Frogmen to hail 50th anniversary with Coast Guard rescue demonstration

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June 18, 2008

By Michael Farrell The Gloucester Daily Times Wed Jun 18, 2008, 05:24 AM EDT

A man will drown in the water off White Beach in Manchester tomorrow, and a local diving club and the U.S. Coast Guard will rescue him.

No, this isn't about gazing into a crystal ball. It's about a rescue demonstration hosted by the North Shore Frogmen's Club, a Cape Ann scuba diving group. A U.S. Coast Guard air rescue team will join in the club's seasonal beach meeting.

At 6 p.m., a man is going to be put in the water off White Beach, and the Coast Guard will rescue him from the air with a Jayhawk helicopter as a coastie from Cape Cod Air Station narrates the events using a loudspeaker.

In addition to the demonstration, there will be a cookout, sharing of scuba diving experiences, and an optional evening dive for certified divers who have their own equipment.

According to Paul Sauvageau, president of the North Shore Frogmen, diving clubs from all over Massachusetts and New England, such as the Metro-West Dive club in Natick and the South Shore Neptunes of Quincy, will be represented at the meeting. People from smaller diving shops will also attend.

The grandeur of the event is part of the North Shore Frogmen's celebration of its 50th anniversary, Sauvageau said.

Founded in 1958, the organization is dedicated to promoting safe and lawful diving on the North Shore. Members are active in environmental, historical and diving- or ocean-related education through weekly speeches and presentations. For instance, in July, accomplished diver Peter Venoutsos will present a documentary he assembled on U-853, a German U-boat that was sunk in 1945.

"We want to give our members continuing education and this beach meeting with the Coast Guard is just an extension of that," Sauvageau said.

The Frogmen were able to get the Coast Guard to come to this summer's beach meeting through a member's military contacts from his days as a commercial pilot.

"We were a little bit surprised at how amiable they were to this," Sauvageau said. "And we're grateful for that."

While Sauvageau is not certain of the number of people who will show up, he got a parking permit for the event from the Manchester Police Department.

As locals are aware, parking at White Beach is very limited. In case the event draws 50 to 100 people, Manchester Police officials say that as many people as possible should park in the sand, and then only along one side of Ocean Street, with the further restriction to stay in the vicinity of Victoria Road.

More information about the North Shore Frogmen can be found on the club's Web site, http://www.northshorefrogmen.com

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Michael Farrell can be reached at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com