February has been a busy month, what with planning for our new bridge, District 3 dinners and meetings, and preparations for squadron and district Changes of Watch. March does not look idle either. All the squadrons on Long Island will join in a Memorial Service on the 4^th. New Boat Smart, Advanced Grade and Elective courses will begin and run through June.

This event will be an all-weekend affair. All members will be welcome . new and old. There. s something for everyone. The Friday night cocktail party will be hosted by this year. s District Commander and his Camelot commanders. Seminars will run on Saturday morning; members. and spouses. luncheons will be followed by the Change of Watch, squadron hospitality rooms and dinner dance. You do not have to attend all functions, or stay for the whole weekend; just select one or two of particular interest and join your friends.

MBPS Change of Watch

Meanwhile keep these two dates in mind. The squadron's Change of Watch will take place at a General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, 11 April. The venue has been changed. We will meet at the Shelter Rock Library, Searingtown Road in Albertson. The Port Washington Yacht Club is undergoing renovations, and they were not able to guarantee us a meeting room in April. We will celebrate the new bridge at a brunch on Sunday, 22 April at Steamboat Landing in Glen Cove. It is a very nice restaurant, and our Entertainment Chairman has arranged a fine party for us. Be sure to reserve early.

Over the Waves to Foxwoods

On Saturday, 5 May we are taking the high-speed ferry to Foxwoods Casino. We have invited some other North Shore squadrons to join us. The Entertainment Committee has arranged a great deal for us and has obtained a special reduced rate for our trip. So, check out the announce-ment in this issue and send your $54 to Treasurer, Al Seeley, N. We will have a great trip and hope you can join us.

Boating Season-2001 is fast approaching. Boating Activities Committee Chairmen, Evey Welby, S and I have been busy planning a unique and exciting season of Boating Activities for this Spring, Summer & Fall.

With many suggested sites it is a difficult but enjoyable task choosing those activities that will please the majority of our boaters! Many suggestions are being taken into consideration, among them some that were posed to our membership in the Boating Activities Questionnaire in the October issue of Cardinal Points. When the activities are finalized you all will be notified. We are, and we're sure you are, looking forward to...

A Happy and Safe Boating Season together in 2001.

USPS National Safe Boating Test, which promises to be educational, entertaining and very professional will air on Speedvision Television, be sure to check your local television listings. There is a strong possibility that it will be aired on another cable channel but at this time that is uncertain. The program will be aired:

       Saturday 19 May at 2000 (8:00) p.m.
       Sunday 20 May at Noon
       Wednesday 23 May - at both Noon and 2000.

National Safe Boating Week runs from May 19 through May 25^th.

"National Safe Boating Test" was filmed in many locations throughout the United States. It provides an overview of the magnificent boating areas in our country.

The U.S. Coast Guard provided a $206,000 grant for the production of this program, which will be aired during prime time on Speedvision.

The grant also includes 10,000 videos entitled, "Test your boating Knowledge with the USPS National Safe Boating Test." The grant also covers a web site for the USPS National Safe Boating Test that is still "under construction". Take a look; the web site is:

Dinner will consist of soup du jour, Caesar salad, roast prime rib (au jus), baked potato with sour cream and butter on the side, vegetable, rolls & butter - Chicken Francaise - Broiled Salmon.

It needed to be insured. We never had the experience of insuring a boat before, so we started with the companies we knew. This was an Allstate-type company that supplied this service for our homes and cars.

Fat, dumb, and happy, we lived with this insurance for a while, until we joined Manhasset Bay Power Squadron and moved into a whole New World. Here we learned there were companies specializing in marine insurance. We found one that seemed to give very good value, good service and, in addition, a towing plan and excellent marine supply stores. In fact, its rates were (at the time) 10% lower than those quoted by the USPS-sponsored company.

However, since USPS initiated its PSML program on the Internet, many shared experiences have come to light. One of these was the emergence of St. Paul Insurance as a really low-cost and, presumably, still first-rate company, giving USPS members with advanced education grades the lowest rates anywhere. Since our insurance policy was due for renewal, we tried St. Paul and were astonished to find that we had been paying twice the rate for the same basic coverage.

SELECTIONS:

Station 1: Carving of beef, veal and fish

Station 2: Omelets, pancakes, waffles all freshly made to order

Station 3: A variety of fresh salads with gourmet dressings

Station 4: Potatoes, assorted steamed fresh vegetables

Station 5: Pastas made to your specifications

Station 6: Assorted fresh fruits

Station 7: Cake, coffee and tea

Included - Unlimited Mimosas and non-alcoholic beverages