Winter Program Weekend March 27, 28, 29

Hello Winter Programmers-

On Friday we have a ship stability presentation by our Naval Architect Bob MacLaren beginning at 6:30 and ending at 8:30.

If you do not have your Radio Operators Certificate this is a reminder that we are offering a course beginning on Saturday and ending on Sunday. The course starts at 9:00am and runs to 5:00pm both days.

If you have your ROC, I will be working on the whalers and would appreciate any assistance. We will also be working from 9:00am to 5:00pm Saturday and Sunday.

Everyone is welcome to overnight at the office on Friday and Saturday night.


Hope to see you this weekend!

March Break Camp 2009

BBI March Break Camp 2009 was warmer and a lot less snowy compared to last year.  

Bowling at Merivale Lanes was terrific, and Captain McNaught was on the verge of becoming pro before Thibault changed his score in the middle of the game to tame his ego :)  

During the day we were joined Margaret Long, the Captain's mother, who flew up from Lunenburg, NS to help out with the costumes and hammocks the crew were making for the Halifax Expedition.  Margaret sailed on the Picton Castle with Mary during the tall ships races in 2000, and quickly settled into the BBI program, helping us along with our projects.  Thanks once again!  Terra Mitton (Angus' Mom) and her friend Robbi also came in with an array of extremely high tech sewing...er...contraptions....and helped us out with the costumes too.  Thanks to them as well!!!

On Tuesday, the BBI crew went by bus to Scotia Bank Place to see the Sens in action.  After the first few minutes the Sens were losing- and everyone decided en masse to cheer for the Sabres...this unfortunately turned into a big mistake, because the Sens came back to win the game that night, depsite Rolfe's attempts to get the entire stadium involved in a 'Let's Go Buffalo' chant.  The highlight of the game wasn't even on the ice, however, because two dancing Leprechauns wearing enormous hats blocked most of the ice out after the first period was over.  The crew got more pics and video of them than the players. 

One of the other highlights of the March Break camp was our trip to Tag Zone.  Tag Zone is like indoor paintball - but instead of paintballs they use soft rubber balls (that, despite being soft, left us with a few welts).  The crew were pretty pumped about going, and once we started the adrenaline only rose higher...it turned out that being short was one of the best advantages to Tag Zone, and Angus Mitton pelted us with rubber balls for 2 hours, winning the prestigious 'every man for himself' round.  

Thanks to everyone for making the Camp such a great success and an extra thank you to the volunteers who donated their time and expertise to make the week possible.  We'll see you again next year!!!

Thanks to John, Margaret, Julie, Tara, Robbi.  Thanks also to the people who work at the Fuller Head office for sharing your space for the week.   

Mary is on the blog once again

Winter Program Changes

Jason has fine-tuned the remaining Winter Program activities that are coming up. There is going to be a lot happening in the next few months!

• There are tons of activities planned for the March Break Camp running from March 16-20.
• Shipyard Work Parties are starting up again on March 28 & 29.
• If you need your VHF Restricted Operator's Card, there is a course coming up for that.
• There are a few Friday night training sessions thrown in for good measure.
• And there are a bunch more work parties planned to get the ships ready for the summer.

Check out the Winter Program Page and the Volunteer Work Party page for details and contact the office at 613-596-6258 if you want more information or to tell them you plan to be there.