One of the unique things about the Crew is that we are not sponsored by a church or school or even a conventional community non-profit group.  The charter for our unit is with the American Legion, a veteran's organization that has supported Scouting since 1919!  We try to pay them back in various ways.  One year, we did highway cleanup for the Post.  We have performed Food Drives and planted friendly environmental bioswales.  We have kept our Venturing Oath to "help strengthen America".

For Memorial Day 2013, the American Legion joined with the neighboring Veterans of Foreign Wars to conduct a service on the waterfront at Liberty Bay in Poulsbo to commemorate the sacrifice of those who died in service to our country.  A wreath was cast on the waters while the local high school band played and a rifle squad fired a salute.  We were the Color Guard.

They say that you can tell the season in Washington by the termperature of the rain.  Mother Nature didn't disappoint this year, and it was a steady downpour while we stood vigil for the entire ceremony, including a keynote address from the Mayor and a medley of Armed Forces anthems from the band.  It builds character, and you're reminded that Venturers do not wear cotton.  Thank you to Sam, Paul, Jeanette, Scott, Malachi, Forrest, Chris, Jeff, and Nick for supporting their Crew at this event.

Never a year goes by for the Crew without spending some time on the water.  Since our Superactivity this summer is going to be a Kayaking Expedition on Puget Sound, we always start with a day on Wildcat Lake here in Kitsap County where our experienced folks can help train the new paddlers.  The difference between regular paddle safety courses and ours?  It's the twist at the end.

Everyone begins with a basic instruction on the Paddler's "Diamond" (what your legs do) and "Box" (what your arms do).  You learn the parts of the boat and using a new vocabulary that includes aft, heel, brace, skeg, keel, and learn the four basic strokes.  It's all about becoming comfortable with your balance and practicing what we affectionately call the Banana Boat Boogie.  Once you learn the basics, kayaking safely and effortlessly becomes a breeze so that you can enjoy the scenery and not worry about if you'll fall over.

But we all quickly learn there are two types of kayakers: those who have fallen over in their kayaks and those who will fall over in their kayaks.  It's inevitable.  That is why we spend so much time during our Safety Day to learn and hone our skills with unassisted and assisted kayaking rescues.  We even learn who to assist a injured kayaker in the water and how to get him back into his boat.

After everyone was comfortable, we loaded up our fleet and set out across the lake to our Advisor's house for a great meal hot off the grill and to trade sea stories of our kayaking prowess.  Prowess included not falling over when we got to his dock and tried out get back out of our boats.  Guess who failed?

But in the end, we want to have some special fun, too,  Our tradition goes back to the Middle Ages.  Our steeds are our boats and we engage in rounds of Kayak Jousting.  It's fun but it's not as easy as you may think.  How do you handle your paddle and your lance when you only have two hands?  What happens if you approach too slowly and miss?  Too quickly and if you try to duck, you capsize?   When jousting, you cannot use your rudder or skeg, and we make you only use your paddle and balance to steer.  Each year in our tournament, someone becomes the final victor and is declared Sir Splashalot (yeah, it's corny). This year, the advantage went to the smallest target....Jeanette M won by a Technical Knock Out when she managed to "disarm" her championship opponent when he lost his paddle while trying to avoid the collision.

In an electoral landslide, our Chris Z was elected to a second term as the Order of the Arrow's Section Chief for Western Washington and Alaska at the recent Section W-1N Conclave at Camp Pigott.  This year's Conclave set a new record for attendance at 348, which filled the Camp and the program to capacity with outstanding workshops, outdoor events, shows, and a fantastic Potlatch in the new Longhouse.

So what does a Section Chief do?  Great question.  The answers are not just listed, but are part of the training that all Arrowmen receive when they attend a National Leadership Seminar.  You can view it on the Regional site, and if you're interested...why not attend an NLS?  There will be one in Portland, OR this fall!

Venturing and the Order of the Arrow are not mutually exclusive programs and that Crew 42 has always enjoyed a host of active Arrowmen in the unit only proves that point.  Did you know that the Crew was actually founded by group of OA ceremonialists?