Another difficult...

Bon voyage... our Confessor!

... goodbye. Last week, a difficult goodbye was said to Lil' Smokey, and sadly, this week, there was yet another goodbye to say. With a heavy heart, the Hall said goodbye to the Confessor, the Hall's entry for the Fisher Regatta. Made for the annual Fisher Hall Regatta on St. Mary's Lake in May, the Confessor was a collaboration of many Stedsmen, coming together, sharing their various skills and knowledge to design, construct, and race a boat worthy of their Hall. While the Confessor may not have won the regatta, it had a respectable showing, but more importantly, it captured the hearts and affections of the Gentlemen. So, when the regatta was over, the Confessor was not abandoned like so many other ships but rather taken home to Steds, spending the summer on the patio. But, unable to find a safe and secure place to anchor in the new school year, it was determined that the Confessor had to be decommissioned, less it fall into enemy hands. In a scene right out of Old Yeller, the Gentlemen, with a sledge hammer, took their ship behind the Hall and scuttled it.

Below is the official statement from the Minister for the Navy, Steds Sophomore and resident Irishman, Eoghan Fay, on the decommissioning of the S.E.S. "Confessor:"

"With profound sadness, I approved Naval General Order No. 6 to retire and scrap the flagship of the fleet, S.E.S. "Confessor."  Recent developments on the international stage demonstrated the need for continued adaptability and efficiency in the Steds Defense Forces, which tied with the Ministry's ongoing commitment to a sustainable and responsible expenditure plan, meant that the "Confessor" no longer provided necessary usefulness to the fleet to justify continued upkeep. It would be reckless and selfish of my Ministry to burden the taxpayer with the cost of maintaining an outmoded weapon of competition. While we bid a sad farewell to our distinguished veteran flagship, I can also confirm that I have personally ordered Vice Admiral Vince DiFilippo, Director of the Bureau of Ship Design, to draw up plans for a new and more effective naval flagship, the S.E.S. "Zanzibar." The Ministry's Bureau of Media Relations and Outreach will publicize further details on the "Zanzibar" in due course."

BUT THERE'S MORE...

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