June 2016 Meeting Notes

We began the June meeting with Tolling the Boats lost in June, followed by birthday wishes for our members, introductions, and the officer reports.

 Remember that July and August are busy months, so be sure to review the Seattle Base Activities Calendar to see what is coming up.

Old and New Business 
Bangor Tour – We were reminded that the Bangor Submarine Base tour is full and that it was rescheduled for Thursday, June 30 2016 due to the change of command at the base.

Base Officers – We were also reminded that Seattle Base still needs someone to step forward for the Sr. Vice Commander position and a Tolling ceremony coordinator. John Roberts was holding both these positions, but is moving to Texas and will not be able to continue in either position. These are important positions and you will not have support from current base officers, but also past base officers and many other members.

USSVI National Elections –The latest issue of The American Submariner has the paper ballot for USSVI National elections. Please be sure to fill out your ballot and mail it in before August 10, 2016. If you prefer to fill out the ballot online, it will be available on the USSVI website after June 21. 

Seattle Base Float Diving Alarm Replacement – Jim Harper let us know that the diving alarm for the float has finally given out. We discussed purchasing a replacement, but decided to table the issue while we investigate prices and alternatives for the replacement.

Kirkland Independence Day Parade – The Kirkland parade will be on Monday July 4. The city will start closing the parade route and putting up detours around 9:30. The parade will start at 12:00 (following a Children’s parade at 11:30). We will have more information about the parade soon.

Smokey Point Event Reminder - Steve Shelton had sign-up sheets for the Smokey Point Rest Stop Event, which will happen on July 22-25 (Friday 2 PM until Monday 1:30 PM) at the southbound rest area. We can use all the volunteers we can get to help out manning the coffee both and to provide cookies or other goodies for the booth (note that donations for cookies are always welcome). The sign-up sheets will be available at the next meeting too, but contact Steve as soon as you can if you are interested in helping out.

Tolling the Boats Ceremony – The 2016 Tolling the Boats ceremony will be on August 20 at Kirkland Marina Park. We will have more information available at the next meeting.

June Program 

Bob's Razorback presentation

Our planned speaker had to cancel due to an illness and we hope to reschedule him soon. In his place Bob Opple stepped up with a short program.

Bob started off with a short recap of his recent trip across the country as part of the 2016 Run to the Wall motorcycle ride. You can see some photos from Bob’s trip on his blog and he promised to put together a presentation for the group later this year.

Bob then gave a presentation on returning the USS Razorback to the United States after she completed her service with the Turkish Navy. He started out with his involvement in kicking off the process of returning the sub. He talked about the challenges of finding a new home for the boat and getting support from the U.S. and Turkish governments. These challenges were multiplied due to issues between the U.S. and Turkish governments around the invasion of Iraq. Bob went on to talk about the trip across the Mediterranean and Atlantic. Then about the extra work needed to transport the sub up the Mississippi and on the Little Rock, Arkansas. Razorback now resides at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum with the Pearl Harbor survivor tug USS Hoga, giving visitors a view of the start and end of World War 2. The museum also has memorials for USS Snook (SS-279) and USS Scorpion (SSN-589).

Special thanks to Bob for providing a great presentation on short notice.

Good of the Order 
The B-Girls (Barbel, Bonefish, and Blueback) Reunion is tentatively planned for May 10 – 14, 2017 in Mobile Alabama at the Holiday Inn Downtown in the historic district.