Sea Scouts - Order of the Golden Dragon

[Kahuna]

The professionals and the council higher-ups don't give a rat's patootie about Sea Scouts because it doesn't bring in the money or the membership and it never will. Cub Scouts is easy membership numbers for them.

 

Sea Scouting for adults is like a mild derangement syndrome. That's why I love it. Everybody is doing it because they really love it and are willing to spend the time and money to do it. And it really is expensive.

[HawkUH60]

I would love to be close enough to a ship but The councils I have been in really dont have sips in my local town. When I went to seabdage we drove from FT Bragg to Northern FL. and were the only ventures in the class.

[sailingpj]

When did that change to Sea Explorers happen? Apparently we reached our peak during the late 60s and early 70s. After the early 70s the program started shrinking pretty rapidly.

[Eagle92]

Sailing,

 

If memory serves While Sea Scouts became Sea Explorers in the 1950s I beleive it was the late 1960s/early 1970s when Exploring became more career oriented. that was when Ships were palced into trad/non-trad. fleets.

 

EMB's website may have the info.

 

EDITED: Looking at the website below, it appears that the 1969-1971 time frame was when the changes occured. And of course membership dropped.(This message has been edited by eagle92)

[Eagle92]

OK here are some links that may help.

 

http://www.seniorscoutinghistory.org/seniorscoutsite/overview.html

 

http://www.seniorscoutinghistory.org/seniorscoutsite/seascout12.html

 

http://www.seniorscoutinghistory.org/seniorscoutsite/seascout24.html

 

http://www.seniorscoutinghistory.org/seniorscoutsite/seaexplorer50.html

 

http://www.seniorscoutinghistory.org/seniorscoutsite/seaexplorer66.html

 

http://www.seniorscoutinghistory.org/seniorscoutsite/seascout98.html

 

 

and a big THANK YOU EMB for your hard work on those sites!

[sailingpj]

Yes, thank you very much. That is a lot of great info.

[emb021]

Its all on my website, www.seniorscoutinghistory.org.

 

But basically, in 1949, the BSA replaced/renamed the Senior Scout Division the Explorer Division. With it, the programs within it were renamed and Sea Scouts became Sea Explorers. Other then some minor tweeks to uniforms and officers (boatswain became the equivalent to an SPL), the program remained the same.

 

In 1959, the BSA made Explorers Exploring, and made that program more career-oriented, but left Sea Explorers along. For awhile.

 

It was in 1965 that they made changes to Sea Explorers.

 

Ships would fall into one of 3 "fleets": Blue, White, Red.

 

"Blue" Ships were your traditional "Sea Scout" units. Follow the traditional program including uniforms and advancement.

 

"White" Ships were your less traditional ships. May not use the uniform and advancement. May be a little more career-oriented, more sailing clubs/yacht club types. The Small Boat Handler and Qualified Seaman award pins were created for these ships, as they probably wouldn't be interested in the traditional advancement.

 

"Red" "ships" were all other Sea Scout Ships (properly Explorer Posts) that just happened to have a nautical focus, but NOT on Sea Scouting. Your SCUBA posts, oceanography posts, water skiing, and such. Would most likely NOT be uniformed in any real way, definitively not be interested in advancement, not event the Small Boat Handler or Qualified Seaman.

 

Most Sea Scout Ships today are either Blue or White ships. Any that we'd think of as "red" would be just Venturing crews with an aquatics focus.

 

Hope this helps.