June 17, 2005
Dear Fellow
Chaserman,
The Chaser is in urgent need of your assistance.. The Chaser has always followed the shipping lane less traveled and this has made our program unique. Our current vessel, the third in a line which have served the youth of Napa and the North Bay, has been with us since 1986, when she replaced the 63 foot AVR which was transferred to a Sea Scout unit in Rio Vista. The Chaser has provided a level of safety, comfort and offshore capability which is nearly unmatched in the Bay Area.
We still operate an offshore program and are one of the few Sea Scout units to do so. However, this changed last year when massive engine problems caused the first cancellation of an offshore summer cruise in many years. Currently, the vessel is inoperable and all plans for any future cruises to destinations like Mexico, Victoria, B.C., Catalina Island and the Columbia River are on hold.
The engines in the vessel are the original Waukesha diesels and have become unreliable for offshore cruising, due to lack of spare parts. In fact, they are the last two of their type still in service. Unfortunately, our cruising program is at a standstill until these engines can be replaced. Replacing the engines with new, modern engines of similar power rating is our best option. Our second option is to find rebuilt engines which will suit our needs; however, the fuel economy of rebuilt engines will affect the cruising options of the vessel and the quality of the program which we can offer to future Sea Scouts.
Back to the topic
of this letter, we are looking for
one hundred twenty five supporters of the ship; be they alumni, family
and
friends who are willing to dig deep and donate ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS per
person
so that we can re-power the Chaser. We, the current Officers and
Crew of the Chaser are well
aware that this is not an insignificant amount of money, but we have
all
made a committment to this project and we hope that you can do so
also.
The survival of
our program depends on your support!. The ability to
raise these
funds in a
short period of time is critical to begin re-powering the Chaser as soon as
possible. The success of our program depends on having a reliable
ship that can stand up to our aggressive cruising program.
This is an opportunity for you, a Chaserman,
to help
support future generations of Chasermen whose struggles
and
challenges are no less than those we faced in our youth. So
please, we are asking that your consider our request carefully and
donate the full amount of ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS so we can reach our goal
as quickly as possible.
Also, we only have a partial list of Chaser
alumni. If you know another Chaserman, please contact him and
inform him of
this request or put his name on our website, www.ssschaser.com,
so that we can contact him. The website will be used to keep
you informed on the progress of this project. Our plan is to
update the website weekly as information becomes available.
Please visit our website to learn what has been happening in the Sea
Scout program since your were an active member.
Again, please give thoughtful consideration to our request for support of the Chaser in her time of need so that she may continue to teach the values of leadership, duty and service to the young men of Napa and the North Bay. .
Fair winds and following seas,
Carl F. Shellhorn
Skipper, SSS Chaser
Thank you to the Gasser Foundation
for their recent donation of $20,000.