The 1972 Annual General Meeting was held on the evening of 6^th April in the Wardroom of H.M.C.S. Carleton. The following officers were elected for the 1972/1973 season :

Commander	Arthur N. Huddleston, AP
Lieut. Commander and Executive Officer	John S.T. Swanson, N
First Lieut. and Secretary	Edgar A. Wiggs, AP
First Lieut. and Treasurer	David A. Plaunt, AP
First Lieutenant	Herbert Barrett, S
First Lieutenant	Robert C. Kennedy, AP
Auditor	Percy B. Wooster
George W. Booker, JN, was appointed Lieutenant Commander and Training Officer.

The number of successful students in the 1971/1972 courses was encouraging. Fifty-three candidates passed the Boating Course examinations, thirteen passed Seamanship and seventeen passed Advanced Piloting.

The Annual Graduation Dinner was held at Algonquin College on 5^th May. The guests of honour were Chief Commander I.K.T. Phillips,N, Past District Commander C.F. Dumaresq, AP, who represented the District Commander, Past District Commanders N.S. Horton and T.A. CaIvert, Commander S. Dix, S, of the Ottawa Power Squadron and Commodore A.C. Blouin of the Britannia Yacht Club.

After the dinner of 1971 several members of the Squadron had expressed the view that the expense of an orchestra was not necessary. With other members, the music for dancing was a popular feature of the evening. The problem was solved for 1972 when a member of the Squadron provided a small group to play for dancing after the dinner.

The membership of the Squadron was now one hundred and fifty-eight full members, forty-seven lady associates and one junior associate.

From the earliest days of the Britannia Power Squadron many of the Lady Associate Members played an active part in Squadron activities. They did outstanding work as instructors in the training program and as chairmen and members of committees.

The requirement for Lady Associate membership was completion of the Piloting Course. The ladies had the same privileges as the men who were full members except that they could not be officers of the Squadron and could not vote at the A.G.M. They could participate in all other Squadron activities and fly the CPS flag. The ladies did not pay annual membership dues.

At the National A.G.M. of 1972 the by laws were amended to admit women as full members of Canadian Power Squadrons. Only a few of the Lady Associates joined the Britannia Squadron as full members; the others chose to continue their associate membership.

At the meeting of the Squadron Executive on 5^th July the Squadron Commander announced the appointement of four Squadron Lieutenants. These were Ellen Devine,S, William Gard,JN, David McGarry, AP and Edwin B. Stolly. Thus Ellen Devine was the first of the ladies to become an officer of the Britannia Power Squadron. Four years later she was elected Squadron Commander, the first woman to command the Britannia Squadron.

This year saw the division of the Rideau - St. Lawrence District into two separate groups. These new districts were the Rideau District for the Britannia, Brockville, Cornwall, Iroquois, Kingston and Ottawa Squadrons and the St. Lawrence District for the other twelve squadrons.

This was the year when the name of the Piloting Course was changed to " Boating Course".

The year 1972 was the 25^th Anniversary of Canadian Power Squadrons. To mark this event a CPS Flag and Log were carried from Victoria to Halifax. Where feasible the flag was flown along the inland waterways of Canada. The participation of Britannia Power Squadron was to pick up the flag at Aylmer on 2^nd August and fly it on Lac Deschenes from Aylmer to Fitzroy Harbour to Britannia Yacht Club where it was handed over to representatives of the Ottawa Power Squadron on 3^rd August.

In September the total number of registrations for courses was almost as mary as in the previous year. There were 78 students in the Boating Course, 33 In Seamanship, 27 In Advanced Piloting, 5 In Junior Navigator, 3 in Navigator and three in elective courses.

The MAREP Program originated with three squadrons in Western Canada where it became operational in the year 1971 following meetings between representatives of the Canadian Hydrographic Service and CPS. The program was extended to all Squadrons for the year 1972. Since then it has become one of the important functions of Canadian Power Squadrons.

No dates for the Annual Rendezsvous at either Pinhey's Point or Baskin's Bay were available during the summer without a conflict with major activities of the Britannia Yacht Club. The Squadron Commander solved this problem by inviting all the members of the Squadron to a mid October rendezvous at his home on the waterfront at Aylmer, P.Q. This event was great fun and the Seamanship Trophy was won by Past Commander Paul LaDelpha.

The first winter social event was an informal "meet the students after classes". It was held in the Wardroom of HMCS Carleton on the evening of 16^th January. This event was a small but successfull get together.

The Fifth Annual Calypso Night was on 16^th February at the Ukranian Hall on Byron Avenue. There were only forty six in attendance. The Entertainment Officer of the Squadron described this event as a financial disaster. At the Annual General Meeting in April it was decided not to repeat the Calypso Night during 1974.

Year 10 – 1973 / 1974 Year 8 - 1971 / 1972