaker of the evening,
Capt. Robin Hood of the Washing
ton division reserve, emphasized
that small boat owners would be as
important a cog in the promotion
of safety as operators of large
yachts.
Following talks of the three Off
GERS, Capt. Hood received II men,
bership applications. The group
majority of them members of the
Potomac River Sailing Association
then elected Judge Prentice E.
Darlington, local attorney, an inter-
nationally known racing skipper, as
their temporary commander. R.
Clyde Cruit, a veteran yachtsman
here and nearby, was elected vice
commander. Selected for the Office
of junior commander was Carlton
Skinner.
Members set their next meeting
for Wednesday, at which time plans
will be made for examinations
qualifying them as competent op-
orators of boats.
Present membership of the re-
serve totals $500 yachtSmen, repre-
senting 5000 assorted pleasure and
commercial craft throughout the
United States.