For the past several years, the best way to predict a major winter storm has been for the Orion Scouts to schedule a winter cruise. We seem to have a knack for bringing out the worst in the weather.

This year we spent three days on a river cruise January 2 – 4 while the skies poured and blew. Between storm fronts the Scouts practiced boat handling under the command of Greg and Tyler aboard the Valiant, a Catalina 22’ sloop. Scouts spent nights aboard the SSS Sequoia, tied safely to the dock. During the storms Scouts practiced knots, made repairs on the boats, and worked on rank advancements. Food, provided by our three newest Scouts, Chuck, Nick, and Daniel, was great! There was lots of it, and it was warm, too, making for a wonderful cruising atmosphere despite the nasty weather.

We departed the Sequoia Friday morning as the river rose above the street barriers and floated the manhole covers. One of our crew members, Hannah, braved the weather after the cruise to get her learner’s permit. Congratulations!

  A special "thank you" goes to Mr. and Mrs. Martin for providing the required adult leadership for this event. They "played tag-team" to make sure the unit always had the necessary adults available.

The next service project for Scouts is the American Legion Four Chaplains’ Ceremony honoring four World War II heroes. We will also provide the color guard for this activity, so we will need eight Scouts in dress blues for that evening. All Scouts will meet at the Scout Hut at 1800 for dress blues inspection and quarterdeck meeting, then go to the Santa Rosa Veterans’ Building for the 1930 ceremony.

All parents are invited to attend. It is an impressive ceremony, one intended to inspire patriotism. Please come.

For more pictures and event details, as well as a current calendar, check out the unit web site: www.sssorion.org

The site has been recently updated. Scouts, adults, and friends who would like to post information and pictures on this site should contact the webmaster using the "Contact Skipper Sterling" form on the web site.

A special "Thank you" goes to:

The brave souls who helped with the garbage clean-up at Moreland storage area.  Robert Fisher, Doug DeVries, and Rob Martin provided transportation and labor, and many Scouts helped make our storage area much neater and more functional.  Now we can really get down towork on the boats!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Parents and other adults who have not already registered with the Boy Scouts of America should do so immediately by going to the Boy Scout site online and downloading and copying a membership application. Each family should have at least one registered parent. When you have completed the form, please return it to Skipper Sterling with $15.

Then please plan to attend the Saturday February 9, 2008, training in Napa for adults. This will insure that our Scouts are within the BSA guidelines for safe programs and outings. At this time we have only two qualified adults, and we risk soon having to limit our outings for lack of qualified adult help.

Someone will contact each family soon to answer any questions you have about adult participation.

The United States Power Squadron basic boating class is being offered before our regular Wednesday night Sea Scout meetings at the Scout Hut at 1800 (6:00 P.M.) This is the class necessary for a Scout to be able to command a crew at any time. The information is critical for safety on the water.

Everyone, Scouts, adults, and friends, are welcome. The class and materials are free; the test is $5 and provides class graduates with a lifetime certificate good in any state that requires a boating safety class in order to obtain a boat operator’s license.

We have several projects that need to be done. Is there anyone out there who could (or knows someone who could and would be willing to):

1. add a tier to the Sunfish sailboat trailer to safely transport a second Sunfish, sails, and masts (before summer)
2. send requests for equipment donations
3. serve as adult committee secretary
4. serve as adult committee public relations officer
5. act as transportation coordinator for getting Scouts efficiently to and from events
6. install a florescent light fixture a the classroom and install a light fixture in one of the closets.

Please call Katherine Sterling (528-6677) for more details or referrals for these projects.

The next committee meeting is February 5 at 7:00 P.M. at the Scout Hut. Please come. All parents and friends are welcome. This is the time each month when your voice can be heard and your ideas included. How can we continue to make an excellent program available for the Scouts? This is where we make sure we have two adults for each activity, adequate transportation, training, repairs, and rank advancement progress. Please come.

The opportunity for all Scouts and leaders to earn all summer cruise costs begins NOW. Scouts who collect $200 in pledges for the May 3 Human Race may attend the summer cruise without cost. This is quite a good bargain, and unless your family is wealthy, please encourage your Scout to begin early. If your family is wealthy, a minimum pledge of $50 is quite acceptable. After meeting at 0700 (7 A.M.) on the morning of May 3, Scouts walk or run the Human Race. Then they travel to the Scout Hut for regatta practice. They are usually home by 4 P.M.

February and March are filled with opportunities for public service. We have agreed to serve in a variety of capacities for the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, Lions, Lioness, Windsor Chamber of Commerce, and United States Power Squadron. All of these events are fun and require many hands. Scouts, please plan to be at ALL of them; if the event falls on a school night, please plan to do your homework in the afternoon right after school.

Adult help is welcome, too, and it gives you a chance to see our Scouts in action and on their most polite behavior.

The Scout junior leaders will set the calendar for the year 2008 at the next Quarterdeck meeting, February 6. If you and your family have special events or vacations planned, please let us know so we can schedule around as many as possible. We would also like to have each Scout bring his/her school calendar so we know the school year beginning and ending dates.

The Sonoma-Marin Fair parking lot falls, typically, the third week of June. Last year was notable for the lack of Scout participation. Almost all the Scouts who did participate earned their Sea Scout program costs for the rest of the year. This is a fun event, although it does not sound like it at first, and Scouts who have done it always look forward to doing it again. This one event is the single largest fund raising event we have.

Do you remember what happens when you do a good job? You get to do it again, right? We are providing food service for Ancient Mariners’ Regatta over Memorial Day weekend.

All Scouts will be competing with other Sea Scout units aboard the USS Hornet. At the same time, we adults will be serving all the meals. Please join us for a day or two, perhaps four. While you are there, you get to watch the Scouts compete and immerse yourself in the naval history museum programs that the Hornet docents have created. It is quite a treat.