So it's 2009. Although this is the first entry of the new year, I'm not going to write it in verse, mostly because I'm not stuck at my desk for 6 hours on the midwatch, so I actually have something else to do. Imagine that!
So what does the year look like? For us here at ssn-680.org, it looks like continued growth. I'm still pretty impressed with going from a handful of original registered users, to 73 as of this morning. Now I'm easily impressed, I'll admit, but that is a pretty big deal. When you think about a ship with a thirty year life, and with the potential of a full crew turnover as often as every three years, maybe we are only looking at 1300 or 1400 sailors who actually served on board the Bates. And over 5% of those are already registered on this site, less than two weeks after going 'public'.
What would I like to see this year? I'd like to see us contact every Bates sailor that ever rode the Battlin' Billy B., and have them register on this site. A sizeable task, no doubt, but possible, if each of you reading this will contact every former Bates sailor you still have contact info for, and let them know about it. And if you know a shipmate that has passed on, make sure you create an entry for him in the Eternal Patrol forum. I would encourage each of you to track down those former crewmembers, and together, let's see if we can't get 1000 registered by the end of the year.
OK, what else. Well, there are rumors of an 82-85 core group reunion in the air. That would be especially fun to see happen, mostly because I'm one of them. I don't know that the world is ready for a full Bates reunion yet, but the reality is that we are all getting older, and it would be a shame to miss out on getting the crew together because we were all too busy/lazy/bored to make a reunion happen, so for those that have the motivation, step forward and start putting things together.
Photos and articles. That will be my big push for the next few months. We have the capacity for you to write articles and post photos, for those of you that are so inclined. I, for one, really want to see this site become a place where all can contribute. There are a few barriers to that, one being that it isn't as simple as it should be. In the meantime, I'm writing some tutorials that will help those of you interested post articles, upload and post your photos, and contribute to the forums. Each one of you has the capacity to contribute in one form or another to creating this living history of the William H. Bates, and for those of us that sailed on her, this will be a small part of the legacy that we can leave behind, a gift to our family and friends, that let them share in our experience in this part of our service.
Finally, I want to see each and every one of you involved. You've taken the time to register, now take the time to share. For now, the Scuttlebutt forum is a place to write up your memories and share them with the rest of us. Soon, you can contribute to Sea Stories, the Archives, and the Photo sections. Don't forget to update your user profiles and tell us a little bit about yourselves, and what you've been up to. If you're not sure where to start, go look at my user profile here and you can get an idea of what is possible. Help make this site your place, and don't forget to track down all your fellow shipmates and get them connected as well.
Thanks for being a part of ssn-680.org. I look forward to 'sailing' with you during 2009.
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