October 2013

Volume 60 No. 3

A publication of the

Nobscot Sail & Pow-

er Squadron Inc.

COMMANDER’S MESSAGE

By P/C Frank Marobella, AP

Janet Goss and Joe Barone have joined the Executive Committee as Members at Large. Their fresh ideas and comments will be greatly appreciated as we discuss the business and policies of our

organization as we re-build our organization.

The October Membership meeting attendees enjoyed a fascinating "trip" of a life time racing a 72' sail boat named Logica from Boston harbor to Buenos Aires. We experienced the trip via photos and the experiences of Jere Douglas. Jere participated as a crew member on one leg of an around the

world race specifically designed to travel against the wind and current. One of the large sail boats with its 95' high mast suffered a knockdown and two other boats collided causing serious damage to both boats, one more than the other. This race was to benefit the "Save The Children Foundation". Nobscot

donated $100.00 to the foundation as Jere's honorarium.

One of my goals is to augment Peter Withol's efforts and I would appreciate your help by sug-gesting topics and if possible join him on his committee. Another goal is to increase our summer fun quotation by re-establishing the Rendezvous' committee. In the past we have taken day, week end,

and longer trips to Nantucket, Block Island, Newport, Mystic Seaport and other great locations. We have had great picnics at members' homes. We could take a whale watching trip or maybe charter a bus and visit the New York Boat show. I have included some pictures from recent rendezvous' in

Quisset and Falmouth, both of which ended with dinners at the Flying Bridge Restaurant.

FOR THE GALLEY SLAVE: A BARGAIN FRENCH CHEF’S KNIFE

by Peter J. Wihtol

Victorinox 8" Chef's Knife: Victorinox Swiss Army 47520. Sometimes the number 40520 will be printed on this knife. This is latter number is sometimes used to indicate that the knife is in open stock. But otherwise these are identical knives. High carbon, stainless steel, nylon non-slip handle. The Winning Chef's Knife in the October 2013 issue of Cook's Illustrated. Several other cooking publications rated this chef knife about as good as the $100-plus knives. The selling price ranges from $27 to $37. That is inexpensive and compares favorably against more expensive knives because it uses a similar blade steel found in better Western / German knives. Plus its thinner blade cuts with less wedging.

And Quality Knife Sharpening:

Stoddard’s Cutleryhttp://www.swissknifeshop.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/v/f/vf40520vix_x1000.jpg 360 Watertown St. (Route 16) Newton, MA 02458 (617) 244-4187 http://www.stoddards.com Several years ago I had bought two very nice, high-quality, high-carbon stainless-steel alloy Japa-nese kitchen knives -- they finally needed sharpening. One was a Damascus blade with a 50/50% ground blade and the other one had a 70/30% right-hand ground blade. I learned that Dave Stoddard of Stoddard’s Cutlery was quite knowledgeable about sharpening such knives and about alloys and what to look for in spotting better quality knives – and which ones to avoid. He told me about: cutting board materials (both the good and bad choices) and how to clean/sterilize them; the pros and cons of hand-sharpening using water stones versus oil stones; plus the brief histories of my other kitchen knives. Phone them for the days and approximate times they would be at the shop and then phone them to confirm your visit, earlier on the day that you intend to visit. Quality work plus reasonable

Not Making a Decision By: Theresa A. Capobianco, S

– it can be the worst decision of all

On occasion, we get a phone call from an individual that goes something like this: “My wife and I need wills. We don’t have one. I’m 68 years old, our kids are all old enough

to take care of themselves. We have a home, some stocks, savings, and a vacation place in the Maine woods [or a yacht, or a home in Florida, etc.]”

“I assume you are both in good health, but have you considered what will happen if either or both of you enter into a nursing home and need long-term care?”

“Oh no, we haven’t. That happened to my mother [my wife’s aunt; my father; insert family member here]. They needed to spend a good portion of their money before they qualified for Medicare coverage. We don’t want that to happen, how can we protect our savings for our children and grandchildren [or the dogs, the cats, the charities, etc.]?”

When planning for asset protection in the event of long-term nursing home care, there is only a small variety of options available. Most of these options require the individuals to change the legal title which holds the asset. For example, moving the family home into an irrevocable trust can protect the largest asset from attachment or sale, but it will require the couple to give up the ability to use the equity in the home. They can sell the home and move into an apartment

INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION (ITU)

By P/R/C Don Hagen, SN, Radio-Tech Officer

There are two international organizations that affect radio operations at sea: IMO and ITU. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) was discussed in this column last month. Although an oversimplification of their differences in mission, the IMO regulates carriage requirements and opera-tion of vessels; while the ITU regulates global use of the radio spectrum, a much broader mission.

Regulations of both organizations have treaty status within the U.S. and other nations. 1.

More specifically, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), originally founded as the

International Telegraph Union, is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for issues of information and communication technologies. 2. The ITU coordinates the shared global use of the ra-

dio spectrum, promotes international cooperation is assigning satellite orbits, works to improve tele-communication infrastructure in the developing world, and assists in the development and coordina-tion of worldwide technical standards. ITU currently has a membership of 193 countries and over 700 private-sector entities and academic institutions. ITU is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and

has twelve regional offices around the world. 3.

The ITU is active in areas including broadband Internet, latest-generation wireless technolo-

or into a smaller home or condominium but the additional money realized from the sale must stay in the irrevocable trust. The interest and/or divided earned from the investment of the additional money can be taken and spent by them but they cannot ever touch the principal. This strategy needs to be planned at least 5 years before the individual seeks MA Health assistance.

Faced with this, the conversation concludes with this sentence from the individual: “OK. I’m not sure we want to do that just yet. I’ll need to think about it a while and I’ll get

back to you.” “That’s fine, just don’t die before your planning is done; and don’t get hurt, fall ill, or suffer

some other ailment that will require some long term care. Stay safe, and let us know when you are ready.”

The standard warning having been issued, this is the individuals’ first decision: they’ve decided to make no decision on how to proceed.

The next time we hear from them – it could be weeks or months or years later – it’s usually after one of the spouses has become injured, and it’s scared them into taking action. Understand-ing that the outcome could have been much worse, the planning process begins, assets are pro-tected, and inheritances eventually will flow to the children/grandchildren (unless the individual de-cides to spend it all first on some really great vacations.)

But consider the alternatives: Let’s say the couple opt to do nothing but a simple will, leav-ing the assets to the surviving spouse or the children if none. At the age of 73, the husband suf-fers a major stroke and requires long term rehabilitative care. Both individuals are retired, retire-ment income is modest, assets (excluding the house) are $700,000.00. The wife, now acting alone, is going to need some quick footwork to salvage just a percentage of those assets from the spend-down requirements before qualifying for Medicaid benefits.

Had the individuals engaged in some pre-planning, the assets would have been excluded, and Medicaid benefits could have been secured earlier in the process without having to spend down (not to mention the CPA, financial planning, and/or attorney fees incurred after the in-patient admission just to protect the assets remaining).

The lessons learned: Sometimes no decision is the worst decision. See your attorney before you need him or her when it may be too late.

gies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology, convergence in fixed-mobile phone, Internet access, data, voice, television broadcasting, and next-generation net-

works. 4.

ITU has three sectors, each managing a different aspect of the organization.

(1) Radio Communication (ITU-R): managing the international radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbit resources. Prior to 1992, this sector was called CCIR (International Radio Consultative Committee)

(2) Standardization (ITU-T): the best known and oldest activity. Prior to 1992, this sector

was called CCITT (International Telephone and Telegraph Consultative Committee).

(3) Development (ITU-D): Established to help spread equitable, sustainable and affordable access to information and communication technologies (ICT)

Much of the work at ITU is done in study groups which comprise diverse expertise. The main

output of a study group is the establishment of technical standards or guidelines (called "Recommendations"). The Plenipotentiary Conference is the key event for ITU policy-making. It is held every four years. The next conference will be held in Busan, South Korea, in 2014. Largely due

to divisive national interests, the ITU does not enjoy the amicable internal relationships that the IMO does. Mariners have more in common with one another.

______________ 1. www.navcen.uscg.gov, "Radio Watchkeeping Regulations" 2.. www.wikipedia.org 3. www.itu.int 4. Wikipedia, ibid.

A publication of the Nobscot Sail and Power Squadron, Inc., a non-profit or-ganization dedicated to:

Safe Boating

Ads, articles, or comments should be di-rected to:

P/C Robert R. Capobianco, JN

15 West Central Street

Natick, MA, 01760

Telephone: 508-653-1770

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Electronic distribution chief: Robert R. Capobianco

Photographer: Stephen Eakman, SN