No Search and Rescue? August 28, 2009

There’s been a big fuss since Hurricane Bill over the Police boat, the MV Guardian. This $1.7m vessel, bought in 2006, has had a long history of criticism from all angles due to perceived issues of underuse, especially considering the price. Minister Burch even, last year, commented that he thought the money could have been better used and he had no input into the decision (as reported by the RG). The 54ft, four manned boat, was bought for large sea rescues but due to the size and the number of Officers needed to man it sufficiently, it is not practical to use for most day-to-day Marine Police business. Especially when you consider the many low shoal areas around our island.

 

The issue arose again recently when it was discovered that the vessel had been removed from the water during the recent Hurricane for safety reasons and furthur hindered by an RG report that another boat was in distress and was actually towed in by a civilian’s boat. The police countered that no actual distress call was put into the Marine Service and actually were only notified when the boat was on its way in, at which point they were informed that no furthur assistance was actually required. This has prompted people to question why we bought such an expensive Search and Rescue vessel if indeed it is not meant to be used for that purpose (to the point of actually dry-docking when it would be most useful). The fact of the matter is, while this is a larger boat than the rest of those in the Marine Service fleet, it is still not meant to be used during hurricanes for not the least of which is safety reasons.

 

In a press conference yesterday, the Deputy Commissioner commented: “Let’s be clear about what it was never meant to do. The MV Guardian was never meant as a routine patrol vessel because it would cost too much to run it daily. We have a number of other vessels that are available to do routine patrol. It is not expected to be deployed in adverse conditions.”

 

The Police Service get a lot of flak about many things without (and some within) their control – especially lately with rising violent crime. This one, however, appears to be more of a lack of education on what actually our Police are capable of and staffed/equipped enough to do. It would be a great idea to have our own version of the US Coast Guard (being an island and thusly surrounded by water) but we don’t. We have neither the manpower nor the equipment to be able to do the type of rescues that we see on tv. Much as in the case of our current Government, excessive criticism (in certain cases that it is actually unwarranted) serves no purpose but to waste time of those having to defend things unnecessarily. And furthur weakens the legs of warranted arguments.

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Congrats to Michael Weeks

Mr Weeks has handily won the Pembroke Central bye-election with approximately 89% of the vote. Voter turnout slumped to 39% from a usual of 65%. This often happens in bye-election when the result will have no bearing over the the actual leadership of the country. I voted myself, because I’m a firm believer of the idiom, “if you don’t vote, you have no right to complain”… and I love to complain 🙂

 

Good luck to Mr. Young. He actually seems like a good guy (I don’t mean to sound shocked but honestly that wasn’t the impression I got last election… hindered by the fact that the only time I saw him was when I went to vote). He appears to be taking this loss in stride and has vowed to run again.

 

But, congrats again to Mr Weeks. I look forward to seeing him in my area on a regular now. He seems like a good man and one who genuinely cares about his home so I’m looking forward to seeing changes in the Constituency PLP forgot.

Pembroke Central By-Election August 20, 2009

As many know, I live in this constituency. In the last week, I have been canvassed by the PLP candidate, Mr. Weeks and his helpers (Jamahl Simmons, Dr. Brown and two others whose names I did not catch) and the UBP candidate, Mr Young (joined by Mrs. Atherden, Kim Swan and Tim, a reporter from the RG). I’ll admit it, I was kinda shocked as I was not seen by either camps in the 2007 election. Added to the fact that this is a self-proclaimed PLP stronghold, it was interesting the effort being taken. But how encouraging. It shows that neither side is taking this placement for granted. I think that has a lot to do with the current, shall we say, disillusionment many in Bermuda have for the Government, both the majority and Opposition. People are frustrated (yes, still). And frustrations lead to change. Well, they can. Bermudians are known for their ability to accept things with a rather laidback attitude and their penchant to totally ascribe to the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. So it’s possible nothing will change, but I’m hoping it does. Whether it is through a change of Government or the current Government changing its ways or even, through a “New” party (this concept has been thrown around a lot online lately). But however it happens, it is well overdue. And if this is a sign of things to come, can I just say… Yay!