Minutes of the Standing Convocation of the Order of the Great Fifth Sea

Date: 1 October 2025
Location: Rawley Chapter House, Main Hall
Presiding: Alistar Corvus, Presiding Concordant
Recorder: Klara Nilsen, Deputy Archivist

1. Call to Order

The ceremonial brass ship’s bell was struck at 19:04 hours. Members assembled in full quorum, armed with committee reports bound in twine. The Presiding Concordant requested brevity; this request was promptly ignored.

2. Committee Reports

2.1 Ballast and Buoyancy Assurance Committee

• Chair: Tom Ashford
  
  

• Ashford reported that the Little Concord “wheezes like an old bullhead” but remains seaworthy.
  
  

• Proposed ballast solution: forty sandbags, meticulously weighed. Gerald “Charts” Whitcomb objected, demanding that each be marked with north-pointing arrows to avoid confusion.
  
  

• Motion carried to order forty-two sandbags “to account for error.”
  
  

2.2 Wardrobe and Attire Advisory Group

• Chair: Edwin Barlow
  
  

• Barlow presented three proposed uniforms: “Practical Mariner,” “Ceremonial Scholar,” and “Documentary Dignified.”
  
  

• Eleanor Price argued against “Documentary Dignified,” warning it resembled “choristers in damp robes.”
  
  

• After forty minutes of debate, motion carried to adopt “Practical Mariner” with optional scarves in Order colors. Charts abstained, muttering that scarves obscure compasses.
  
  

2.3 Etiquette on Shared Vessels Committee

• Chair: Eleanor Price (provisional)
  
  

• Draft code presented:
  
  

1. Hats may be doffed aboard GLRC vessel, but only with measured reluctance.
   
   

2. Order members must not rearrange Consortium clipboards without written consent.
   
   

3. No member shall describe the GLRC vessel as “efficient.”
   
   

• Proposal to include “no fraternization” clause was tabled after pointed silence from Charts.
  
  

2.4 Insurance and Liability Contingency Panel

• Chair: Mags Fielding
  
  

• Discovered existing policy excludes “acts of hubris, intentional submersion, or contact with submerged megafauna (real or speculative).”
  
  

• Motion carried to draft supplementary rider, though premiums deemed “borderline ruinous.”
  
  

• Consensus formed that liability may ultimately rest on “whichever party is blamed first.”
  
  

2.5 Ledger and Documentation Redundancy Subcommittee

• Chair: Gerald “Charts” Whitcomb
  
  

• Charts reported that the first draft of the archival ledger is complete and sealed in wax.
  
  

• Complained that juniors persist in confusing east and west. One member allegedly asked if “north is optional.”
  
  

• Motion carried to conduct remedial compass drills in the courtyard.
  
  

3. Unfinished Business

• The Presiding Concordant reaffirmed the project title The Survey of the Silent Circle.
  
  

• Members noted with derision that the GLRC continues to circulate documents marked Submerged Heritage Site Evaluation (SHSE-25).
  
  

• General laughter recorded, though Charts was observed not to join.
  
  

4. New Business

• Proposal raised to design a ceremonial banner for the Little Concord. Draft slogan “By Stone and Ledger” rejected as “too martial.” Further suggestions deferred.
  
  

• Eleanor Price requested approval for ceremonial waterproof logbooks. Approved unanimously.
  
  

• Tom Ashford proposed a pre-expedition toast with non-alcoholic sparkling cider. Strongly supported, though a subcommittee was immediately proposed to select the flavor.
  
  

5. Closing Remarks

The Presiding Concordant cautioned members that November approaches rapidly, while committees continue to proliferate unchecked. He urged focus on execution, though his words were followed by a motion to establish a “Motion Management Committee.” Motion carried.

Adjourned at 22:16 hours. Members lingered in the corridor for further debate on scarves, ballast weights, and the appropriate cider for ceremonial toasts.

Recorder’s Postscript

The Order has achieved in one week of deliberation what most societies might accomplish in years