Reunion IX
Wow,the cruise reunion was a big hit. We had a really good attendance at the resort and most of them went on the cruise. The resort was nice but we had a few dissappointments with promises not being kept by the resort but we still had a fantastic time with approximately 130 people attending there
We were supposed to have two adjoining rooms for our hopitality room but when we checked in we got 2 seperate rooms and we made the best of that situation. we didn't have the auction items this time because we thought with leaving our vehicles locked up in a secured parking lot that maybe we shouldn't have the auction items locked in cars and give anyone a reason to want to break into the cars. We did have two raffles though with several small items that were donated by some of our shipmates. A couple of the better items were 5 bottles of wine and one of them was the Blandy brand by Madiera and we had two very good books raffled one of which was "October Fury" written by the late Peter Huchthausen. and a unique prize was a blue print of USS Constitution. We also held a 50/50 raffle which yielded a prize of $194 to the winner. All in all the resort turned out to be much fun for the Blandy Belles on shopping day and most of us going out to dinner together each evening.
We boarded the Carnival cruise ship "Sensation" on Sunday November 7th and departed at 4 PM for the Bahamas. On board the ship was lots of stuff to do for eats, drinks and entertainment however the first evening at sea was a little rough as we caught the very outer bands of the hurricane "Thomas" which passed Haiti way south of us heading east. It made the sea a little rough and a few of our ladies were seasick and missed the evening meal and we had a few more who really didn't get sick but still had a tuff time of it. I think all of the Blandy sailors found that they did still have sea legs and found walking a little tuff but managed to get through it. The rest of our cruise was beautiful weather and the sea was very calm. Almost everywhere we went on the ship there was someone wanting to take your picture and you could see the photos posted on the wall in the Grand Atrium on the Prominade deck so you could pick out the ones you wanted to purchase. There were several niteclubs that you could visit if you wanted a drink and each had a different type of entertainment. There was a deck that catered to the children on the cruise and a deck where you could go the spa or the physical workout room and a jogging area and miniature golf. There was a couple of swimming pools and hot tubs and several places where you could eat whatever you wanted any time of the day or night and you could order room service anytime. The ship is beautiful and everyone had a great time on the cruise. Our Chaplain and Historian Billy McLean did his best to try to make himself heard at our memorial service held in the open air area on the fantail. There were a couple of huge powerful fans making lots of noise but it was the area the ship gave us for our service. We gave our respects to our shipmates who have passed away and Billy read all of their names and then tossed a wreath on the ocean to honor them. We also held a burial at sea for one of our shipmates who served during the early sixties aboard Blandy. The ashes of Steve Cupak ETN2 and his wife Arliss were comitted to the sea during our memorial service as requested by their family.
This reunion will be remembered for quite a while by all who attended. Because your web master (me) Bruce Cogswell suggested the cruise I was in charge of putting this reunion together and I would like to thank everyone who helped me with this huge task. I hope I am not forgetting anyone but here are the folks who need to be applauded for their efforts in helping. First I want to thank our VP, Dan Hauk and his wife Ginger for their help in planning and helping to make sure it all went smooth. But also several of our shipmates and Blandy Belles who made phone calls. Our treasurer, Bob Leech, had more than usual bookkeeping because of the method we used to reserve the ship's cabins and I would like to especially thank my wife, Debi, who really did almost all of my portion of the job. Without her our cruise reunion wouldn't have been the success it was.

Reunion VIII
We had a great time at Branson, MO Reunion 2008. Our attendance was down some from our previous reunions and all I can say is those of you who chose not to attend missed out on another great one.
We had a really nice hotel with a well stocked hopitality room. Our tours were really great and it seemed that the town was set up for shopping which was a big hit with the wives. One of our tours was a riverboat cruise that had really good entertainment where everyone enjoyed themselves and just before we went on the riverboat William McLean (our historian) gave a fine presentation at our memorial service held in the open air at a really nice outdoor setting where we recognized our departed shipmates. We had a dinner banquet that was first class, followed by our usual auction of Blandy memorabilia. A big thank you to the members of the Blandy Belles for bringing the articles for the auction.
Fun was had by all and we enjoyed welcoming a few new members to the association who hadn't been to a reunion yet. They reported that it was great and will be at future reunions. Thank You Alvin McCallum for another great reunion.

Reunion VII was held in Philadelphia, Pa Oct, 12-15, 2006. We visited the new Constitution Center, U.S. Mint, USS Olympia, USS Becuna (WWII Sub), toured the Seaport museum, enjoyed an evening dinner cruise on the Delaware River where we danced the night away. A guided tour of historic Philadelphia and lunched on board & toured the battleship New Jersey. The most memorable moment was when William McLean (our historian) gave a very fine presentation at our memorial service held on the fantail of the New Jersey. We recognized our departed shipmates with a tossing of a memorial wreath into Delaware River as well as the playing of taps and the singing of “Eternal Father” Navy Hymn. There was not a dry eye on the fantail. We visited the naval shipyard and saw the Adams, Forrest Sherman, and Edison for a photo op, group pictures and of course, some fond memories. Sad to see them moored, just waiting for the unknown. The reunion ended with individual and group photos and a dinner banquet, followed by an auction of Blandy memorabilia. A job well done by members of the Blandy Belles who supplied the articles for the auction. The hospitality room was busy as usual. A good time was had by all. At our business meeting it was voted on that our next reunion in 2008 will be held in Branson MO. Remember when you come to the reunion in Branson “BRING A SHIPMATE”