Sea Scouts ride the waves

[Bob White]

Haven't got the specific figures yet but our Regional Boatswain told me today that while the national membership in Venturing has dropped again the membership in Sea Scouts has risen.

 

I expect this trend to continue. Any Boy Scout who is losing his enthusiasm for Troop scouting, or just wants more adventure opprtunites, should investigate Sea Scouts. Not only is it probably the only growing portion of Scouting at the moment, but it has some of the best adventures, and if they join with their First Class rank they can continue to work on their trail to Eagle as a Sea Scout. (and our uniforms are very sharp and cost a fraction of price of a Boy Scout or Venturing uniforms:).

[Eamonn]

Do I by chance detect some bias here?

Of course I agree.

Eamonn.

[Bob White]

I know that as Sea Scouts we seldom get to play with all the cool tents and backpacks but that the Boy Scouts play with, but it might be fun to list our water resources to show the kinds of things we use instead. We usually sleep aboard our boats rather than tent, and carry sport bags intead of backpacks.

 

I was wondering how many Ships we have here and what they do in the water.

 

So Eamonn, what kinds of water activities do you do? how many days a year are you in the water?(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[Eamonn]

"So Eamonn, what kinds of water activities do you do? how many days a year are you in the water?

People have said that only an idiot like me would start a Sea Scout Ship in a land locked state.

So far I have found that our location hasn't proved to be as big a problem as the weather.

Our on the water activities close down in October (This past year we manage a weekend cruise in November) We restart in late April.

During this down time, we spend a fair amount of time working on the boats (All 3 of them!!). In the local swimming pool. This winter we have partnered up with California University of PA and we have Scouts working on their scuba certification, they are doing their dives at Mt. Storm Lake in the Allegheny Mountains of northeastern West Virginia, thanks to the 1,600-megawatt Mt. Storm Power Station, even in winter the water temp doesn't go below 60 F.

The Quarterdeck does plan one on the water event a month.

We seem to spend a fair amount of time in Deep Creek Maryland and at Lake Arther in Moraine State Park, these are normally sailing weekends. We use these because they are close to home only a 90 minute drive.

For one day activities we have our rivers and our guys seem to really enjoy kayaking, so much so that they are planning a week long Sea Kayaking adventure. Someone has just donated a couple of small catamarans, which they have been working on. The plan is that these will be able to be used on some of the local small lakes.

We also go white water rafting at least once a year.

Sea Scouters are a nice group and we have been very fortunate to have been taken under the wing of two really great Ship's, who invite us to tag along with what they are doing. Both Ships have Skippers who have been Skipper for SEAL and have forgotten more about Sea Scouting and being on the water than I'll ever master.

Our Scouts really enjoy these joint weekends.

Most months we have two activities going on, of course due to the other activities the Scouts are involved in attendance can vary a lot.

Eamonn.

[OldGreyEagle]

The issue of Sea Scouts has long been a concern in the COuncil I serve. We have a diffucult time keeping a Ship afloat. One such unit has been created, disbanded, recreated and disbanded so many times we refer to it as the SS Yoyo. It's been up and down so many times its well you know.

 

The problem centers on money for a the boat(s). Apparently the people who start the units do not have a good handle on how much money it will take to support the actual boats of a Ship. How do you guys manage it? Donated boats and trailers can always be found, its the upkeep that kills the units financially.

[Bob White]

We started with a Venturing crew of 5 Scouts that wanted to learn to sail. So we did some investigation and made the switch to Sea Scouts. We started by traveling three and half hours to visit another Sea Scout ship on the Great Lakes that was sponsored by a Yacht Club. We trained with them and borrowed their boats.

 

Next went in search of a chartering organization that had the resources to support the program the Scouts were looking for.

 

We found a Yacht club, that we thought would work, primarily because of meeting space and access to water. The Skipper got a membership and we put a borrowed boat from the other Ship into a slip with the intentions of showing up every weekend to work on it and hopefully be seen by the club members.

 

Instead our scouts kept getting borrowed by other membeers to help with their boats on racing crews, cleaning boats, assiting with maintenance.

 

After about 8 weeks of this the Commodore of the club sat down with three of us adults leaders and asked about these 5 guys in Sea Scout t-shirts that have been helping everyone around the club. We gave him a history on Sea Scouting and he was impressed on the how many goals the Club shared with the program.

 

It turns out they had been trying to start a youth group for a few years with no luck and maybe the Sea Scouts could be the remedy. I was assigned by the Skipper to become the unit organizer, and working with the Bridge at the Club we formed a committee, selected the CR/CC trained the committee, recruited a couple more leaders and trained them.

 

From our arrival at the club to the charter signing took about 8 months. Through existing club resources and several donations from local boaters we now have over two dozen sail boats we either own or have use of. Plus a few power boats, but we mostly sail.

 

Our fleet ranges from small racing dingys to 21ft day cruisers. The improved access to to the water has drawn a number of new members (now 16 registered), and the Club has a goal for us to double in size this year. We host other Sea Scouts groups to boat with us and to join our training academies that we hold over the winter months. During sailing season (April through September) we are on the water every Saturday and Sunday. This August we are working on a 'Weekend on the Water' event that will give local Boy Scout, Venturing and Girl Scout units instruction in small boat handling, sailing, motorboating, water skiing, snorkeling, fishing, flyfishing, discover SCUBA, and other water activity related skills.

 

The Scouts are also active in Club acting as greeters, and staff for various club events. The clubs race committee is now working with us to host a Sea Scout regatta later this season. The members of the Club could not be nicer to the scouts.

 

All in all life on the water is good. We have now been asked by other local councils to come train local volunteers on how to start Ships. The core element in my opinion is to have the right CO for the program and train EVERYBODY.

 

As for the boats and finances, those are program driven. Build a good program and the resources will become available.

 

Love to have you come visit.

BW

 

[CNYScouter]

The water activities the Ship did last year:

 

They started with a swim test at the local indoor pool in late spring

 

On Memorial Day weekend we went to the Nygard regatta which has sailing, swimming, canoeing and rowing as part of the competition.

 

Every Thursday evening from Mid-May thru Mid-Sept. we small-boat sail (Laser and Sunfish) (and weather permitting)

 

2 weekends were spent at my summer house on one of the Finger lakes were we swam, boated, went kayaking and canoeing, and went tubing and water skiing.

 

In August we went to the NE Region Sea Scout Sailing Championships.

At this we had one team qualify for the Koch Cup races, which is the International Sea Scout Sailing Championships, being held at the Naval Academy this summer.

 

As we are chartered by a Sailing Club some of the Sea Scouts participated in the clubs weekly races held on Sunday afternoons.

 

Myself and another Ship member got BSA Lifeguard certification.

This year we have another member that wants to take this.

 

In putting the ship together I have a similar story as Bobwhites.

Our Chartering Organization had been trying to put together a youth sailing program for years.

They even went as far as buying a fleet of small sailboats but they really had no idea where to go from there.

In the 1 years since we chartered people have donated 2 Sunfish, a 19 Flying Scot and a 28 Hunter Sailboat, all of them were just given to us to use, the people didnt even want to use them as a charitable donation.

 

 

BW - I would be interested in more details about the 'Weekend on the Water' event. This sounds like something that would work of us.

 

[Bob White]

We just had our first event committee meeting this weekend. We took about 90 minutes and put together a rough agenda, identified the activities we wanted to include chose assignments for the next meeting and then reviewed what we had just done as a way to train the youth leaders on the planning prosess for an event this size.

 

This would be similar to planning a very large camporee and the scouts on the committee have very little experience a plan that size, so we got this one started and by the thirdd meeting they will take over.

 

The event will start on Friday evening and run till 4:30PM on Sunday.

We are taking the rest of this month and February to identify instructors, round up lifeguards and medical crew, finalize the invitations, secure the resources, and set the budget.

 

At the end of February we have our next training academy and the committee will meet that weekend to report on what they have done. We will finalize the invitation kit to the units to send in March. We will send a welcome letter to our instructors and invite them to an orientation meeting in April when they will train them on how we would like the activities to function, choose their program areas, and give them a gift for volunteering.

 

By July we will have an idea of enrollment and class sizes, and adjust program areas as needed.

 

Some misc. info; To get them on the water early we are feeding them so that they do not have to bring as much gear. Breakfast will be in the same location so that we can communicate any program news. Lunches will be sack lunches on the go in their program areas. Dinner Saturday will be a cook out.

 

We don't have room to camp everyone but there is a city campground that was a Boy Scout camp many years ago, just a few miles up the road. so they can camp there if they choose, or simply drive in each day and stay at home. We will have a beach party welcome on Friday night. Every person attending must already have passed the 1st Class Swim Test or equivalent. We have a list of personal gear for each person to bring in a day pack (suntan lotion, hat, swim suit, water bottle, change of clothes, etc.) and we are asking for everyone who can to bring their own Type II or III PFD. (We will have a suply available for the others)

 

We estimate the cost to be around $30 each but as I say that hasn't been solidified yet.

 

Once the invitation kit is done I will send you a copy, it will have an agenda with it as well.

 

BW

 

[Eamonn]

Funding is a big problem.

The boats we have were all donated.

Two from other Ship's and one thanks to the efforts of a forum member!!

Each Ship faces different obstacles.

At times I get a little upset that Sea Scouting (At least in our part of the NE-Region) seems to be about sailing.

Most of our local boaters are not into sailing and spent their time on one of our Three Rivers.

Even the Safe Boating courses that our Scouts attend presented by the Coast Guard Auxiliary seem to skip over anything to do with sailing.

 

While I have never been a great fan of the Venturing program.

I do wish that Councils would open their eyes and see that there is a need for a youth program for youth this age. (Yes Venturing and Sea Scouts) and really start supporting the program. Not a Ship or a Crew but the program.

We spent big bucks every year on Boy Scouts and Summer camps for Boy Scouts, we spent a lot of time and money trying to attract Cub Scouts and over the past 15 -20 years on resident Cub Scout camps. While at least in the Council I serve we do nothing to support Venturing.

I know all about Crews following different areas of interest, I'm aware that each Venturing Crew is not following the same program and may not even participate in an area that a Council understands or can do anything to help with. Still most Crews will have some sort of Super Activity and with so many Venturing Crews claiming to be High Adventure, surely we could do more to help them out?

The Council I'm in won't even accept boat donations, this forced us to spend money becoming a 501©(3).

I understand that a good many people don't know about Sea Scouts and a lot of professional Scouter's don't have a real understanding of Venturing. But I can't help feeling that after all these years it's about time that they did.

(End of rant!)

Eamonn.

 

[Bob White]

Its a good rant Eamonn and I share it with you. You are right that people who steer power boats seem to get more attention than the sailors who harness the wind.

 

You are also correct that many councils give little attention to Venturing or Sea Scouting. I can explain why. In our council for example there are over 13,000 scout families. 21 are Sea Scouts, there is just no way that a counil is going to put resources into a program that represents such a small part of its population.

 

Add Venturing and you still aren't looking at a very large number. So we are looking at it from the Unit/Charter Organizartion relationship view.

 

When we wanted attention we didn't wait for the CO to notice us, We provided willing service to the CO without needing to be asked until they could not help but notice us. We are doing the same thing with our council and it is working. There are things we can offer our council that no other unit can. We have a look and a program unlike anything else in our council. Eventuallly a mutually beneficial relationship will form from that.

 

As for finances and resources.

 

One of the best friends of the ship we have was gained one very windy day when the scouts decided to hang around the harbor and when incoming boats arrived they rushed over to the slip and stood at parade rest waiting for the boats to approach and then caught the docking lines from the boaters and smartly guided the boats into the slips and tied them off.

 

Now, every so often we find that money has been added to out account by a club member out of appreciation for our assistance.

 

Our work wit the race committees on the safety boats as well as race participants has resulted in a lot of assistance with our repair needs.

 

Here are some things we have learned with maintenance that may help you. Don't accept every boat you are offered. If it is going to cost too much to repair don't take it. Lots of boaters have spare parts they do not need or may never use. Keep a needs list posted where other boaters can see it, you will likely get parts donated. Keep up with regular maintenance, Cover your sails when not in use, keep the hulls undercoated as needed, wash the boats regularly, make sure equipment is clean and dry before storage, Take care of your lines, coil them properly and store them where they will not get wet.

 

Teach the scouts how to do fiberglass and epoxy repairs. Some of our boats look better at a distance, but they are sturdy and safe. We have learned that a ugly boat sailed well is preferred over a handsome boat sailed badly.

 

BW

 

(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[Lisabob]

I'm really curious to know whether yours are the only ships in your districts or councils? There is talk about getting a ship functioning in our area (and on the great lakes you'd think this would be a natural fit). But there is a considerable learning curve involved, not to mention sunk costs, in getting that first unit up and running, let alone getting several ships going to have an actual district- or council-wide "program" to speak of.

 

Eamonn mentions the lack of support for the program - as opposed to for specific units - is this a common theme elsewhere, and if not, what have you done to over come this, especially if your ship was the first in the area to get going?

[Bob White]

Hard to say if it is a nation wide problem . Keep in mind there are 308 independent councils each with unique strengths and weaknesses. In our council there are two ship, very different in size and program scope.

 

It cost us very little to get started. In some councils the boats (if any) are owned by the council. In ur case the boats are owned by the CO. We asked our council to help by taking ownership, with the Ship responsible for maintenance and slip costs. They declined.

 

Our council is just beginning to see the value of our unit. We now have scouts from 75% of our districts, so we are affecting nearly everyone's membership numbers.

 

As far as start up costs, uniforms are very inexpensive, but we stated off with just custom caps and t-shirts, and now have Dress uniforms as well. It is actually far less expensive then starting a troop.

 

The Great Lakes has many, many, Sea Scout ships on its waters.

 

 

[GNX Guy]

I'm interested in Sea Scouts myself and I'm heading to Sea Badge Training 1st week in March with the central region. Looking into to starting a SCUBA ship as Sea Scouting does not have to involve boats. In fact there are many land ships out there.

 

 

[mavp1988]

I have started a new sea scout ship in Cleveland,OH. I would great appreciate any advice in boat donations. Would you recommend the ship incorparate as a 501(3)b and own the boats? How are the majority of the ships structured?

 

We have a committee member who is member of a local yacht club. The yacht club has donated a 25' sailboat, a slip, dry dock and a meeting place to get the program up and running. Our first open house is March 1 and we have 18 interested kids and 10 Adults. We have two committee members who are willing to lend us the use of their sailboats, a 30' Hunter and a 35' Ericson.

 

Any ideas on funrasing.

 

Any ships in the Lake Erie region who woul like to share information please drop me a line at mavp1988@aol.com

 

Thanks,

Mark

 

[emb021]

Mark-

 

I strongly recommend you get in touch with knowledgable Sea Scout leaders in your Area and Region who can help you out.

 

My understanding from Seabadge and other training is that the recommendation is to have the Ship have 2 charter orgs, the second one being a 501©3 org whose sole purpose is to own the ships/equipment for the Ship. (another alternate is to create a council-wide 501©3 group for this purpose for all the Ships). Your Regional Commodore should be able to help you out here. There are things you need to do in terms of donations and ship insurance you need to be aware of.