Greetings All
The SSS Corinthian crew had a super day out at Fort Flagler Park on Saturday. Brian, Will, Margaux and Aaron took the ferry from Edmonds across to Kingston with David Blakemore, Winston and Chris and enjoyed the scenic drive out to the park, with plenty
of deer and wildlife sightings en route. The park itself is an exceptional venue for such a large gathering, with excellent facilities (kitchen, dormitories, meeting rooms and hall), vast amounts of space to explore and a terrific vista of Admiralty Inlet and the straits separating Morrowstone Island from Whidbey Island.
Our group was given a warm welcome and a brief overview of available activities from the event chairman and Commodore, Thomas Fawthrop. It did not take long before all were involved in hands on canvas work, "round seam" stitching with a leather sailor's palm and needles followed by a practical eye splicing session with three braid line. 
The general format of the Mert Wells is an inter ship "competition" that embraces the various practical and knowledge based skills that one would need for general seamanship as well as sea scouting's time-honoured customs and traditions. We might not have been looking at scores or trying to gain points but every challenge was taken on with great enthusiasm and little hesitation. Even trying something new like tying a French Bowline and hoisting a crewman 35ft up in the air in a "bosun's chair" was well entertaining, although a bit of a struggle for those who suffer from vertigo.
We did not participate in all the organized activities but lunch was certainly not missed. No shortage of food and for those of you who think that all mass catered events are only capable of producing basic, unappetizing nourishment - think again. This galley put out budget gourmet with plenty of salad and fruit! The only thing that was on ration was hot chocolate, as consumption had outpaced supply. Time out was taken after lunch to explore the heavy gun placements that once guarded the area. 
Fort Flagler, along with the heavy batteries of Fort Worden and Fort Casey, once protected the nautical entrance to Puget Sound. These posts, established in the late 1890's, became the first line of a fortification system designed to prevent a hostile fleet from reaching such targets as the Bremerton Naval Yard and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett.
The highlights of the afternoon were the boating events held in Mystery Bay. Holy Names Academy had very generously loaned a school bus (SSS Vixen is sponsored by the school and always has a strong showing at these regattas - vive la femme!) which was used to transport the participants to the second venue. The first rowing activity saw Margaux and Will "sprint" with a floating line out to a mooring buoy in just on 37 seconds! Wind and tide made securing the line a little tricky but no one got wet and the team completed the task in good time. The second task was to heave a life ring between two floating buoys some distance from the dock which was a good test for accuracy if ever required in real life.
The next couple of challenges involved all hands and a few extras. Will led the charge by taking the tiller and "cox-ing" the team for the dory row. Everyone certainly "pulled together" and it did not take long for the group to co-ordinate their efforts and we even made a victory lap around the buoys just for the fun of it! Rowing a whaleboat though is not for wimps and half an hour of handling a 30 pound oar gave every one a feel for what the SSS Falcon had achieved by rowing 90 miles (across the Juan de Fuca Straits) last summer! Aaron managed to score us some extra candy by throwing a heaving-line to the dock from the boat and hand lining out a bag of sweets.
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Many thanks to all those who made our outing so entertaining and helped with each of the activities. There wasn't a moment to sit down until we had to make the return journey to Kingston! The lads even managed to fit in a session of chart plotting skills after the water sports which was a nice way to round off the nautical aspect of the trip. No ferry ride back to base would have been complete without a pizza at Luna Bella Ristorante which is situated a stone's throw from the terminal. Four well satiated diners can attest to the fact. If points were to be handed out for effort and endeavour then each person can say that the day was a resounding success and well worth a second round.
Winston
SSS Corinthian
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