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Commanders Report

As this is our last Hailer before our AGM on April 13, 2007 .  I would like to thank all Bridge Members, Teachers, Proctors and Members for their hard work.

It was a pleasure for me to serve on your Bridge first as Training Officer and then as Squadron Commander in the past years.

My special thanks go out to our Social Committee. Now it is time for a new Bridge with some old and also some new names. The Nominating Committee and the new incoming Commander has the new Bridge nominations and the list will be in this hailer in time for the AGM on April 13, 2007 . Still to be nominated are the positions of Secretary, Marep, Boat Pro, Chief Proctor and Cruise master.  Anyone wanting to participate in Alouette Squadron is encouraged to call Al Slater, your incoming Commander, for one of these positions on the Bridge.

I would like to invite all our Members to our AGM on April 13, 2007 and to our COW and 50^th Anniversary of Alouette Power Squadron on June 01, 2007 , at the ECRA-Centre.

I also would like to wish all our members a safe and fun boating season.

Respectfully submitted,

Commander Thomas Baumann

Social Committee Report

We have had two very successful Socials since the last Hailer.  The January Wine and Cheese was the Graduation for the Fall Boating Class.  Along with congratulating our graduates and welcoming new members, we had an excellent guest Speaker, Rhys Davies, from Sur-Del Squadron, who gave an interesting presentation on how he salvages boats that have sunk along with details of what caused the boats to sink in the first place. He surprised most of the audience with the fact that the majority of boats sink at their home dock.  A good lesson, reminding us to check our batteries and bilge pumps regularly.

On Feb. 23, the Social Committee tried to bring some sunshine to a dull February evening, by celebrating the evening with a salute to sunny Mexico .  The food was great and the guest speaker, Bill Henwood from Parks Canada, Introduced the proposed Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area Reserve.  If you would like to know more about this national reserve you can check it out at  www.pc.gc.ca/straitofgeorgia.

Keep the date of April 13, 2007 open as it's time again for our Annual General Meeting. This is a very important meeting as it gives all Squadron members a chance to choose their executive for the next year.  It also gives us a chance to show last years Bridge how much their hard work and dedication is appreciated.

The plans for Alouettes' 50th Anniversary are now well under way.  There will be a catered dinner and special entertainment to celebrate the 50 years that our Squadron has been leading the way to safe boating in our community. All members, both present and past, are invited to come out and help celebrate this special occasion on June 1st, 2007 .

Submitted by

Peggy Roberts  

Editors Desk

This is a full Hailer so my comments will be short and sweet.  Please think seriously about getting involved with the Alouette Squadron.  We have some positions open on the Bridge or you can start by proctoring at classes or helping the Socials Committee.

Our 50^th Anniversary will be celebrated on June 1, 2007 .  There will be a catered dinner as well as lots of fun.  Please get your tickets ASAP they are $25.00 ea.  Call Anne McDonald at 465-4748 to get your tickets.

Submitted by

Ann Wright  

Training Report

I wish you all a safe and exciting boating season. Practice what you have learned, and bring back your experiences to share with others at our socials or in the classroom. The Spring Boating Class is in their final chapters of the course, and most, being boat owners, now realize the importance of the course material. A few students started late but have caught up nicely. The class consists of 14 students and a couple of future students, who came way too late to catch up, and are evaluating the course for next fall.

The training crew had a great time teaching themselves Fundamentals of Weather. We now have 11 qualified members to offer this course to future students. Also, 9 instructors took the Instruction Development Course to hone their skills in the classroom. We found this course very interesting in discovering how students think and absorb instructional material. Needless to say the instructors have been very busy for the last two months, and deserve a long cruise this summer (to gather more material for the classroom).  Thanks to Anne MacDonald who put up with our very flexible schedules for both classes.

After taking the Fundamentals of Weather myself, I can fundamentally guarantee that this rain will end soon, and we can all start enjoying another season of boating, whether on the lakes or up the coast. However watch out for squalls, hurricanes, thunderheads waterspouts, and, and if you’re not sure about these things, take the Weather Course.

Submitted By

Alan Slater  

Environmental Report

  While things have been relatively quite at the local level, we the Environment Officers of the Squadrons of the PMD, have each been busy rewriting the Environmental teaching hand-book as the old version is no longer available.  Odd as it may seem when every second word we hear these days is environment it is the buzz word for anything that costs more then it should, like gas and garbage etc.  However, I attended a meeting at Pat Brandlmayr’s place along with seven others from various other squadrons to help put together a teaching manual for the Environment, and got news of the latest good things happening out there.  A report by D/C Rendell Sewage Regulations follows.

  Sewage Regulations

Transport Canada has indicated that they hope to have the new “Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships and for Dangerous Chemicals” gazetted in Part II of the Canada Gazette late March or early April, 2007.  Through the strong support of a number of the larger boating organizations and the many letters from recreational boaters, a number of significant changes were made to the original draft regulations, and it appears that compliance and enforcement will now be possible.

Looking forward to new regulations for this summer.

Ross Wright,

Environmental Officer  

  Cruise Master Report    

Cruising Schedule for Alouette Squadron 

• July 1st Saturna Island - lamb Bake

• Next week will be spent in the Gulf Islands 

• July 7th we will be at Todd Inlet 

• August we will be in Desolation Sound  

• August 6th Squirrel Cove 

• September 9th Christian Cove for our salmon BBQ 

When in these areas during the time above you can call the Seahaven for contact - VHF 16 

Submitted by Mike Dixon