Argyle

Wonder if the Kodiak syllabus would lend itself for a course conducted on a long cruise of 6 or 7 days on the water? I'm thinking it would. If our mission is to Develop Character and instill values, wouldn't it be wiser to use these tools locally as often as possible to accomplish that mission? Sea Scouts have a seamanship course called SEAL, billed as an advanced leadership course, yet in a program for youths 14-20, they don't want to train 18-20 year olds. Youth who fail to pass a 100 question seamanship exam, a navigation exam, and knot-tying exercise do not receive the training award at the end of the SEAL program, yet it's billed as NOT a Seamanship Course. You have conducted a Kodiak or Kodiak X, how do you think a waterborne Kodiak Course would work out? Gybe ho!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6535932118858769190&q=illinois+river%2C+jumping+carp&total=23&start=20&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1 The Bermuda Trainagle has it's issues and The Illinois River has hers. We put parents who interupt meetings in the bows of motorboats and go slowly. Damn the Carpedoes, full speed ahead!(This message has been edited by Argyle)

I'm itching to get my boat back in the water, except it snowed yesterday. What's up with that? It's been a long winter. It's time to get that Seaborne Venture Ship Scouts back in their boats!

What do you do with a drunken sailor what do you do with a drunken sailor what do you do with a drunken sailor early in the morning? Put him in a longboat and make him bail her put him in a longboat and make him bail her put him in a longboat and make him bail her early in the morning!

www.ships-store.org has SEA SCOUTS BSA strips in khaki with black lettering. Ordering from BSA gets you a khaki SEA SCOUTS BSA strip with red lettering, crappy material, with no border. Actually, the quality of almost everything Sea Scout related I bought from scoutstuff is second rate compared to Ships Store. But, I had mine embroidered, both on khaki and on my dress blue coat. Our Ship's khaki uniforms are simple and bare. Sea Scout strip, flag, and collar insignia make for uniformity, which looks a lot better than some of the patch collection uniforms seen at Seabadge.

SSScout - Great post about diversity. As den leader, I checked with all the parents regarding their religious affilitations. All were protestant, but not all from the same protestant denomination. The parents had no problem with using the general protestant God and Me program. I took a pass on the IH, she gave me the willies, something wasn't right with her. Found a minister who was a former military chaplain, he worked very well in non-denominational or multi-denominational activities. We did the God and Me through the summer (after baseball season). 5 of the 7 Cubbies in the den finished, taking five weeks. The parent(s) all participated. Went very well. We had a nice ceremony at the pastors church, during a Sunday service. That went over very well, both with the kids and their congregation. We look to do the next one, next year as Webeslos II.

http://www.etexscouts.com/VenturingActivityInterestSurvey.pdf Yacht Racing isn't life or death......it's more important than that!

Thanks for the replies....good stuff. Knot tying for example. I use all the Apprentice required knots everytime I take my boat out. Cleat Hitchs for the bow, stern, and spring lines, and halyards. I use a bowline on my topping lift, a reef knot (square) to put a reef in the main, half hitches for my fenders, a clove and midshipmens hitch (taut-line) for my auto pilot, and I'll use a figure eight or overhand knot to stop sheets from flying out of the blocks. What a great way to learn the art of knot tying. The youth will learn them and never forget them. So, with all the comments above, why not incorporate the above with an advanced knot tying course.....and of course throw in a monkey's fist and turk's head.

On that note... Would anyone have any interest in attending a Sea Scouter's College in the Midwest? No pins or knots handed out, but plenty of high-speed, low-drag advanced subject matter, plenty of courses to give you a boost as you just start out, and good old comeraderie and fellowship with a Sea Scout flavor. Who would be interested? Also, those that have attended Scouter Colleges and Universities of Scouting, what did you really like/dislike? What got you pumped and ready to go back for more? Thanks!

I'd just like to mention that our unit is a Sea Scout Ship. Our unit leaders are required to be members of the yacht club that charters us, be completely uniformed (khaki, white, blue), and fully trained. We have one skipper, eight mates, and three committee. The direct contact leadership all have had New Leader Essentials, Venturing Leader Specific Training, Sea Scout Officer Specialized Training, Youth Protection, Safety Afloat, Safe Swim Defense, and seven of the nine have participated in the Seabadge Conference. Not getting trained is not even an option.(This message has been edited by Argyle)

There have been people who have posted on the Sea Scout net. page, that the course was "Top notch" It would seem to me that some people did enjoy the course and did get something from it. They point out that Sea Scouting in the Central region has seen 7% growth. A member of the Ship that you serve stated that this Sea Badge course was a a good way to start the boating season. Ea. Scuttlebutt has it that they refer to that guy as "Mr. Positive." Scuttlebutt has it that they refer to that guy as "Mr. Positive."

There were 42 participants. What did you think about the discussion of uniform / no uniform for Sea Scouts? In my opinion I think the discussion was flawed. The Venture Scout program lends itself to an incredible amount of flexibility. If the youth led Ventures vote to have tie-dyed shirts and specialize in bowling and movies, then so be it. If they choose to be a crew who sails and SCUBAs and wear tie-died tee-shirts, then they should be registered as a crew. But, if the unit charters itself as a Sea Scout Ship, then they ought to follow the nautical theme of Sea Scouts, refer to the Sea Scout manual, take the Sea Scout training, and be uniformed according to the manual. I noticed in the past, when I was helping out with a local troop, that the Scouts would remove their uniform shirts before exiting the meeting place and walking home. Someone coined the term, social suicide. Now fast forward a few years. Dinner at the yacht club. Scout Scouts and Sea Scout officers in dress white uniforms. Members of the chartered org commenting and complimenting the scouts on their appearance, "You young ladies and gentlemen look fabulous!" Members of the chartered organization overheard telling their dinner guests, "Those are OUR Sea Scouts". A Sea Scout taking his senior pictures in dress whites. The look good and they know it! They stand out at the club and they like it. The uniform instills a sense of belonging to the ship, it is a morale builder, it brings a sense of pride in the ship, and adds a huge amount of espirit de corps to our unit. It's part of our tradition. It works for us. It may not work for you. We spend a Friday night dinner in white and the rest of the weekend we're in our gray tee shirts and shorts.