Sea Scout Ship 7916, S.S.S. Blue Heron

Quotes

2011-07-18T15:47:00.004-04:00

Since Rebecca has been at college, I have taken the job of quote-taker though I do not have nearly as many as Rebecca gets. Here are some quotes from different activities we've done this year.

Winter Training

“I hadn’t noticed it; I was asleep.” –Daniel

“Here’s my lunch!”

“Pickles in a cup?” –Jared and Cameron

“We should all make speeches to embarrass Caitlín. –Daniel

“A B C D E F G” –Cameron

“Did that knucklehead [Cameron] get all that written down?”

“Yes, on receipts.” –MT Peters and Cameron

“What are you going to do to me if I forget to e-mail you?”

“I have my connections!” –Sarah and Jared

“Would that be mean?”

“Absolutely; it’d be great!” –Sarah and Mr. Fucello

COM Circle Cruise

“So Daniel’s in his own private cabin?”

“No. That’s the head door open.” –Skipper and Brenda

“His boots were really cheesy. They were too short, and they weren’t very swash buckling.” –Caitlín

“Everything is dark blue on a sea scout boat: your clothes, the cushions, your face.” –Caitlín

“Ew! Why is this sock wet?” –Caitlín

“She’s taking quotes, everyone, so shut up! –Caitlín

“It’s hissing at you!”

“It’s like my children!” –Sarah and Skipper

“You be our canary, Daniel.”

“Thank you.” –Skipper and Daniel

“You’ve got David in your mind now, don’t you?” –Brenda

“You’re gonna get poop juice on me!” –Brenda

“I could flick you with carrot peels.”

“I could touch you with my poop juice.” –Brenda and Daniel

“We got fans, we got lights--this boat is tricked out!” –Skipper

Long Cruise

“You guys aren’t singing sea songs.”

“Rebecca isn’t here to write everything down.” – MT Anderson and Mr. Fucello

“Go get ‘em, Gus. Get ‘em, get ‘em, get ‘em!”

“Meow!” – MT Peters and Gus

“She shoulda kicked his butt.” – Gus

“Oh, look. There’s the moon.” – COM Alexander [After sitting in the cockpit for 5 minutes…]

“Hey, you guys put the bimini up.” – Brenda

“What’s the difference between lee helm and weather helm?”

“It’s spelled differently.” – Brenda and Gus

Random

“It’s a Ship full of Eeyores.” –Mr. Fucello

“So you’re wrong as of two seconds ago.” –MT Peters

“ ‘Warning; Obstruction overhead.’ Really? There’s a bridge there?!” –Caitlín [reading a construction sign]

“I didn’t know my phone was so smart!” -Skipper

Occoquan Yacht Club Flag Raising Ceremony

2011-05-07T20:22:00.002-04:00

Three scouts from Ship 7916 participated on the opening ceremony for the OYC season this afternoon.

This was our ship's first time at the event and the scouts proved they were worthy of the task. The commodore invited them back for next year!

Commodore's Circle Cruise

2011-05-02T06:06:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, May 1, 2011, Sea Scout ships 548 and 7916 hosted the Commodore's Circle Cruise for some of the most generous donors to the "Saveder PeLiKan" campaign. Four scouts and two skippers spent the weekend preparing for- and holding the event. This included bending on all three sails--including the crisp, blindingly white new main and mizzen; flushing the anti-freeze from- and refilling the vessel's two water tanks; conducting the usual system checks; scrubbing the galley; cleaning the heads; installing the commemorative brass plaque; scrubbing the deck; and preparing refreshments for the guests.

Our guests were: Dr. Rosemary Enright--Mate to Ship 7916--and her husband, Don Coulter; Carolyn Hreczuck--parent to a Ship 7916 scout--who was accompanied by her friend, Allison, since her husband is serving in Afghanistan and could not be with us.

With Ship 458 scout Brenda Renninger at the helm, der PeLiKan left the dock just after 1400, under gray skies and very light wind. Sarah Fucello, the Boatswain for Ship 7916, oversaw the duty rotation, so each scout had a turn as lookout and helmsman. Scouts Caitlin Keller and Daniel Schmoker, both of Ship 7916, were also instrumental in this event.

With scouts at the helm, der PeLiKan motored slowly around Baltimore's Inner Harbor, while guests and scouts were treated to interesting tidbits about various sights, like the Domino Sugar plant, and the collection of historic ships. The scouts then pointed the regional Sea Scout training vessel down the Patapsco River and under the Key Bridge. As it began to rain harder, the scout at the helm turned der PeLiKan around at Fort Carroll, and docked her in her slip.

Amanda Grace Work Day

2010-11-13T11:55:00.001-05:00

Thankfully, November 13, 2010 was a warm and sunny day. This allowed scouts from Ship 7916 to spend several hours taking care of Amanda Grace, the US Yachts 27 that was our first and most beloved sailboat.

Here, Sarah removes old caulk from the deck light opening, in preparation for replacing the light with a new piece of Lexan.

Jared uses special marine caulk to re-seal the port side deck light, which is in the head.

With their mission accomplished, Jared, Caitlin and Sarah stand victorious at the mast.

Scouts Dazzled by Lone Sailor Dinner

2010-09-30T09:30:00.002-04:00

The teenagers’ sparkling eyes were wide in amazement as they caught sight of the

great hall. They saw circular tables draped in blue and gold, flanked by delicate gold chairs and adorned with fresh flowers, candles, and a miniature pewter statue at each place setting.The young women are youth officers from Sea Scout ships in the Northeast Region, who were treated to an unforgettable evening on September 15, 2010.

Wearing their dress uniforms, the Sea Scouts dined in style in a grand ballroom with lofty ceiling, lighted fountain and beautifully prepared gourmet food, while watching Bill Cosby speak on stage. Seventeen-year-old Sarah Fucello—newly-elected Boatswain of Sea Scout Ship 7916—and fourteen-year-old Brenda Renninger—crew leader with Ship 548 and boatswain of the NCAC council—enjoyed this and more at the 23rd Annual Lone Sailor Award dinner hosted by the Navy Memorial at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. The building was decked out beautifully for this very special event, with dramatic lighting and greenery. Sarah had “never been somewhere so fancy,” before and Brenda agreed, saying the building probably the nicest I’ve ever seen.”

The Lone Sailor Award is given to Sea Service veterans “who have excelled with distinction in their respective civilian careers while exemplifying the Navy core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment.” Past recipients include elected officials, as well as author James Michener, golf pro Arnold Palmer, and actor Tony Curtis.

Having previously heard about the dinner and viewing pictures, Sarah was very excited when she received the invitation. “I spent all day jumping off the walls,” she said. Brenda wasn’t initially sure exactly what the event was, but in talking to her skipper and to Sarah about it, she realized the magnitude of the invitation. Brenda was shocked, “because it was such a high class dinner and a real honor. “I was like, whoa, my skipper asked me to go to this?” she said.

Both scouts had their uniforms dry-cleaned for the event. Brenda said she “made sure all my patches were right, washed my cover to make sure it was clean.” Sarah “spent all day very carefully getting ready, making everything as perfect as I could make it, thinking the whole time on what it would be like to go and see Bill Cosby…I’ve never been in the same room with someone that famous before.” Brenda appreciated that “everybody was all dressed up in their uniforms and dresses and looked beautiful” at the dinner.

This year’s Lone Sailor Award honorees were the actor/comedian William H. Cosby, Jr.,PhD, a United States Navy Veteran; Eddie LeBaron, famed Washington Redskins- and Dallas Cowboys Quarterback and Korean War Veteran, United States Marine Corps; and Lanier Phillips, the first African-American Sonar Technician, United States Navy, World War II Veteran and Survivor of the USS Truxtun shipwreck. During the dinner, the scouts enjoyed watching what Sarah called “a captivating slideshow of each honoree,” and then heard the gentlemen speak.

Brenda said “their stories were so interesting to hear…Bill Cosby was my favorite; he was so funny and really made his story interesting!” Sarah said she “wasn’t expecting all the honorees to speak and was cool they really could speak tell their view of their experiences. It thrilled me!”

Sea Scout attendees are selected from a group of award-winners in the NCAC (National Capitol Area Council to fill the 4-6 seats given to the nautical scouting program. A somewhat mysterious donor, Robert Dorion—about whom little is known—makes the seats available. He has sponsored a table at the dinner for about the past six years, sends representatives in his place and always includes room for Sea Scouts. If given the opportunity, each of the young women would thank Mr. Dorion. Brenda thinks it is “really generous of him to donate a table like that to Sea Scouts,” and Sarah would “tell him I really appreciate his giving us this opportunity. It’s very generous to donate to Sea Scouts…we’re in our teen years, so we don’t have the decorum of the adults he would usually invite to that.”

After the event, Sarah enthusiastically said that if she were invited again, “I would accept in a heartbeat. I had a very fun time and enjoyed many experiences I had never encountered before.” Brenda exclaimed that “this was really a once in a life time experience and I wouldn’t have asked to go with a different group of people to share the experience with!”

Sea Scout Day, Sep. 25th

2010-09-23T05:19:00.000-04:00

Join Sea Scout Ship 7916 for hands-on activities, displays, and presentations showing what this co-ed, nautical high-adventure program is all about!

Come upstairs to the VFW meeting hall, where you can meet Sea Scouts scouts in uniform, try your hand at Mayday radio communications, strengthen your knotty knowledge, learn how to “heave a line,” watch videos that show some of our cool adventures, and have a tasty snack, too.

Sea Scout Day
Saturday, September 25, 2010
10:00am - 6:00pm
VFW Post 7916
204 Mill Street, Occoquan, VA 22125

NOTE: This event coincides with the fall Occoquan Craft Show and parking will be available at designated lots only, with access to the town by shuttle bus, bicycle or on foot.

Known as “scouting’s best-kept secret,” Sea Scouting is a high-adventure coed branch of the BSA for youth age 13, who have completed the 8th grade, through age 20. Sea Scouting develops nautical skills, leadership, and confidence through sail training, and a scout who obtains the highest rank of Quartermaster--equivalent to the Eagle Scout award--receives the advanced pay grade of E-3 upon enlisting in the United States Coast Guard. Boy Scouts who join Sea Scouting are encouraged to also stay with their troop, and advancements can be earned in both programs simultaneously.

Though Ship 7916’s main focus is sailing, we also participate in activities involving scuba, powerboating, kayaking, piloting a historic vessel, volunteering for community events, Chesapeake Bay water quality protection, regional events, advancement ceremonies and social activities.

Come join the fun!

Scouting Presentation to the Board of Supervisors

2010-09-15T16:20:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, September 14, 2010, Ship 7916 scout Caitlín Keller participated in the Occoquan District Scouting presentation to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, at the invitation of Neabsco District Supervisor John Jenkins. Caitlín opened the presentation, followed by a Bear Cub Scout and a Boy Scout/Venturer.

To see the presentation given by these young people, go to this page, and under the video image on the left--beneath the All Items/Current Items box--scroll down about 2/3 of the way and click Item 12. "Presentation 7:30pm." The scouts speak after the Pledge of Allegiance.

A Few Long Cruise Quotes

2010-08-14T07:26:00.001-04:00

by Caitlín

This is usually done by Rebecca, but as she was busy for most of the time meeting the requirements for Quartermaster, I took up a bit of the slack.

"Are you tricking people into praising you for making them eat half their Oreos later?" - Cameron

"We're going to turn in a more sailing-like direction. I think...that way!" - David

"Cameron--look like a lookout!" - Caitlín

"Everybody go around a say a chore you hate and why you hate doing it." - David

I am so not having fun!" - Random whiny sailing student in Annapolis

"Show the Mates the picture of me when I was stoned." - Eric

"I know, it's so creepy, looking at ourselves." - Cameron

Caitlín: "That's so sexist it burns!"
David: "It burns like the stove you should be slaving over!"

"I'm sad because I have no emotions." - Cameron (reportedly made up when he was 6 years old)

"I tried to train my GPS--every time it talked I hit it." - David

"The [engine] blower is chicken-flavored." - Cameron

"I'd come and squish you from the other side, but that would be very bad for the steering of this boat." - David

"Oh my gosh, we stay closer to the nuns?!" - Daniel

Cameron: "Darn you people who bring us delicious food!"
Daniel: "She doesn't eat Crustations, remember?"

"YES, I want a yummy sandwich!" - Cameron

"You killed him good, but you killed him all over the ruler!" - Daniel

"Are you telling me that if you didn't wear a hat, your head would turn into a Chia Pet?" - MT Peters

"The more trash we generate, the faster we go!" - David

David: "We don't have any hot irons."
Cameron: "They're in the bathtub somewhere."

"We were just using an ocean liner as an aid to navigation; I don't think we care all that much what it is as long as it's not moving." - David

Long Cruise 2010 - Day 1

2010-08-09T07:28:00.001-04:00

Relayed from Caitlin to Skipper via cell phone this morning:

Ship 7916 arrived at Fells Point, Baltimore, MD about 9:30am yesterday. Scouts stowed gear and provisions and prepared the boat. The crew followed instructions for the engine checks, however, someone had switched the caps for water and radiator, and so water ended up in the oil. This necessitated pumping out the oil and replacing it—a task that took about 4 hours. While our crew was sitting at dock, the wind was coming from the west, perfect for sailing. They watched “all these sailboats passing by, sailing along on nice tacks, heeled over about 20 degrees.”

With this setback, der PeLiKan left the dock at 4pm. By then, the wind had shifted to the south, so sailing to Annapolis was out of the question, so they motored the whole way. The “best part was going over wakes of 4 tankers, yelling ‘WAKE’ and bouncing up and down. It was good we had ramen for dinner because it was easy to prepare under way.”

Each scout had a chance to take positions at Nav, Helm and Lookout. They arrived in Annapolis around 9pm. Emily steered the boat into the harbor to pick up mooring ball, where David and Daniel snagged it on the first try. It was good cruising at night last night, to get a taste of it. It was pretty dark past the Bay Bridge, then another hour to the mooring in true darkness.

They decided to wait until arriving in Annapolis to change Bosun of the Day (BoD). MT Enright brought brownie bites and they ate those, looked at the stars, talked about Annapolis, then went to bed at 10:30. Sleeping on deck was quiet. “Usually we’re here later in the week, but it’s very quiet this time."

Rebecca is BoD today and woke her crew at 6 am. Evidently, it took some effort to rouse Eric. “We pulled Eric out of his sleeping bag to wake him up.”

“We’re at the row of mooring balls closest to the Naval Academy. The cadets are singing America the Beautiful and sound horrible.”

“Depending on the wind, we plan to sail in morning, hang out in Annapolis in the afternoon, and sail at night. Right now, it looks calm. Cameron and Eric are cooking pancakes and sausage for breakfast and it smells so good and I’m starving!”

Scouts wash cars to float their boat

2010-08-09T05:26:00.000-04:00

By SHAY SEABORNE For the News & Messenger
Published: May 25, 2010

The forecast was for rain on a recent Saturday morning, but teens from Sea Scout Ship 7916 of Occoquan didn't let a little water from the sky stop them. They gathered for a car wash fundraiser anyway.

The young men and women, ages 15-20, kept their hopes up and didn't mind getting a little wet for a good cause. Their goal was to raise money to help save the National Capitol Area Council's Sea Scout Training Vessel, der PeLiKan.

The 46-foot Morgan ketch is owned by a non-profit that operates and maintains the vessel for Sea Scouts throughout the council and beyond. The well-used and aging boat needs a new main mast, standing rigging and roller furler for the jib before it can be sailed this year. Total repair cost is estimated at $20,000.

Sixteen-year-old Daniel Schmoker coordinated the car wash because he knows first hand the value of this vessel. "A lot of ships only have small boats and der PeLiKan is forty-six feet, so [scouts] have the opportunity to work with more people on a single boat, which is great for team building and getting to know each other better," said Daniel.

A bigger boat also means youth can "take longer trips and see more of the Chesapeake, like Annapolis, St. Michaels and even take a tour the US Coast Guard station at St. Inigoes," he said.

Daniel participated in five der PeLiKan cruises in 2½ years, including two of the ship's annual "long cruises," which last about a week. Some of his favorite memories include "meeting [Sea Scouts] from New York on our first long cruise, anchoring in St. Michaels and meeting a family that lives aboard the sailboat they built, watching the Coast Guard bust some illegal crabbers at the dock in Annapolis…and the night sail during the Quarterdeck training cruise."

Ship 7916 has made the Save der PeLiKan Campaign a ship project. The scouts previously hosted a car wash in the fall, donated the proceeds of their Halloween party fund-raiser, and collected donations in their booth at the Aquia Harbour Marina's annual Marina Fest in September.

Other Sea Scout ships, as well as friends and families, have also donated to the repair fund. So have local businesses like Prince William Marina and Patriot Scuba, both in Occoquan.

The current total is just over $13,500, leaving about $6,500 to be raised in the next few weeks.

To help with the repair costs, seven young men and women from Ship 7916 washed cars for four hours under brooding clouds and occasional rain. They raised $555, some through online donations from supporters who could not attend.

One of the customers, Ella McKay, 36, drove from Springfield to have the scouts wash her car, and said, "I heard the story of…those Sea Scouts and I just had to participate to help save their boat!"

Scout parents brought snacks for the car washers and delivered pizza for lunch. Route 1 Pontiac Buick GMC provided the strategic location, as well as water for car washing and bottled water to keep the scouts hydrated. According to General Manager Mark Sable, the auto dealership regularly supports area youth groups.

Daniel's father, Dan Schmoker, a sales consultant with the car dealership, expressed pride in his son, who "could have spent a cloudy day home playing video games. Instead, he was with his shipmates working on a fund-raiser so hundreds of Scouts…can have the opportunities to sail and learn. I am amazed in the changes in my son from Sea Scouts," said Schmoker.

Rebecca Siegal, who currently serves as the unit's Boatswain, or youth leader, was in on the car wash. Her mother, Ann Cameron Siegal, also praised the Sea Scout program, saying, "What a difference two years [made] in our shy teen's life. The encouragement, guidance and opportunities she has received as a member of Sea Scout Ship 7916 and as a crew member aboard der PeLiKan, have been invaluable in helping her gain self-confidence and learn leadership skills."

Sea Scouting is a co-ed and high-adventure arm of Boy Scouts of America. Many young men and women have found their measure of success through Sea Scouting. Ship 7916 welcomes youth ages 13-21 to join them as they sail locally aboard boats owned by Woodbridge Sailing School, and for longer cruises aboard der PeLiKan.

Daniel coordinated the car wash "because it helps get der PeLiKan back in the water not only for my ship, but for all ships to enjoy. I don't think you'll find a Sea Scout who says they don't like to sail der PeLiKan. We need to get her running before a lot of peoples' summers are ruined," he said.

Tax deductible donations of all sizes are needed and appreciated and accepted by check or online via http://www.derPeLiKan.org, where you can also learn more about the vessel, read a progress report and see photos.

Shay Seaborne is the skipper, or scoutmaster, of Sea Scout Ship 7916.

Preparing for Long Cruise 2010

2010-07-31T15:17:00.007-04:00

by Caitlín

Unlike the past two years, this year the scouts are doing the majority of the planning for Long Cruise 2010. (Well, the adults are working out things like transportation, but they will be the ones transporting us, anyway!)

Even though each of us are planning different bits, it's been a lot of work, and makes me realize how much effort the Skipper and other adult leaders put into planning long cruises 2008 and 2009. At first it was really overwhelming and nobody had a clue, but now I think it's coming together quite well. Tuesday August 2nd will be our last pre-cruise meeting, and we depart from Henderson's Wharf on August 8th.

As our Boatswain, and as part of her Quartermaster requirements, Rebecca has been the sort of "general director" and has made sure people keep moving on their assignments and kept track of everything. She's done an amazingly good job of this, especially despite the fact that she was involved in summer activities and without internet access for the past few weeks.

Cameron, as the recently-appointed Purser, has done an excellent job collecting payment and making sure everybody is up-to-date on their dues (a requirement for long cruise participation).

Emily, our Yeoman, gathered everyone's menus, made sure we weren't eating the same dish every night, made grocery lists, and will be in charge of the shopping.

As Boatswain's Mate for Program, I accepted school of the ship outlines, came up with possible travel itineraries, and checked with der PeLiKan's captain, Commodore Steve Nichols, for the plausibility of our plans. After taking ideas for things to do and places to visit and researching marinas to stay at, the plans were finalized.

I'm sure there will be things we forgot to do--things nobody thought about, that we will realize mid-cruise and say, "Ooops!" but that's part of the learning experience. We'll deal with it, and next year, it won't be a problem.

Visit with Occoquan Yacht Club

2010-05-06T21:59:00.010-04:00

The Occoquan Yacht Club invited us to visit the docks at Fairfax Yacht Club for a tour with activity, then hold our regular Ship 7916 meeting at the clubhouse. Our host was Harry Croft, whose wife, Pat, is currently serving as OYC Commodore.

Checking out boats on the dock.

Our host led the way to the covered dock where "Bay Dreamer," owned by the Crofts, is berthed. He noted various types of boats and their particular attributes, demonstrated the finer points of tying a cleat hitch and showed us a nifty way to stow long docklines.

Trying out the nifty way to stow docklines.

Afterward, Mr. Croft gave us a detailed tour of "Bay Dreamer," which is a very nice boat! He showed us the engine, told us how much fuel she uses, and took small groups of us up into the flying bridge to check out the Garmin and other cool equipment.

Mr. Croft in the flying bridge.

We hung out on the dock for a while, going through Q&A, before heading up to the clubhouse for our meeting. We noticed these interesting depressions in the mud under shallow water. Mr. Croft told us they were fish nests, and we could see the fish protecting their clutches of eggs. Neat!

Many thanks to OYC, especially Mr. and Ms. Croft, who were so kind to us and shared their interest and knowledge.

Lightship Chesapeake Work Day

2010-05-01T22:50:00.003-04:00

Sea Scouts from Ship 7916 put in about 6 hrs of work aboard the historic Lightship 116 "Chesapeake" on May 1, 2010. The scouts mostly painted, a constant job aboard ship. It was tedious and hot, but there was nary a complaint. "We're Sea Scouts, that's why!"

Happy Painters

Lunch was a brown bag affair in the mess deck where the skipper had eaten hundreds of times in her youth.

With painting complete, the scouts turned toward installing chafing gear on two of the dock lines. This took coordination and teamwork. Jared, Rebecca, Caitlin and Sarah took the pressure off the line, holding tight while their shipmates installed a piece of old fire hose to stop chafing on the line.

The scouts worked hard and felt the satisfaction of completing important work, helping to preserve a historic vessel.

The day also marked completion of a circle that began when the skipper started volunteering aboard "Chesapeake" soon after her eleventh birthday. When she turned 14 and of eligible age to join the Sea Scouts (called Explorers then), the National Park Service denied her application on the basis of gender, despite federal regulations. However, she continued to volunteer aboard the vessel until the fall after she turned 17. Now her own scouts--male and female--have spent a day aboard the Chesapeake, and so has she, not as a Sea Scout, but as a Sea Scout leader. Sweet.

News & Messenger: "Groups contribute to Sea Scout campaign"

2010-03-11T20:09:00.001-05:00

Published in the March 11, 2010 edition of the News & Messenger:

Groups contribute to Sea Scout campaign
By SHAY SEABORNE - For the News & Messenger

Patriot Scuba of Occoquan recently presented a check for $200 to Friends of Sea Scouts of Maryland, at the National Capitol Area Council Sea Scout Wardroom Dinner.

The donation arose from the dive shop's Discover Scuba Diving fundraiser for the Sea Scouts' "Save der PeLiKan Campaign." The project aims to raise $20,000 to repair the regional Sea Scout training vessel.

Numerous individuals, groups and businesses have made contributions totaling $12,000.

The 47-foot ketch named der PeLiKan has served hundreds of Scouts from across the country, providing opportunities for youth to work as a team on a vessel much larger than most Scout units can own. The boat is out of commission until the final $8,000 is raised and repairs are completed.

Patriot Scuba hosted the fundraiser in January, with help from Woodbridge Sport & Health, which donated the facility pool at no charge. The event allowed scouts to learn basic scuba skills and use the equipment under water.

"It was a pleasure for our staff to donate their time and for the store to donate the majority of the proceeds. We had a great time," said Patriot Scuba co-owner Jeff Currer.

Currer, a Navy captain, and his wife, Merial, attended the Wardroom Dinner and saw the Sea Scouts' formal landship ceremony. Currer said the couple appreciated "the chance to see these bright young Sea Scouts demonstrate their pride and professionalism, and have a lot of fun at the same time."

Watching the young men and women at the ceremony "further galvanized our support," said Merial Currer.

The business owners said they "hope other merchants in the area will also see the value of investing time or money in the Sea Scout program and the leaders of tomorrow."

Patriot Scuba continues to support the Occoquan Sea Scouts. Currer has joined the unit committee and has sparked the scouts' interest in the Sea Perch underwater robotics project.

Currer hopes that building and using the robots "will not only be fun and exciting, but also strike the imagination of these scouts as to what great things they may accomplish as they choose their careers and life path."

Patriot Scuba opened its doors in June. President Merial Currer and her husband chose Occoquan as the location for many reasons, including the uniqueness of this small town.

The Currers involvement in the neighborhood comes naturally from their military experience. "We love to work with people, build relationships, offer supreme quality in all that we do," said Merial Currer. "We take care of our customers as we take care of our community; they are family now."

Tax deductible donations to the Save der PeLiKan campaign can be made by check or by online PayPal transaction at http://www.derPeLiKan.org.

Shay Seaborne is skipper of Sea Scout Ship 7916 "Blue Heron," VFW 7916 in Occoquan.

Ship 7916 Honored in Congressional Record

2010-03-03T08:56:00.003-05:00

Congressman Gerry Connolly’s Prince William County Director, Collin Davenport, presents a copy of the Congressional Record to Skipper Shay Seaborne at Ship 7916’s annual dinner on March 2nd. The Congressman honored the ship in the Congressional Record of the 111th Congress for its "highly decorated membership" and for being "responsible community partners and upholding the well-respected traditions and principals of scouting."

Grateful Thanks to Sister Ship 1115, Constellation

2010-02-09T06:53:00.004-05:00

Ken Kessler, skipper of Ship 1115, took these photos today. He and his Mate, Bill Horn, went to the marina to clear snow off our Amanda Grace, and found other boats that did not fare well under the snow. The Skipper of S1115 said that the safety netting held the snow aboard A.G., so it piled up.

Amanda Grace with snow piled up, and cleaned off.

Tonight's fall on top of that might have been too much, and she could have ended up like some of the other boats on Dock F.

These boats did not fare so well. (See the mast sticking out of the water in front of the dock on the right hand picture?) The heavy snow made them list, their gunwales went under, they took on water, and, down they went!

We are very lucky to have such a conscientious sister ship!

Ship 7916 Discovers Scuba Diving

2010-01-31T07:56:00.001-05:00

Our scouts enjoyed the Discover Scuba Diving class presented by Occoquan's Patriot Scuba. Thanks to the generosity of the dive shop's owners, Jeff and Merial Currer, profits from the class are going to our “Save der PeLiKan” campaign. “That’s just the nature of the military folks,” Jeff Currer noted. “You see someone in need, you get involved. Occoquan is also a great town for this. It’s like a family town and we take care of each other, and the Sea Scouts are part of our town,” said Currer.

Sea Scout Cameron Peters, age 15, took on the responsibility of handling the administrative needs. He informed his shipmates of the details and required paperwork and coordinated with the venue and Patriot Scuba. “It was a little bit of work, but watching it come together as well as it did made it worth it in the end,” said Peters.

The Currers were Cub Scout leaders when their now grown children were young, so they know the value of scouting, and the enjoyment that can belong to a scout leader. “We love the kids,” says Capt. Currer. “It’s great to see them focus, feel a sense of accomplishment and take on leadership roles. Scouts have a wholesome venue and a productive way to see the adventure and excitement out in the world and understand they can affect the people and the world around them.”

Our ship has taken on a special cause in raising the $20,000 needed to repair der PeLiKan, a 46’ ketch that serves as the regional Sea Scout training vessel. The boat is currently out of commission until its standing rigging is replaced.

Thanks to an outpouring of donations from individuals, businesses like Patriot Scuba, and other scout units, the Save der PeLiKan campaign has gathered more than enough to order the mast, which will take 3-4 months to manufacture. In the meantime, the new goal is to raise enough to ship the mast and install it and the spreaders, shrouds, lights, and roller furler, about $12,000 more. Plans include additional fund raisers, as well as continuing appeals to individuals and businesses.
[A longer version of this article was published in the January 26, 2010 edition of the News & Messenger: Occoquan scuba shop comes to Scouts "SOS"]

Nautical Literacy

2010-01-01T14:23:00.006-05:00

Can you truly claim Nautical literacy if you have not read?

This was a post to a Sea Scout newslist in December 2000, written by Roger Crossland, Skipper of Sea Scout Ship 101 Viking, Stratford, CT. I've added some links to those I've found online:

Sea Scouts,

With the onset of the fireside season, this is a good time to set sail for distant waters with minimal risk. I recommend the following to my crew and invite suggestions for additions to the list.

Joseph Conrad: Lord Jim, The Secret Sharer, Heart of Darkness, Two Years Before the Mast
Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe
Anything nautical by C. S. Forester
Anything nautical by Jan de Hartog
Thor Heyerdahl: Kon-tiki
Victor Hugo: The Loose Cannon (short story)
Terry Jones: The Saga of Eric the Viking
Jung: The Perfect Storm
Rudyard Kipling: Captains Courageous
Lansing: Endurance
Jack London: The Sea Wolf
Nicholas Marryat: Mr. Midshipman Easy
Anything nautical by Philip McCutchan
Herman Melville: Moby Dick, Typee, White Jacket, Billy Budd
Nordhoff & Hall: The Bounty Trilogy including Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, and Pitcairn's Island
Joshua Slocum: Sailing Alone Around the World, Voyage of the Liberdade, The Voyages of Joshua Slocum,
Tim Severin: The Brendan Voyage
Robert Louis Stevenson: Treasure Island, Kidnapped
Herman Wouk: The Caine Mutiny
Jules Verne: Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Mysterious Island
Alan Villiers: By Way of Cape Horn

Or browse around www.sea-room.com or [defunct URL deleted] for something to your liking.

Good reading...er, cruising.

Scouts spearhead drive to save training vessel

2009-12-01T22:22:00.003-05:00

On December 1, 2009, the News and Messenger published this story on page A2.

Scouts spearhead drive to save training vessel

When the Chesapeake Flotilla's Sea Scout training vessel was taken out of commission due to the need for extensive repairs, scouts from Occoquan Sea Scout Ship 7916 swung into action, initiating the "Save der PeLiKan" campaign.

Der PeLiKan, a 46-foot Morgan ketch has eight berths, two heads and a galley, is owned by a regional non-profit organization. The vessel is used by hundreds of youth and adults for training that includes piloting, long cruises, weekend training cruises and advanced leadership courses.

Repairs will cost about $20,000 and the "Save der PeLiKan" campaign has raised more than $5,490 so far, with more ideas in the works.

For instance, Patriot SCUBA of Occoquan will contribute part of the tuition from its upcoming "Discover SCUBA Diving" classes. Sea Scouts, part of Boy Scouts of America, is a co-educational program known for helping thousands of young people develop self-confidence, seamanship and leadership skills on and around the water.

"My scouts spent two week-long cruises and several weekend cruises aboard the training vessel, as well as applying their elbow grease in exchange for time aboard, so we know how important der PeLiKan is and we are anxious to see completion of the repairs," said Shay Seaborne, the "skipper," or adult leader of Ship 7916.

"If the boat is not back in commission by spring, hundreds of scouts will miss out," Seaborne said.

Sea Scout Rebecca Siegal, 18, of Alexandria, serves as the top youth leader for Ship 7916. She learned the majority of her seamanship and leadership skills aboard der PeLikan, and explained that "on a boat that size ... teamwork is needed in order to raise or lower sails, fend off, and anchor, and der PeLiKan allows scouts to learn these skills safely."

Lake Ridge resident Stella Kent, mother of 15-year-old Sea Scout Jonathan Kent, said that the time her son has spent on der PeLiKan has given his parents "glimpses of the man he's becoming. We have seen him become more self-assured—follow through when he'd rather quit, and step up to responsibilities—because others were depending on him."

Gift of opportunity

Friends of Sea Scouts of Maryland received der PeLiKan as a donation from Claire Kennedy, an elderly woman who wanted her boat to give special opportunities to young people. This year marks der PeLiKan's 10th year of service to Sea Scouts from across the country. Since being donated, she has logged more than 300 days under way and provided sailing experience and leadership opportunities to nearly 800 youth.

Der PeLiKan, the centerpiece of the Chesapeake Flotilla's training program, is used for both adult and youth courses that include Sea Scout Prepared Afloat Meals, Sea Scout Advanced Leadership, Seabadge Underway, piloting courses, long cruises and weekend training cruises.

For further information, visit http://www.derPeLiKan.org. Donations are accepted by PayPal or by checks made out to "Friends of Sea Scouts of Maryland" with the notation "repair fund" and send it to Friends of Sea Scouts of Maryland, 1426 Crabhouse Rd., Lusby, MD 20657.

Sea Scout Ship 7916 is a co-ed group of 14-20-year-old youth that is part of the Venturing program of Boy Scouts of America. Venturing offers older scouts the opportunity for high adventure, and Sea Scouting focuses on maritime adventure. Sea Scouting includes a rigorous advancement program that leads our youth through the skills necessary to be a very competent sailor and mature leader.

Occoquan VFW 7916 is the group's chartering organization. Town Mayor Earnie Porta is the committee chair and the unit is named Blue Heron in honor of the Occoquan town symbol.

The ship has support from the local community including Carefree Boat Club, Prince William Marina, Mom's Apple Pie Bakery, Leesylvania State Park and the Occoquan Town Council.

The ship's Web site is http://www.ship7916.org, where you can read about the scouts' activities. View the online photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/Skipper7916.

For more information contact Shay Seaborne at 703-494-6021 or by email at Skipper7916@gmail.com .

—Occoquan Sea Scout Ship 7916

Amanda Grace Winterization

2009-11-21T21:13:00.006-05:00

On November 8th, four scouts and four adults put in 4 hours of work, preparing Amanda Grace for a long winter alone in her slip. The report from our Boatswain's Mate for Administration (a youth officer) included that they:

Aired the cushions and cushion covers, put dry cushions in trash bags.
Added a fuel stabilizer to tanks.
Drained fresh water tank and added antifreeze to it and to head.
Connected shore power so the batteries will charge to help the engine crank and the bilge pump will have power over the winter.
Turned battery off but left shore power and battery charger on.
Ran antifreeze through engine.
Used a tarp to cover the forward hatch as well as the skylights and port lights.
Reattached and tested bilge pump.

The scouts clearly learned a lot about boat maintenance.

Good job, all!

Invitation to "Intro to SCUBA," 7-9pm, Tue 11/10

2009-11-08T10:43:00.003-05:00

Can you SCUBA in VA and find it exciting? YES! Ship 7916 member Cameron has arranged for instructors from Patriot SCUBA in Occoquan (2 doors down from the VFW) to give us an introduction to SCUBA. As Cameron put it, they "will talk to us about SCUBA diving in Virginia, as well as the lessons and adventures they offer. They will set up a powerpoint, provide handouts and bring different gear for us to fiddle with." All area scouts and scout leaders are welcome to join us for this special event.

Quotes from Lone Sailor Dinner

2009-09-27T13:18:00.006-04:00

Here are the quotes from the evening (most of them were from the car ride up):

"Don't you look cute in your uniform?" "Stop it." Marcus and Skipper (at skipper's office)

"They're nice buttons. They have to cost something." - Marcus

"The uniform demands respect." "I demand respect." - Marcus and Skipper

"I take back all the mean things I said about you." - Skipper

"I should have known you'd have shoe polish with you." - Skipper

"Turn right, then turn right." - Beulah (the name of the GPS)

"Bad, bad GPS." - Skipper

"We were spanking Beulah." - Mate from 1942

"That's a school. It looks like the building museum." - Skipper

"It's Beulah's alter ego." - Mate

"We won't hit the pregnant lady." - Mate

"It's hard to believe this is a two way street." - Mate

"OMG, even the bikes want to be on my side." - Mate

"They will get out of your way." - Skipper

"OMG, we're going to die." - Mate

"I hope this street is wider." - Mate

"Always and adventure." - Skipper

"Anybody need bug spray?" - Mate

"I'm a little flustered." "I can't imagine why." - Mate and Skipper

"They should just get out." - Skipper

"I have to think of something to do to his chair tomorrow." - Skipper

"Oh god, not that Sea Scout stuff again." - Skipper

"A GPS thing going on here." - Skipper

"We're mighty close though." - Skipper

"I actually took the metro earlier this year." - Skipper

"Official FBI parking only." - Skipper

"Come on back, we're blocking traffic." - Skipper

"You little bugger." - Mate

"They will, cause you look like a meter maid." - Mate

"Beauty always moves people, age doesn't." - Random guy at dinner

"The pencil was hiding under the baseball." - Rebecca

Wardroom Meeting Quotes

2009-09-18T12:00:00.003-04:00

The Skipper and I attended the Wardroom Meeting. I got a page of quotes from the Skipper in the car on the way up, then a bunch of quotes from other adults at the meeting.

Quotes from Skipper:
"Are we in the twilight zone?"
"There must be something wrong. There's no cars."
"I've been quoted more in the last 6 months than in 10 years of that."
"No really, I wasn't complaining."
"Now I have to be careful not to miss it again."
"Maryland: we don't believe in merge areas."
"You've made your own applesauce, why not your own pickle loaf."
"You're too funny."
"I wonder if this light's long enough to get a text message out before it changes."
"That's it, I'm not doing anymore talking in the car with you. Cause I'm your only victim, that's why."
"It's not technically while I'm driving."
"The usual suspect."
"(horrible crunching sounds) Oops."
"You're not allowed to show those to anyone."
"He kin of owes me."
"Word already got out about our little plan. Dang it."
"These are just prototypes, we're working up some nice ones."
"Come on, I have a right to see how you are quoting me."
"Look at you. You're trouble."

Quotes from the meeting. Some are anonymous because I didn't know the person's name.
"I wonder if I have time for a nap before we get started." - Skipper
"I'm going to sit next to the women." - Commodore Yeckley
"He told me the engine was great, the boat just needed work."
"Bob Cooper. We could Google him."
"I think we should do that one."
"I have five women running my life now."
"We'll have to do a goober count as they come in." - Skipper
"If you have gotten here on time, you would have known we were in here." - Commodore Yeckley
"Four economists, five opinions." - Commodore Alexander
"A ketch with only one mast."
"I actually wasn't there, believe it or not." - Commodore Alexander
"Might me able to do a floating dock." - Skipper
"How deep is the reflecting pool?" - Joel David
"I just stood there and grinned." - Commodore Yeckley
"I know we can." - Skipper
"Send all the crazies up there." - Commodore Yeckley
"A lot of scouting volunteers don't know about it." - Commodore Yeckley

Aquia Harbor Marina Fest

2009-09-12T21:37:00.074-04:00

by Caitlín

Eric recognized the third annual Aquia Harbor Yacht Club Marina Fest as an opportunity for Ship 7916 members to earn service hours and for Sea Scouting to gain a little publicity. The coordinators were very excited to see a bunch of Sea Scouts in uniform, ready to help with whatever was needed.

After much arguing, the boys managed to successfully set up the canopy that went over the food stand, and then we Scouts mainly served as extra crew when needed and cast- and tied boats off at the docks.

The expected group did not show up at 9:00am as was planned, and the morning began very slowly. Two gentlemen from the U.S. Power Squadron were conducting free boat safety checks--would your boat pass inspection if you were boarded by the Coast Guard?--and they asked us if we would like to help them inspect a boat belonging to an Aquia Harbor slip owner. We received a very in-depth description of exactly what equipment is tested and exactly how.

In fact we had not even made it from the stern to amidships by the time the larger crowds started to arrive and we were needed back at the docks, our booth (left), and at "administration."

Our duties were not exactly what we had been prepared for, but we soon came up with a plan that had Scouts where they needed to be--mostly down at the docks--and working as an efficient team.

We tried to give everyone who wanted to an opportunity to go out on a boat, and as the end of the event was drawing near, my chance came up and I climbed aboard a seemingly huge powerboat. The boat owner and captain already had able hands in his two young sons who'd been out on the water since the eldest was 3 months old, so at first I simply sat on the bow as the boat wound her way through Aquia Creek.

A little later on, when we arrived at a wider point in the creek, I heard a, "Hey! Can you steer?" from the cockpit. What? I didn't really expect that.
"Do you know how to drive this thing?" the captain asked.
"Sure!" I confidently hopped up into the cockpit, where everything suddenly looked a whole lot different. After a very brief here's-the-depth-finder-keep-it-at-4-feet-or-more, here's-the-throttle, the captain disappeared below to check on his suspiciously quiet kids.

Fine at first, but then all my nervousness came together at once. Two separate throttles, never dealt with that before and we need to slow down soon to pass through the bridge up ahead... I didn't see exactly where the depth gauge was when he pointed but I'm guessing it's that one, and the bridge we're approaching looks awfully low. What do I do now?
"When do you want me to turn around?" I called down, slightly anxiously.
"Oh, we can go under the bridge if you want to," the captain casually replied.
Holding my breath, I steered the boat through the center span (and we didn't rip the cockpit clean off of the boat like it appeared we would) and began to feel much more sure of myself again. If I stayed calm, everything would be fine.

But then we were heading back upriver, the captain asked if I would like to teach a pair of 10- and 13-year-old sisters how to drive and then went back below to serve sodas! So now I have to show someone else what to do when I'm not really even experienced myself....

The girls had no previous boating experience past a kayak trip, but they caught on pretty quickly. I mostly talked them through correcting the boat's course without overcompensating (a little tricky on such a narrow, curvy body of water), and explained how buoys mark the channel and how the red ones should be kept on the right of the boat as we went back to the marina. It felt so cool to be looked up to like that, and for a stranger to have the confidence in me to give a big responsibility with no direct overseeing.

Standing in the cockpit with the wind in my face, at least partially confidently showing the ropes to new hands, I was really happy. This is what I joined Sea Scouting for! Learning things about myself, building confidence through new experiences, learning things about boats, and teaching those skills to others.

The Marina Fest was a success; it drew a couple of newer Ship members into the circle when we needed teamwork, Aquia Harbor was very happy to have our help and pleased with the job we did, and I had a really awesome experience. Having a better idea of what to expect, my Ship looks forward to being involved with the event next year.

Long Cruise 2009

2009-08-21T11:50:00.001-04:00

Scouts aboard: Alexei, Augustus, Caitlín, Daniel, David, Devin, Eric, Jonathan, Rebecca, Sarah.
Adults: Commodore Yeckley, Skipper Shay, Mate Enright

Between 8/2/09 and 8/8/09 members of Ship 7916 spent 6 nights and 7 days aboard the Sea Scout Training Vessel der PeLiKan, cruising the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Scouts took turns holding posts of varying responsibility, from head cleaner to Galley Chief and Galley Slave to navigator, lookout and pilot, to Boatswain of the Day.

Highights included weathering 4 storms in the first day, a visit to the US Coast Guard station at St. Inigoes, MD, a successful "man overboard" drill, having a swim and ice cream the night we tied up at Oxford, having a ship swim and cookout at Herrington Harbour South Marina, anchoring out on the Wye River, sleeping on deck when weather permitted, and having a gourmet breakfast on Saturday morning.

The best part for me was when the scouts showed me they are capable of being an effective team when we needed to make an emergency boat repair--and now I expect that from them forevermore.

Long Cruise Quotes

2009-08-06T17:09:00.009-04:00

Here are some of the quotes from the first four days of long cruise. (Names of all parties involved are replaced with nicknames.) These quotes are in no particular order. More quotes to come later. (This is about four pages worth.)

"They're normal, we're Sea Scouts." - Moneybags

"Homeschoolers can sleep for twelve hours, then do schoolwork." - Person #1

"Shultz is going to throw things at you." "What did you call me?" "Bigfoot..." - Lego and Bigfoot

"I'm just going to sit here because I'm comfortable." - Bigfoot

"The cereal needs more sugar." - C

"Scribbles is going to be in charge of cleaning the deck. You'll have to come back on Sunday." "I'll be in Boston." "That's your problem." - Bigfoot and Scribbles

"That was a good dream?" "It was a good nightmare." - Admin and Lego

"Today is sailing to nowhere, no civilization." - Admin

"It wasn't terribly comfortable. You had to wake up and squiggle around." - Person #1

"Person #1, always wet." - Admin

"It's dry?" "Yes, it's dry." "Are you eating dry oatmeal?" "No, I'm waiting for the water to get hot." - Bigfoot, Lego and C

"This boat's always right on the edge." - Money Bags

"Moneybags would say 'delegate someone'." - Admin

"You're fish bait." "I'm fish bait." - Bigfoot and Fish Bait

"The bosun can work and supervise, but if he can't supervise while he works, he shouldn't work." - The Big Cheese

"If you break the Commodore's sunglasses..." "I'll think of something." - Bigfoot and The Big Cheese

"She never put salt in my juice anymore." - The Big Cheese

"Dead fish." - Lego

"You can't navigate through a mine field. Just drive." - Bigfoot

"The water goes that way." "It always goes that way." - Lego and Bigfoot

"Boating through crab pots is fun." "No it's not." - Lego and Bigfoot

"He did not totally check it." - Lego

"Living in a tilted light house will be fun. The staircase would be hell." - Bigfoot

"The stupid great blue heron gets caught." - Admin

"Lego, Red 12 A." - Fish Bait

"No one would want to trust this crew if..." - Admin

"Want to ring the bell each time the clock goes off?" - Admin

"At least I didn't call her Stella." - Money Bags

"Michael wants to be a Sea Scout, right?" "No." - Money Bags and Mr F.

"She's got an obsessive compulsive disorder." - Admin

"What is this motley crew?" - Money Bags

"1942 left water in the bottom." - Money Bags

"Watch out for the orange things covered in maggots." - Money Bags

"Sorry the batteries aren't charging. We think we broke it. 1942." - Bigfoot

"Get some of those quotes and put them on her shirt." - Moneybags

"I don't know, she didn't learn." - Admin

"We're going west, going west, going west, then turning slightly and going west." - Bigfoot

"We can just tack back and forth for two hours." - Moneybags

"Is there a point when we can get out of your navigation and sail around?" "No." - Admin and Bigfoot

"It wasn't long cruise. No papers to file, no watches, no BSA rules. They were both sailing grandmas." - Moneybags

"Senior moments already." - Money Bags

"Five-year-olds warp your brain." "Teenagers warp your brain." - Person #1 and Money Bags

"Before I met you, I was normal." - Moneybags

"Define normal." "It's a setting on the washing machine." - Fish Bait and Moneybags

"Hopping across the floor." - Moneybags

"All you have to do is attach a line to you and swim." "Until the jelly fish sting and you swell up into a big welt." - Fish Bait and Admin

"Half the junk food." - Admin

"Hamburgers, hot dogs, junk food." - Moneybags

"Lots and lots of beans. You'll be sleeping on deck for the next two nights." - Money Bags

"And you thought Girl Scouts were silly." "Girl Scouts are the silliest things." - Money Bags and Bigfoot

"Friendly, Friendlier, Friendliest patch." "Don't forget the cake decorating." - Bigfoot and Money Bags

"That's why, it's a bunch of teenagers." - Money Bags

"This boat can really use a cleaning before we get to the pool." - Money Bags

"Instead of swimming, we can do school of the ship." - Money Bags

"Yeah!" - Fish Bait

"If it goes over the side, you'd better be hanging on to it." - The Big Cheese

"There's a button that says 16." - Bigfoot

"It's like paying rent for a house, except it's rent for a boat." - Lego

"I'm trying to gross people out by my exciting eating habits." - Lego

"It's quite late, it's a quarter of seven." - Admin

"She's writing at two quotes a minute." - Person #1

"When he says a stupid...comment, you should jump overboard and see what Moneybags says." - Admin

"60?" - Person #1

"Scribbles, hold your hands out." - Bigfoot

"Imagine how many pairs of feet have been on this?" - Person #2

"It's hotter than me." - Shultz

"It was off, he couldn't make a call." - C

"Let's listen in on him." - C

"Um, over." - Fish Bait

"They're being monitored." - Admin

"Negative, we have not made a reservation." - Fish Bait

"Roger that, over." - Fish Bait

"She looked like she wanted to slug you." - Money Bags

"If The Big Cheese goes swimming, you've got to make sure he has a sploosh." - Money Bags

"Scribbles, are you going to have a heart attack?" "Is she laughing or having a seizure?" - C and Fish Bait

"What's the highest level?" "Painting your nails." - Bigfoot and Money Bags

"I've got it! I've got it!" - Bigfoot

"Yeah, I hit him in the face." - Fish Bait

"1942 left all their old food on board." "Including an old egg roll." - C and Scribbles

"It takes 100,000 volts to kill you." - Schultz

"What were you doing with your hands inside a lawn mower?" - C

"Where are we going to find line on a sailboat?" - Bigfoot

"That was your dinner, you just missed it." - Mr F.

"Did you hear it scream ' Help me, help me!'?" - Money Bags

"Have you cut up a pineapple before?" - Bigfoot

"How can you tell?" "Thunk Test" - Person #1 and Bigfoot

"Are there any actual knives on board?" - Bigfoot

"That one doesn't go on the website." - Money Bags

"So the skull and cross bones water bottle is yours?" - Bigfoot

"That's our intention." - Money Bags

"Yes, do that until your knuckles start bleeding." - C

"There's no standing on the table." - Money Bags

"There's no dancing on the table." - Admin

"There's a bald eagle over there." "Thank you miss ADD." - C and Bigfoot

"She's a bird freak." - Money Bags

"Trash, smash it." "If you can crush it, crush it." - C and Bigfoot

"Be nice to the chief when you're a slave. They'll get you back." - Money Bags

"Mr Strawberry Ice Cream." - Money Bags

"A bowl of poop soup." - Money Bags

"A chain the skipper beats us with." - Bigfoot

"Notebook overboard." - Mr F

"You don't have enough paper missy." "50 pages" - Money Bags and Scribbles

"They're my friends, they don't sting me." - Money Bags

"How do you show someone how to use the head?" - Person #2

"No lollipop sticks." - Money Bags

"That gets the pen out of her hand." - Money Bags

"Drenched, soggy, soaked." - Money Bags

"How many Sea Scouts does it take to close the door?" "Nine, but it just needs to slam." - Money Bags and Admin

"Caitlin's 19, so I can't be her friend." - Money bags

"That's why it's a bunch of teenagers." - Money Bags

"Just take him to Minnesota." - Money Bags

"Bubba, what are you doing down below? Come up while we're still sailing." - Money Bags

"I never would. I've have sips, and it's yucky." - C

"We have to get a van like 548." "Newer." - Money Bags and Admin

"Boys are so dumb, they hit each other and go 'Ouch'." - C

"Boys are only dumb when they're drunk." - Bigfoot

"Better than a sharp stick in the eye, right?" - Money Bags

"We can go ashore and start doing car washes." - Fish Bait

"We should have stayed there longer." "Forever." - Fish Bait and Money Bags

"A study of the algae?" - Lego

"Google Maps are awesome." - Money Bags

"I believe when I went into the galley, I was a little distracted." - Person #1

"That's the true stuff of someone, if they can eat that and not get sick." - Bigfoot

"He doesn't want us to talk about W-I-N-D." - Lego

"I smelled every inch of the business end at least." - Money Bags

"I deny everything." - Money Bags

"Sploosh! That's our motto." - Person # 1

"1, 2, 3, 4, 17..." - Admin

"I got to watch my friend set his face on fire." - Bigfoot

"Candy bar overload. Caramel, chocolate, peanuts." - Money Bags

"Now what are you writing?" - Money Bags

"Two spoons, two forks, a spork and a knife." - Person #1

"There's no stopping her." - Lego

"Lash ourselves to the mast. Hang on." - Money bags

"Every time you write something down, you giggle." - Money Bags

"Whoever's hat this is, I'm going to throw it on the floor." - C

"Daniel, you're getting me wet, you dog!" - Money Bags

"We're all a bunch of goobers on this boat." - Money Bags

"Tom Ballew charges $300 for cruises." - Money Bags

"If we sunk the boat now, we'd all be the Grateful ded PeLiKans." - Bigfoot

Library Display Case

2009-07-31T17:05:00.000-04:00

If you live in the area you may have seen our Ship's display on Sea Scouting at Potomac Community Library during the month of July. The exhibit was intended to educate more people on the existence of Boy Scout's best-kept secret and included a PFD, a fire extinguisher and other safety equipment, examples of different knots, a dixie cup hat, a marine radio, and LOTS of photos.

If you missed it, here's a couple of photos of the display case. Click for bigger images:

Top shelf:

Middle shelf:

Bottom shelf:

Long Cruise Planning Meeting Quotes

2009-07-29T16:59:00.004-04:00

At last night's Long Cruise Planning meeting, I got a page of quotes. Thanks to David for the first quote of the night. (In order to understand it, you had to have seen him.)

"Normal Sea Scout ... ... Homeschooled Sea Scout." - David

"I don't need it at stupid Sea Scout Meetings." - Caitlin

"It's the Daddy ATM." - Mr Fucello

"The person who brought the dollar store hash is teaching FOOD?" - David

"David is doing a fashion show." - Skipper (goes along with the first quote)

"That requires having a level playing surface that doesn't sway side to side." - David

"Grease the watermelon." - Skipper

"Squirty fish." - Skipper

"Hold a bad singing voice over everyone." - David

"What is the rule about the forward head?" "It is a number one rule." - Caitlin and Ms. MacDonald

"What goes in must come out." - David

"If you get stinky, we'll dunk you." - Skipper

"If you smell, you're not getting into my van." - Mr Fucello

"She spelled 'der' wrong." - Skipper

"You don't work in your work uniform." - Skipper

"Sometimes there's an emergency and you really have to get there." - Skipper

"The head always gets clogged up with the most disgusting stuff." - Skipper

Fair Winds, Finally!

2009-06-27T13:42:00.113-04:00

by Caitlín

When I woke, the world was calling; in the wind rushing through the trees, in the birds' joyful song, I heard an invitation for my own delight. I was so eager to get out of the house and feel the wind that I was dropping things and banging my elbows on walls every time I turned around.

I skipped to the car.

As I drove the lengthy park entrance road, the smells carried on the breeze were tantalizing. At the water's edge, I found my hopes answered in a river tossed by the wind, flashing with sunlight.

Despite some difficulties, we made it past the breakwater and raised the sails. I feel a burst of excitement as the boat responds to the wind, the tiller becomes taught in my hand. I am in tune to the boat, with the waves and the wind and the world.

I always wonder at the simple majesty of a sail stiff with a breeze (even when it's in severe need of scrubbing), and how the leap and crash of waves off the bow can be at once both lulling and invigorating.

When we started out the goal was to tack upriver and around a miniature island (complete with several trees), but we didn't quite make it there. In all the times I've been out, we never have, but I don't mind. For me, the joy can be in the journey, not always reaching the destination.

I'd rather steer full and by and let the winds take me where they wish (unless it's in towards shore).

No Wind, Lots of Water

2009-06-20T22:07:00.063-04:00

by Caitlín

The weather didn't look hopeful. At my house the wind was still and calm, the sky a dull gray. But the report from the dock was of choppy water and a stiff breeze. Let's go!

On my way to the car, the first of the rain dotted the sidewalks. The drive to the park was spent hoping for the weather to clear, and after my first glimpse of the river I was also asking for wind.

Captain Finn decided we should still at least try, so we slipped the boat free of her mooring and motored past the breakwater. Luis was at the helm while I went forward to show Jared how to raise the sails, which was quite easy since there was close to no resistance from the wind.

This morning happened to be Jared's first time out on a sailboat, but he didn't seem to mind that we did almost no sailing at all (see his happy smile?).

While we waited for the wind, Captain Finn went over points of sail with his Wind Wheel and explained tacking procedures. We may have even tried it once, but training isn't very effective when tacking takes five minutes.

Next Captain Finn started up the motor and let each of us Scouts try a hand at steering under motor power, which is a little tricky. Though the boat can be turned using only the motor, the motor is offset from the center and so doesn't have as wide a range as the rudder. So it works better to use the rudder as well, and you have to keep a relatively equal tension on both.

After we'd all given it a go, the rain came down even harder and we decided that it was time to head back to port. We had a moment of confusion when we picked up the wrong mooring--one intended for a larger boat, making it too far from the dock for us to disembark.

By the time we had tied off at the other mooring and returned to shore, we were all pretty much soaked except for under our PFDs. The sail wasn't what we were hoping for, but we made the best of it, and it was a good reminder that those days with fair winds are extra special.

A Worthwhile Day

2009-05-09T20:05:00.000-04:00

Capt. Ashton was planning to have this weekend be just orientation for a gaggle of captains, but since 2 of my scouts wanted to sail, I talked him into making the regular Saturday Sail a go.

It was the first sail for 2 scouts, and the first "real sailing" for the 3rd. We also had a 3rd adult on board, a captain-in-training. Capt. Finn covered a lot, using the at-the-moment situation to teach pertinent sailing theory in a real-life setting. We hove to, reefed the sail, tacked and gybed.

The wind was stiff, so we actually needed to reef the sail. Had the boat heeled, scouts nervous, skipper hollering "YEEESSSS!" and smiling her thanks up to the sky. We were out about 30 minutes longer than scheduled, then headed up to the boat yard.

One of my scouts had asked me if there would be service hour opportunities after the sail. I hadn't planned on it, but because he asked, I set it up. Several phone calls and emails later, we had a total of 3 scouts wanting to work, and another Youth Protection certified adult.

The 3 scouts took turns with power washing the cutter-rigged MacGregor 23, helped clean out the Venture 21, helped take out sails to dry, fold sails and put them away, and straighten out a massively tangled anchor rode. After the first hour, we were hot and tired, and one scout suggested using the power washer to create a cooling mist, which we all--even the dog--enjoyed. The scouts impressed everyone with their effort, and they were a real help with the boats.

As I was waiting for a scout's parent to arrive, Capt. Ashton and Capt. Reynolds showed up, ready to replace the halyards and step the mast on the brightly clean MacGregor 23. The scout and I helped with the halyards while he awaited his ride, but he had to go before the mast was stepped. I had never helped with or saw this before, but was ready to lend a hand, starting with reinstalling the spreaders and attaching the spreader boots, then pulling the rope attached to the forestay to raise the mast, and, finally, being the one with the wherewithall to get the mast aligned just right. I believe I averted disaster at least once. Things were a little hairy there for a few moments, but we did it! A sailboat always looks nicer with a mast.

Kudos to my scouts for how fast they learned, how well they listened to Capt. Finn and Capt. Danny, and the excellent work they did in the boat yard. Their interest- and ability to apply themselves made my effort to organize worthwhile. I hope we do it again soon.

In the meantime, I hope they practice those knots, start learning points of sail, and the parts of the boat--so they can be in good form and candidates for the long cruise. More kids on more boats!

Half Shell Water Taxi

2009-05-04T20:09:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday 6 scouts--4 totally green--crewed for the Half Shell water taxi at the Occoquan River Festival. They surely learned the importance of knowing their knots and how to hear- and take orders quickly.

Capt. Samworth started the day with an orientation of the boat, safety review, and docking procedure. He showed how to use the fire extinguisher and the old fashioned type, a bucket with a line tied to the handle, for pulling water out of the river.

Scouts came aboard for shifts of varying length, and each had a turn at the wheel. It was a true pleasure to be piloting the 81-year-old historic wooden boat up the beautiful, serene Occoquan River, looking at herons, mergansers, geese and flowers while the weekend traffic crawled on the I-95 bridge overhead.

The scouts and I had a great time! I truly appreciate Capt. Samworth's willingness to have us aboard, and especially value his- and his friend Dave's patience with the scouts' greenness.

I also appreciate all who came through as promised. They made this Skipper's life sooo much easier--and, they got themselves on my good side, the one that says, "Reliable scouts get first dibs!"

You can see more photos at the "Half Shell" Water Taxi Photos online album if interested. Photos of Capt. Samworth's horrible sandwich made the cut, somehow. Morbid fascination, I think.

I commend each scout for taking this activity seriously, applying him/herself, learning quickly, and doing a great job of crewing. It was fun to be there with them as they discovered new things they can do, important real-life job things! The experience of crewing on the Half Shell is invaluable in giving the scouts confidence in their ability to handle boats, to take on adult responsibility, and more. I look forward to seeing what further interests it sparks in them.

The only problem is the pickle loaf. Thanks to Capt. Samworth's horrible sandwich, Rebecca discovered something new and...um, "good" (so she thinks), and has made a resolution: "I am going to get pickle loaf the next time I go to the grocery store. Hmm, Tuesday I could make a sandwich for dinner, and bring it with me for the skipper's conference. Are you sure you don't want a pickle loaf sandwich? The one I had on the boat had: pickle loaf, cheese, horseradish, salsa, and salami. We should have pickle loaf on long cruise. Every day!"

My reply to Rebecca, "You have become downright audacious! Pickle loaf on the long cruise, indeed!"

Occoquan Sea Scouts to Crew for Historic "Half Shell" Water Taxi at River Festival

2009-04-29T20:05:00.003-04:00

The Sea Scouts in Occoquan will provide the first volunteer crew to the historic Chesapeake Bay oyster buyboat "Half Shell" on Saturday, May 2nd. The vessel will be among three used to provide water taxi service during the Occoquan River Festival, a service spearheaded by Leo Smith of Carefree Boat Club, who also created the connection between the Sea Scouts and the Half Shell.

The Half Shell will run between Belmont Bay Marina and the Occoquan Town Dock, from 10:00am to 7:00pm, with a total of 20 dockings. The crew will consist of 2 or 3 scouts, on shifts of varying length, depending on the scout’s experience. The Sea Scouts will serve as line handlers, standing by to tie up at each dock when the boat arrives and untying when time to debark. Stowing of the line, the gangways and other loading and unloading efforts will be part of their duties. While on-board and under weigh, they will assist the passengers as necessary.

Half Shell’s captain, Andrew Samworth, has “made a 20-year career of working on boats,” and is “very happy to be using boats to reach the youth in our communities now.” The captain visited the Sea Scouts’ website, Ship7916.org, and is “excited to see how much the group is doing.” The Sea Scout group leader, Skipper Shay Seaborne, noted that, “If things are quiet and smooth during the Festival, scouts could take turns joining the captain in the pilothouse for some real-life piloting lessons, and nothing beats hands-on learning!”

Samworth attended the Sea Scouts’ meeting on April 7th, to introduce himself to the teens and give them an idea of what is needed. He and his proposal were received with enthusiasm, particularly when the Skipper explained that this will count as service hours for advancement. The scouts’ prior service hours were gained mostly on workdays and fund raisers. Fifteen-year-old Gus MacDonald, a Sea Scout who lives in Manassas Park, found it a welcome change. “Getting service hours aboard a boat? Yes!” he exclaimed.

The scouts will start their River Festival service day with a basic orientation on the boat. Safety will be the main message. “The most important thing that I want to stress is that the Half Shell is considerably heavier than the boats your scouts are used to crewing,” he told Seaborne, “Therefore, no body parts are suitable for fending off.”

The Skipper affirmed that safety is her number one priority, “about half of our scouts are experienced with larger vessels, as we train and have an annual week long cruise aboard a 46' ketch,” she said, adding that, “I and other adult leaders have repeatedly highlighted the importance of never fending off with body parts, but on this and other safety topics, there is no such thing as too much reinforcement.”

Samworth is a former Sea Scout who appreciates what the scouting program gave him, while Seaborne learned the value of the Sea Scout program as an outsider in her teens; the National Park Service barred her from joining the group it sponsored, but she saw what it did for the boys who belonged. As a Park Service volunteer, she often worked along side the Sea Scouts, handling boats of various types, chipping and painting, sailing, and growing to like the smell of diesel fuel. Seaborne is “delighted to be in the position to give these young people the opportunities and mentoring I was denied.” As the group’s leader, she sees direct results of the positive effect that Sea Scouting can have on teenagers. “I love to watch them learn and discover,” she said, “to see them stretch outside their comfort zone and try new things, take on greater responsibilities, find their competency and confidence, and take off in new directions.”

Half Shell is part of the Living Classrooms Foundation, and Samworth would like the Occoquan Sea Scouts to join him during summertime activities in the foundation's Shipboard Education & Environmental Outreach Program, such as seining and taking water and bottom samples from the river. Seaborne is excited at the prospect, saying “this is stuff right up my alley; when I was aboard the Lightship Chesapeake, the vessel was a floating environmental education center, and they welcomed me as a volunteer because of my background in marine biology and oceanography. I know how scientific learning about the local estuary and environment can spark further interest and studies.”

Captain Samworth and Skipper Seaborne each have their own understanding of Sea Scouting—his as an insider in his youth and an outsider in adulthood, hers as an outsider in her youth and an insider in adulthood—and both appreciate the important benefits the program offers youth in the community. The Sea Scout crew for the water taxi is just the first result of combining their experience and resources to provide teens with multiple opportunities for real-life, hands-on maritime learning. The scouts’ response indicates the adults are going in the right direction, and enthusiasm is high. “This is fantastic!” MacDonald said.

NE Regional Bridge of Honor Quotes #2

2009-03-29T19:30:00.001-04:00

Here are the rest of the select quotes from the RBOH.

"We're making them sit next to each other. We'll generate 10 pages of quotes." - David

"You weren't in skip." - Gus

"Buttercup is such a corny name." - Sarah

"Shift into neutral and rev the engine." - ___________

"Caitlín has to sleep on that side because if the smoke alarm goes off and water comes out, she gets wet first." - Skipper

"This is the real history. Who cares about meeting minutes." - __________

"It doesn't smell bad because they haven't been there that long." - Skipper

"The jacuzzi looks good. I could use that." - Skipper

"I was right for once." - Skipper

"You only need to volunteer 400 hours a year for 7 years." - Skipper

"All's fair in love and war, and this is definitely not love." - Stephen

"No where in the rules does it say that scouts have to be boys." - Skipper

"If I was going to be there, I'd learn from Steve Alexander." - Captain Nichols

"They left me and I didn't have a room key." - Sarah

"The last one ready gets hit with a stick, and the skipper gets to do the hitting." - Skipper

"Rebecca, you should invest in a mechanical pencil." - David

"It's a good thing Rebecca doesn't breath through her hand." - Mr. Fucello

"I'm nice outside of Sea Scouts." - David

"Lock the door dad, so they can't come in." "No, I only do that to you." - Sarah and Mr Fucello

"Honk." "I must be blind." "You couldn't see the blue van?" - Daniel and Caitlin

"He's either looking for Chinese food or looking at someone's hair." - David

"It's too gross to not get a picture of." - Caitlín

"Gus, let me see your creepy drink." - Caitlín

"Cancel, cancel, cancel." - Mr Fucello's GPS

"Rebecca picks the most random things to write down." - Caitlín

"I think I just saw a bunch of turkeys over there." "There are turkeys in the back. Six of them" - Mr. Fucello and Skipper

"Want some ManZone snacks?" "Ultimate ManZone, more power!" - Daniel and Skipper

"When you get really good at the skip drill, we should make a video and post it on YouTube." - Skipper

"Spaghetti, hot dogs, mac and cheese, hot dogs, spaghetti, hot dogs." - David

"We should come up with our own girly line of snacks. Too girly for guys." - Skipper

"At least we won't have any singing on the way back. Daniel's asleep." - Caitlín

"Who wouldn't notice me though?" "Apparently Rachel." - Daniel and David

"If it was raining any harder, we could be sailing home." - David

"I just want to pat them on the head." "They would be so offended." "You are so cute." - Skipper and Caitlín

"On long cruise, we should do one day where we pick up the cadets and teach them how to sail." - David

"Aww, the stupid Sea Scouts got lost again." - Skipper

"When in doubt, accelerate." - Mr Longhi

"Have it say what the skipper wants it to say." "Maybe we should have someone else do it also." - Skipper and Caitlín

"Daniel, do you want ice cream? No? Are you dead?" - Caitlín

"There's Rebecca, ice cream in one hand, pencil in the other." - Sarah

"Wait, Rebecca, you're left handed? How long has she been writing quotes and I haven't noticed?" - Daniel

"I agree with David for once." - Caitlín

"Next year for my birthday, I'm going on a cruise on a tall ship." - Skipper

"Our one head is better than der Pelikan's two." - Skipper

"Sipping on the coffee, but it's not doing any good." - Mr. Fucello

"Daniel was the one partying. 'Don't close the dance, I've still got moves left'." - David

"The 90 year old ladies wanted to dance with him." - David

"No one within 70 or 80 years of their age should dress like that." - David

"Are you starting the ninth page already?" "This is the tenth." - Caitlín and Rebecca

"I'm going to have to break her pencil into three pieces." "I'll set a match to that book." - Skipper and Mr. Fucello

"Oh Sarah, it's very you." - Caitlín

"Rebecca stole a hat from the blues brothers." - Skipper

"Daniel has too much hair." - Caitlín

"Can you give the camera back so we can take one of Rebecca?" "Yeah, Daniel." - Sarah, Caitlín

"I can get a picture of Gus without him doing the peace sign." "Yes!" - David and Caitlín

"Captain Jack Sparrow." - David

"I'm surrounded by dorks." - David

"I'm not going to make it the whole way." - David

"Fill up your lungs sideways." - Sarah

"Wake up people." - Sarah

"Bosun..." "Permission granted." - David, Caitlín

"Isn't it great to know we are so fascinating. We have high entertainment value. Rebecca's stuck with us, she might as well make fun of us." - Skipper

"Who wants to learn navigation? You can't get anywhere if you don't know how." - Skipper

"There will be the most from Gus as usual." - Caitlín

"I hate Tweety." - Mr. Fucello

"Touching my stuff? I'm braking your face." - Skipper

"Not windy enough, is it?" "I didn't say sail, I said boat." - Caitlín

Quotes on the way to the NE Regional Bridge of Honor

2009-03-29T17:26:00.005-04:00

From 9:30 am Sat to 12:30 pm Sunday, I collected 10 1/2 pages of quotes from the six scouts and two adults from our ship. There might be one or two quotes from other ships.

Here are select quotes from 9:30 am to about 1 pm Sat. (Select quotes from the rest of the trip will be posted shortly.):

"Everybody stop talking and no one gets quoted." - Mr. Fucello

"The first thing you need to do is hand over all your notebooks and pencils and no one gets hurt." - Skipper (This, as you can tell, didn't happen)

"That's the Alexandria Hotel." "That's a hotel?" "It's a jail." - Mr F.ucello and Skipper

"She said everybody, Daniel. Not you." - Skipper

"Evil quote taker." - Skipper,

"If you weren't so obvious about taking pictures of him then you wouldn't be considered a stalker." - __________

"You have fun just going on random tangents, Daniel." - David

"Are we that interesting?" - Skipper

"I got a 45 on the homeschooler quiz." - David

"Homeschoolers aren't social enough to act out." - David

"The whole world is poisoned. Get used to it." - Skipper

"Let's stop talking about creepy body parts." - Caitlín

"Everything is bad for you nowadays." - David

"What's the difference between roadkill and a lawyer who has been run over? There's no skid marks in front of the lawyer." - Daniel

"There's the ugly shopping center. So pretty." - Skipper

"Crunch, crunch, slurp." - Daniel

"There was suddenly no talking, just crunch, crunch." - Sarah

"You can chew with the roof of your mouth?" - David

"She has a cyst in her ovary with teeth and hair." - Skipper

"Are you sure it's not a really ugly kid?" - David

"We're Sea Scouts, we don't get sea sick. How can we get car sick?" - David

"Just how many times did you throw them out the window if they did that?" - Skipper

"I can't believe it's been two hours." "It's been one." - Daniel and David

"Somalian Pirates stole an oil tanker." - David

"Pirates with style." - David

"The machine doesn't work very well if there's a bullet through the middle." - David

"We'll just have to make sure you don't drive." - David

"And she's writing it down." "I thought she had put that away." - Daniel and David

"Daniel, stop bothering him. You don't want Gus to get angry." - David

"Half the quotes are about the quotes." - David

"At least Rebecca has something to do." - Daniel

"So Daniel, are you ever going to shave off that peach fuzz mustache?" - David

"Why am I the one always being picked on? I'm not the youngest anymore." - Daniel

"Why are we in a tunnel anyway?" "Going through Baltimore harbor." - Daniel and Mr. Fucello

"When I went to Holy Spirit, I was chubby." "You were chubby?" - __________

"Daniel coughs when he hears 'girls' or 'ice cream'." - Skipper

"You guys need to talk slower, Rebecca can't write fast enough." - Mr. Fucello

"How can you use Gus and energy in the same sentence?" - Mr. Fucello

"Permission to hit him?" "Permission granted." - David and Caitlín

"Why does that girl not have her hair out of her face?" "It's not a girl." - Skipper, quoting another person

"She could publish them as a book." - Mr Fucello

"Are you trying to saw your leg off?" "With a comb it is going to take a long time." - David and Caitlín

"Hey Rebecca, I'll pay you if you stop at 5." - Daniel

"Sometime people say I look like a girl." "You do when you have makeup on." - Daniel and Caitlín

"Man am I glad my dad's not the skipper of this ship." - Daniel

"You're not going to be the skipper?" "I'm going to quit right after this trip." - Daniel and Skipper

"I have all the good spork flare there are." - Skipper

"Someday you people actually have to learn to be social. That will be a very humorous day for me." - David

"Could we possibly be any nerdier?" "Anything's possible." - David and Mr. Fucello

"I don't know where to go. I'm just doing what the GPS tells me." - Mr. Fucello

"It's carbonated prune juice." - Mr. Fucello

"You've been here less than 3 hours, and you already have 4 1/2 pages of quotes." - David

"What is wrong with you Daniel? We're going north, and you're speaking southern." - Caitlín

"Wawa means 'goose' in the native NJ language." - Skipper

"Gus is the soul of the ship." - Mr Anderson

"We shouldn't talk around her." - Caitlín

"Why the heck would you sing happy birthday to a hippo?" - David

"Curious about what?" "What human tastes like." - Daniel and Gus

USS Barry Quotes

2009-03-08T17:08:00.005-04:00

by Rebecca

Here are some of the quotes from the USS Barry overnight:

"You have to tell people to obey the signs." - Skipper

"We're all dead." - Sarah

"Ninja quote taker. Sneaky quote taker." - Skipper

"We should just gag you." - Caitlín

"It's a squished tuba." - Scott

"That little kid who was barking like a chihuahua." - Skipper

"There might be some reckless cadet in the way." - Caitlín

"It's like a noodle." - Scott

"You guys are more faggy than us." - Skipper

"It's amazing you are normal." - Caitlín

"Everything's another quote, when it's out of context." - Caitlín

"We're going on strike if we have to do drill again." - Sarah

"What are we going to do at dinner without Daniel to make fun of?" "He won't get locked outside or fall asleep at the table." - Caitlín and Skipper

"They're still just getting in the van." - Caitlín

"They remind me of Boy Scouts." - Jared

"The Sea Scouts challenge us to a duel of napping." "And we lost." - Skipper and Mr Fucello

"What did you win?" "An asparagus." - Caitlín and Scott

"The constant pencil scraping." - Caitlín

"Hey, I'm in charge, and I don't feel like marching." - Caitlín

"Let's just beat ourselves with sticks instead." - Skipper

"The quotes are the best part." - Scott

"Forward Skip!" "About Nap!" - Everyone

"As soon as we stop for breakfast, you get two noogies from everyone." - Skipper

"I was wondering why you didn't have your quote book out, but then I realized we're all too tired to say anything funny." - Sarah

"The Skipper is going to have lobster for dinner every night." - Skipper

Overnight Aboard the USS Barry

2009-03-08T16:37:00.069-04:00

by Caitlín

Yesterday we met Ship 1115 (S.S.S. Constellation) and the Henry E. Mooberry Division of the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps at the Washington Navy Yard to spend the weekend learning drill and how to care for dress uniforms, and spend the night aboard the USS Barry.

After waiting around for the Cadets to be ready for us, we watched Sea Cadet Recruit Company Commander B. Thompson drill some of the new recruits before falling in to go over the commands (and how to command) ourselves. I must say, we didn't do too badly with it, either.

Sea Cadet Petty Officer Second Class K. Herbert took us to the navy museum, marched there under the command of Ship 1115 Boatswain, Will Nelson. I wish we'd had more time to look around, but Lieutenant Commander Cirone wanted us back to the Cadet building by a certain time, leaving us only about 30 minutes to look around the museum.
(Sarah and Rebecca at one of the big guns on exhibit at the museum.)

After "route-step marching" (a command which requires the company only to stay in formation, not stay in step or turn corners all at the same time) my crew of Scouts back, we had more time for drill practice. The Sea Cadets challenged us to a game of Knockout, a military version of Simon Says, and a game at which we Scouts failed pretty miserably last time (excepting Jared, who saved us from complete embarrassment).

Only yesterday, the Cadets kept getting "outed" until Jared, Rebecca, and I were the last three standing...and then Rebecca and I were the last two. They just couldn't stop us, even when firing off commands like "leftface-leftface-aboutface-rightface" as fast as they could! Eventually, to get Rebecca and I out, they had to trick us by standing behind us and having another Cadet give an order, which we obeyed although we shouldn't have and lost. When we actually had a chance of winning, the game was a lot more fun.

The options for dinner were your choice of the Subway or Five Guys down the street, and we boarded the Barry at twilight (left) for our tour of the ship and an ice cream social. While stowing our gear, Sarah, Rebecca, Meghan, and I discovered a sailor's stash of an empty Mountain Dew can, Speed Stick, shampoo ("for oily hair only"), and other various toiletries in one of the lockers near our bunks (right). The female Scouts and Cadets were berthed in racks that are on part of the tour route, so the bunks were behind a Plexiglas wall, which made us feel a little trapped and on display.

Before our tour, we had to wait until the Marine Corps retirement ceremony being held on the fantail of the Barry was over. While we waited, Jared read aloud from Gus's manga--backwards; we laughed so hard we had tears in our eyes!

Next, we had a practice-run fire drill and then an actual fire drill, which we found to be a little bit silly, so we had some fun with it:
We learned how to care for and press our uniforms from the US Naval Sea Cadets' Supply Officer, who says that the way to roll neckerchiefs is when they're still wet from the wash. And then finally we were able to take a tour of the Barry--something some of us had been waiting on for a year. Because we were a "junior military" group, the woman giving us the tour showed us parts of the ship to which the public is not normally admitted, such as the engine room. I thought the bridge was the coolest part; it was pretty cool to imagine steering that large a vessel from that high up.

Taps was at 2300 hours--an hour after it was scheduled, and reveille was at 0500 despite the time change--and we went to bed readily. Unfortunately, sleep didn't come easily with people talking and banging things around, a strange new space to sleep, and in a tiny berth.

We were all very groggy when we woke up this morning, and the 20 minutes we had to dress, pack up, freshen up, and get to the dockside for morning muster seemed to turn into only 5 minutes awfully fast. We stood blearily at parade rest for roll call, then drove to Andrews Air Force Base for breakfast (Anacostia doesn't begin serving breakfast early enough for us to have eaten there).

Because the Cadets' plan for the day didn't really include us unless we wanted to participate in even more drill (and we felt like we'd had enough), we took a vote and decided to head home after breakfast. Scott fell asleep at the table, he was so tired!

We said goodbye to and thanked the Cadets and their CO, and departed. Thinking about it, it's amazing how much the unit has grown since we visited the Barry last year; we're a more cohesive group, we can march in formation (proof of that below), and we even have uniforms!
See more photos from the weekend here.

NCAC Wardroom Dinner and Award Ceremony

2009-03-01T16:22:00.008-05:00

by Sarah

Last Saturday, February 28th, was the National Capital Area Council Dinner and award ceremony. Ship 1942 very kindly invited us to take part in the ceremony as practice for the Regional Bridge of Honor we are performing in New Jersey later this month. Five of our scouts, Rebecca, Caitlín, Jared, Gus, and I made the port crew, and Ship 1942 had seven scouts as the starboard crew, boatswain, and boatswain’s mate. Also, our very own skipper was the mate. She looked great in her new dress uniform.

When we all got there, we started by rolling our new neckerchiefs. The Sea Cadets had showed us how to roll them when they came to teach us military drill, and thanks to their help, we were able to roll five neckerchiefs very quickly.

Skipper Ballew of Ship 1942 ran us and his scouts through the ceremony twice. The first time he explained every person’s jobs for their position. For example, the mate and boatswain board at opposite sides of the vessel at the same time, the crew leader requests permission for his/her crew to board, etc. Then we went through it for a second time as if it was the real ceremony and not just a practice round.

Next, Skipper Ballew introduced the guest speaker Alex Smith and his daughter Francis. Mr. Smith said he would be talking about submarines and some people who make submarines by themselves. He then invited us outside to look at his submarine made for only one person. It seemed very small with no room to lie down inside of it, but he later explained that he does not use it for longer than a short day trip with some other submariners.

Dinner consisted of the choice between roast beef, baked chicken, or vegetarian lasagna and green beans, boiled potatoes, and a bread roll. After we ate, the landship ceremony began, and the awards were handed out. We were hoping to receive ship of the year, but that reward was given to Ship 1942. The surprise was the Skipper of the Year award that was presented to Skipper Shay. It was a pleasant surprise for the skipper; she was hoping for the ship of the year and was shocked to hear her name announced as Skipper of the Year.

The ceremony concluded, and the guest speaker began to set up for his slide show he was going to use as part of his speech. While he set up his projector, Skipper Shay grabbed us five scouts, and we stepped back onto the landship. She had surprise certificates for a couple people who have helped our ship get off the ground. The first one was for Commodore Yeckley who received the “Amanda Grace award” because he kept the Amanda Grace at his house until we were able to get a slip for her close by. He also chased her down when she slipped her anchor. The other certificate went to Commodore Alexander for his help with our ship and his generosity with the use of his ship the der PeliKan.

Lastly, Alex Smith began his speech. He first showed us a short video of him in his submarine going underwater along with a convention of other submariners. His picture slideshow showed several different people who build submarines on their own. Two of them had, at one point, taken place as the smallest submarine in the Guinness World Records. Another man was making a huge submarine from scratch, a submarine that he could live up to three weeks in. Also in his slideshow was Sea Scout Ship 188th in Montreal that had previously restored old boats and sold them, but they were now restoring an old submarine. They had taken it apart and started to clean it though there was still a lot left. Mr. Smith said he is interested in seeing how it turns out when they finally finish it.

It was a very enjoyable event, and we will most likely attend next year.

Typical Quarterdeck Meeting

2009-02-18T10:00:00.003-05:00

by Rebecca

At the February Quarterdeck Meeting, I hadn't planned on collecting quotes. But thanks to Skipper Shay and Mr Sanford, I started writing them down on the back on the agenda. Here are some of the better ones.

"Skipperish things." - Skipper Shay

"That doesn't sound like it is a skipperish thing." - Mr Sanford

"Rebecca, we're going to have to confiscate all your paper." - Caitlín

"We can practice CPR on them." - Mr Longhi

"The rain gutters aren't that deep." - David

"You can give me my purple one back now." - Skipper

"I think the marinas have enough life rings." - Skipper

"We could walk to the grocery store there." - Skipper

"Untie all those knots, take the sails down." - Skipper

"I don't want an all green crew." - Skipper

"Men in kilts, yes." - Skipper

"Prop wash is the bay." - David

"Do you know what the shoreline does on a boat?" "It gets you stuck." - Mr Longhi and Adam

"Sit around, take naps, eat cookies." - Skipper

"A long cruise is sleeping on the boat." - Mate Enright

"We had Commodore Alexander." - David

"Somebody goobered it up." - Skipper

"They need to put one fake skeleton in there." - David

"I'm pretty sure the quotes are longer than the minutes now." - David

"Supply guy. Storekeeper." - Mr Longhi

"That's not a quote." "Yes, it is actually." - David and Mr Sanford

Recognition Dinner

2009-02-04T08:43:00.365-05:00

by Caitlín

Last night Ship 7916 held its first annual Ship Recognition Dinner, to honor those who have put the most work into the unit in the past year. We expected approximately 50 Scouts, family members, guests, elected officials, and dignitaries.

Many of the Scouts arrived at 6:00 p.m., giving us an hour to set up before the guests were scheduled to arrive. Rebecca, my sister, and I were the first to arrive, and we began checking off tasks on the list of things that needed to be done. When the others showed up, we realized there had been some confusion about the dress uniforms; Because the uniforms are stored and pressed inside out, all but three Scouts came in wearing their shirts inside out. Some had yet to sew on any patches and so had only to turn their shirts right side out, while others were not so lucky and had already sewn every single one of their patches on. Still, everyone looked really nice, and I suppose now is a better time to wear your uniform inside out that at the National Capital Area Council Wardroom Awards Dinner in a few weeks.

Once all the Scouts arrived, we finished setting up pretty quickly, and hung around talking. Rebecca and I tapped one or two people at a time to nonchalantly go out into the hall and sign the special surprise we had arranged for the Skipper, while Mr. Siegal showed Gus and Daniel how to flip quarters into their hats as they wore them. They found that very amusing and it became their new game.

When the room was full of guests, Occoquan District Supervisor Mike May (left) was kind enough to take the time out of his busy schedule and stop by during a break from a board meeting to say a few words of support and talk about how exciting it is to have a Sea Scout Ship in Occoquan.

We had planned to then continue with our program, but encountered technical difficulties with the A/V equipment on which the "best photos" slide show would play at the end of the evening. It took five men to resolve the issue, although I think it was mostly Mr. Kent's doing.

Once they finally got it working, I called everyone to order using, for the first official time, my boatswain's call to pipe the command for All Hands (make sure you turn your speakers down a little before listening!). That really caught everyone's attention quickly, as it was made to do. Perhaps I shall practice other commands and use it more often. Skipper Shay gave a welcome, Alpha Crew Leader Jared Habel lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and Occoquan Mayor and Committee Chair Earnie Porta gave the invocation, then everyone sat down to a potluck dinner.

When most people had finished their meal, the Skipper and I once again asked for attention, and recognized Mr. Longhi for his huge amount of work on our treasury and his handiness with boat repair; Ms. MacDonald for jumping in and "saving our bacon" when taking over popcorn fundraising; and Mr. John Houser, Manager of Occoquan Regional Park, for inviting us to participate in the kayaking trip that inadvertently provided the small welcoming flotilla for Amanda Grace when we bought her home.

Skipper Shay then called all of the officers, both youth and adult, to the front and thanked them for their contributions with personalized ditty bags that her friend Debra Daube donated to us in memory of her stepfather.

Mate Dan Schmoker received the "above and beyond" award, and also on the behalf of COR Stu Sanford (who unfortunately could not make it) for the tremendous amounts of work they've both done that is, indeed, above and beyond their job descriptions.

Captain John Ashton, fondly known as Chief Boat Procurement Officer, received a certificate of appreciation. He then presented the same to his "number one man and good friend," Captain Tom Finn for being with him through procuring boats and setting sea anchors.

The two businesses that gave us very generous donations--Carefree Boat Club (representatives, at right) who allows us the use of the Catalina 22, Takin' it Breezy, and Prince William Marine, which donated a slip for Amanda Grace although she's a "blow boat" and not a Sea Ray--were presented with plaques as a small token of our thanks.

Assistant Unit Commissioner Tammi Cope-Jones spoke about Family Friends of Scouting, and then District Executive Tim Rupert announced that we are the largest Venturing unit in the district, and larger than the average Sea Scout Ship (we are the only Ship in the Occoquan District) in the Council.

Next on the agenda was the photo slide show, but first Sarah, Rebecca, and I slipped in our little surprise for Skipper Shay. We had been emailing back and forth for weeks, trying to keep any intention of recognition a secret. Unfortunately, when a member of the planning committee lives in the same house, it is rather hard, so the Skipper knew we had something up our sleeves, just not what.

Although I knew I would be the one announcing the award, I hadn't though out what to say at all, so with a little hesitation I announced the gifts as Rebecca and Sarah presented them. The first was this:

A plate from Paint Your Heart Out--a business only a block or two from the VFW--that was hand-painted by Rebecca's sister, Judith (thank you SO much!), which people can sign before it is fired using a special pencil. The second gift was Sarah's idea: a box of chocolates from Gearhart's Chocolates in Charlottesville, VA. These are the Skipper's very favorite chocolates, and she often half-jokingly hints that if you want to get on her good side, get her Gearhart's. The whole room gave Skipper Shay a standing ovation.

Mr. Chris Ragland from Carefree Boat Club stepped up next to announce another very exciting surprise--that they are donating Takin' it Breezy to our Ship!

We then watched the "best photos" slide show to remind everyone that this is what they are supporting. The Skipper closed the event, parting with this quote by Mark Twain:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." –Mark Twain

The day also happened to be the date that Luis, one of our newest Scouts, turned fifteen. After most of the guests left, we celebrated with cake and a rendition of "happy birthday," conducted by Luis's father (left).

We stowed all the chairs and tables, packed away the display items, and departed. I think the evening was very successful for our first try, despite the somewhat last-minute planning. The Mayor said it was, "a very pleasant event and I really enjoyed myself. It had the right mixture of formality/informality and the right length...all very well done."

Read the Skipper's post about our First Recognition Dinner.

Drill Instruction with the Sea Cadets

2009-01-25T16:53:00.011-05:00

by Rebecca

This afternoon seven scouts from Ship 7916 spent about 2 1/2 hours learning drill to use in activities such as landship ceremonies. We will not be doing drill at regular meetings or activities. (If we did, then most of the members would probably quit.)

We learned how to fall in, stand at attention, stand at parade rest, be at ease, fall out, and march. Left and Right Face was also taught. Most of these are too complex to describe in the blog, but if anyone wants to see or learn them, just ask Caitlín, myself, Sarah, David, Jared, Jonathan, or Gus.

Caitlín and I took turns calling the commands, since we don't know who will be saying them at the Landship. It will probably end up being Caitlín giving me a command, then I give it to the crew.

We also learned how to roll a kerchief for our dress uniform (right).

Now those of us participating in the landship in March have to practice the drill many times before that, so we will look sharp.

Winter Training Quotes

2009-01-11T17:00:00.011-05:00

by Rebecca

Once again, I had paper and a pen with me this weekend at Winter Training to write down some quotes that members of Ship 7916 said.

Here are some of the quotes (not in order of when they were said):

"That's very David." - Skipper

"She switched to quotes again." - Sarah

"I need to get me some oxygen." - Mr. Longhi

"Pizza and beer for dinner." - Skipper

"Sprite Zero tastes like it is burning your tongue." - Caitlín

"Aflac." - Gus

"I like that feeling." - Gus

"Broccoli raw has that weird broccoli taste." - Caleb

"How bad do we spank you?" - Mr. Longhi

"Are you doing quotes?" - Mr. Wills

"I turned around and mocked you immediately." - Mr. Kent

"Snow is a solid?" - Skipper

"Stage a mutiny." - Caleb

"This room has had more excitement now than in the last 12 hours." - Mr. Fucello

"Sleep on the hotel floor for $20." - Skipper

"I can sleep on my floor for free." - Caleb

"It was a little smokey." - Mr. Wills

"Just bang their heads together." - Skipper

"Don't you hate it when parents do this?" - Caleb

"I stuck my head in and raised the average age in the room 10 years." - Mr. Kent

"Can he catch a drip?" "Dude!" - Skipper and Mr. Wills

"Everyone would like 'Enter the Haggis'." - Skipper

"Poor Boatswain." - Skipper

"Could you please pass me all my clothing?" - Caleb

"Don't you dare write that down." - Caleb

"Another version of the happy dance of joy." - Mr. Longhi

"I mean it looks like skulls." - Caitlín

"Why not? Joe said it." - Mr. Longhi

"We were worried you would be doing this." - Skipper

"12." "13." "Whoo!" - Mr. Fucello and Caleb

"Gee Adam, who's going to fire who?" - Mr. Longhi

"Positive 14." "A thousand and 14?" - Adam and Caitlín

"She's quoting you, dad." - Sarah

"Can't hear you, sonny boy." - Mr. Fucello

"We'll be the stars." - Skipper

"I trust you all to do it yourselves, except for that one." - Skipper

"Don't touch it, Gus." - Caleb

"Banging their heads on trash can lids." - Skipper

"It's all lies." - Skipper

"I thought it was safe, but you're hiding back there behind Skipper Shay." - Mr. Wills

"It's the aliens coming to get you!" - Skipper

"There's the mean skipper lady." - Skipper

"I'm never making a bad suggestion again." - Skipper

"Oh, ok." "You're welcome." "I still don't get it." - Gus and Caitlín

"Don't cross me again." - Skipper

"Everyone will love you if you did that." - Caitlín

"Show me the surgeon!" - Mr. Wills

"That's like David right there." "You found a David character." - Caitlín and Skipper

"Overly macho." - Skipper

"He's probably snoring, then." - Mr Wills

"You would want to look like Ken?" - Skipper (to Gus)

"The horse is still moaning." - Skipper

Sarah: "Did you just call it petrified meat?"
Caitlín: "Yes! It's like fossilized!"

"David, will you go to the dance with me?" - Gus

"Strange children." - Skipper

"They'll do a right good job at it. If they don't, I'll kick their butts!" - Skipper

"I'll buy front row tickets to that." - Mr. Wills

"My bed's gone!" - Rebecca

"My lips are blue." - Skipper

"Do YOU like your chocolate?" - Gus

"As the senior ranking officer, my crew gets the best." - Skipper

"I'm actually doing some Sea Scout stuff tomorrow." - Mr. Wills"

"It was like watching a movie." - Skipper

Gus: "That would be funny."
Caitlín: "If you died?"
Gus: "Yes."

"Somebody better say 'Yes', or I'm going to have to appoint them!" - Skipper

"Where's my biggly-wiggly?" - Mr. Wills

"What? I like my chocolate." - Gus

"Get out of my county, mister." - Skipper

"He's a dude!" - Mr. Wills

"'Cause you can't call 911 if you're passed out." - Skipper

"Nertz?" - Jared

"Harrison, if you want you can go clean up everything." - David

"Going to go fill up with sugar." - Gus

"Man, that tastes funky." "Tastes about as funky as you, Gus." - Gus and Jared

"Full contact team solitaire." - Sarah

Rebecca: "Chocolate and lemonade?"
Gus: "Yes!"

"Caleb, do you mind if I move your coat?" "Yes, go ahead." - Sarah and Caleb

"Red ten, red ten.." - Caitlín

"I learned how to do it. Does it mess you up?" "No." - Mr. Fucello and Caitlín

"It's the nertzinator." - Scott

"David said he wants to have a chocolate pudding IV if he is in a coma." - Sarah

"Your fingers are weird." - Jared

"This is not for the lemonade, just for my own enjoyment." - Gus

"I shuffled them." "Really bad." - Jared and Caitlín

"Mustard!" - Caitlín, Caleb and Rebecca

Winter Training 2009

2009-01-11T11:41:00.282-05:00

by Caitlín This past weekend Sea Scout Ship 7916 had very large turnout for the annual Winter Training event held at Catoctin Mountain Park in Thurmont, MD.
Most of our caravan left the commuter outside of Occoquan at 5:00 p.m., and arrived at Catoctin around 8:30. After we checked in, the Skipper held a muster in the mess hall, then she and I attended a meeting for all the Skippers and Boatswains who were attending the weekend.

Friday night is basically for checking in, so we went back to our cabins (the males from our Ship got a whole cabin to themselves, while we females shared with three other Ships) and settled in. Three girls from Ship 90 (S.S.S. North Star) invited us to play "BS" with them before bed, then it was time for lights out.

Saturday

Six-thirty a.m. comes early when you fall asleep on a cot in an unfamiliar place and mostly doze. None of us Scouts were ready to get up and dressed, but we had to in order get breakfast in time. Before we left, all our sleeping gear needed to be cleaned up so that the area could be used as a classroom during the day. We managed not to fall asleep over our waffles and sausage and arrive at classes in time--and all in proper uniform, even.

My first class lasted for two sessions and was taught by the Skipper of Ship 198, where I learned how to play a boatswain's call, not a pipe. Pipes are what one plays on a call. The information sheet that the teacher gave out with the durations of the pipes was worth it alone, but the whole class was one of the best I attended for the weekend.

The next two periods were, for Gus, the Skipper, and myself taken up by Commodore Steve Alexander's SPAM (Sea-Scout Prepared Afloat Meals) class. The Skipper took a lot of notes throughout, so that we will have a better time planning for our next weekend or long cruise.
The Commodore really did show us how to cook SPAM® and biscuits (left), and then held a PB&J making contest.
Those participating didn't do too well with that, making only eight sandwiches in the allotted time, which was several sandwiches below the record.

When the class ended it was time to pipe the mess call (not literally), and our Ship met up in the mess hall for meatball subs, which was a premiering meal. I think it was a success, and everyone (except for Gus, who gave me his) really liked dessert, which was banana pudding that Rebecca had helped make earlier in the day.

After lunch we had a group photo shoot of all the Scouts in uniform (first picture). To show our uniforms, we had to take our coats off even in the freezing cold weather. The second we were able to, we raced to where we'd thrown our coats on the ground and hurried back into them.

The afternoon classroom periods had fewer things of interest for our Ship, but Sarah and I attended a class on capsize recovery, which I'm sure will be useful--especially when we sail small boats.

Then we returned to the mess hall and played Nertz, a card game that has been described very well as "full contact team solitaire." A few families in the Ship know how to play, and it's growing evermore popular with the Scouts. At first it was just Sarah, her dad, me, and Gus, but later on more people joined in. Having played a similar game with friends for years, I caught on very quickly and Caleb--who is also very good--and I are now banned from being on the same team because we were "spanking" everyone else so bad.

Our game was interrupted by the call for a dinner of "cowboy stew," a hamburger-macaroni-corn dish that reminded me greatly of the meal we managed to cook while sailing Amanda Grace home. This was also a debuting meal, but it wasn't nearly as much of a hit as lunch had been.

Dinner was cleared and it was time to get ready for the dance--that is, if you weren't a boatswain or adult leader, both of whom had meetings to attend. I actually missed all but five minutes of the boatswain's meeting, because I either read the schedule wrong or it listed the time incorrectly. ...And because I was distracted by playing Nertz with everyone.

At least, because I caught the very end of the boatswain's meeting, I heard about the National Capital Area Council (NCAC) meeting where the new NCAC youth officers would be elected, so I went to round up everyone from my Ship, although not all of them made it (maybe we'll have to ban Nertz altogether).

Those of us who did attend the meeting helped elect the NCAC Boatswain, Boatswain's Mate, and Yeoman, the latter for which retiring NCAC Boatswain Andrew Scheuermann nominated me. I said, "hold on, how can you nominate me if you can't even remember my name? And I decline the nomination, anyway." I might be ready next year (although being Yeoman for our Ship was very tedious, and I can't imagine this being any less so), but right now I'm working on running meetings as Boatswain of our Ship.
Fortunately there were several other candidates and enough to fill the elected seats. (The new Boatswain, Boatswain's Mate, Yeoman, and former Boatswain, right.)

Then it was time for the dance, at least for people outside of our Ship. Very few of us were interested in going, for one reason or another, so we hung out next door in the conference room and talked with members of Ship 1115, paid some attention to the movies that were showing, and played cards until the pizza came. Rebecca had her quotebook out again and took down more hilarious (and sometimes incriminating) quotes from everyone--with Sarah's help, while Gus sopped up the lemonade leaking from the cooler with his feet (left).

A while later it was time to turn in, which I did gladly because I was getting very tired by lights-out.

Sunday

There is something very nice about having for the second seating at meals: those of us who are still extremely tired don't have to jump out of bed the second the alarm goes off. But we did need to clean up all our things and pack them into the cars so we'd be ready when it was time to leave, so Sarah, Rebecca, and I forced ourselves to get up.

Our first class sessions were taken up by a private landship practice session (right) from Skipper Kaine and Commodore Yeckley, because the Commodore offered our Ship the extreme honor of conducting the landship ceremony at the Northeast Region Bridge of Honor and Sea Scout Ball held in Bridgeport, New Jersey at the end of March.

Since our Ship has only really conducted one landship ceremony before--and a very informal one at that--we need a lot of practice if we're going to be able to pull it off and look sharp. My piping lessons from the day before came in handy for the commands, but I'll still need to practice if we want to include the use of a bo'sun's call.

It would be a lot of work, but I think if we really want to, we can get things together in time to pull it off. All the Scouts who participated in the practice session seemed to like it well enough, but we'd need more Scouts to commit, since there will have to be eight sideboys, plus other positions like Boatswain, Boatswain's Mate, and Crew Leaders.

We helped Skipper Yeckley pack up the landship supplies, then played more Nertz until lunchtime. Our Ship had kitchen and mess hall cleanup duty, so we got started that almost before the meal was over. Except there was one problem; few of the Scouts knew how to sweep or swab ("mop" to lubbers) very well at all. After they went over the entire floor and it was still visibly dirty, they received a personal lesson on swabbing from Commodore Alexander (left).

Eventually the mess hall was in acceptable shape and we could leave. I think everyone had a good time, learned a lot, and met a some new people.

Learning the Rules of the Road

2008-12-20T17:19:00.071-05:00

by Caitlín

Lacey Villiva from Ship 1176 in Springfield came to Occoquan today to teach a Rules of the Road class. Lacey needed to teach the class to meet her final requirement for the rank of Quartermaster, and we needed the class for advancement. We invited members of the newly-formed Ship 1115, also in Springfield, to join us for the course as well.

With five 7916 Scouts and six from 1115--along with several adult leaders--we had a good sized class, although we Scouts were a little unresponsive to Lacey's questions. Lacey used little movable paper boats to demonstrate which boat was the stand-on vessel and which was the give-way in different situations, and circles of colored paper to show navigation light combinations. I think the signal we all learned fastest was for an unmanned vessel, easy to remember by the rhyme "Red over red, the captain's dead."

To conclude, we did some practical demonstrations of rights-of-way. Rebecca and I began by portraying two power boats in a crossing situation (we failed on the first try). Everybody got a turn navigating the VFW hall floor while representing sailboats on various tacks, a tug pushing a barge, and other vessels.

The class was beneficial in many ways; Lacey meeting her final Quartermaster requirement, everyone probably learned at least one new thing, we got to meet the Scouts from Ship 1115, and the 1115 adult leaders networked with ours.

Thank you very much, Lacey!

Youngest Solo Circumnavigator?

2008-12-19T19:12:00.005-05:00

Cool! This reminds me of when I followed Robin Lee Graham's adventure in National Geographic as he circumnavigated the world, and later reading his book about it, Dove.

"From the first day Zac Sunderland said hello to planet earth, it seems he was destined to live the sailor's life. Brought home from the hospital to his first home, a 55' Tradewind in Marina del Rey, California, he was assigned his first bunk and listened to his mom tell the world of his birth over a single side-band radio...he never looked back."

According to Zac's Blog, he is now in South Africa.

Thanks to my mom for the newspaper clipping.

Men Sail Raft Of Trash Across Pacific In 3 Months

2008-11-27T10:19:00.007-05:00

A CBS station reportsthat two men sailed a Raft Of Trash Across Pacific In 3 Months to "raise awareness of ocean debris," and once ashore asked, "Where's the food?" The two are researchers with the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. They had previously completed a mission "to survey quantities of plastic junk in the North Pacific." and observed that, "housands of miles from land, our ocean is slowly, steadily turning into a massive bowl of plastic soup." According to the Worldchanging blog, Algalita's Director of Research and Education Dr. Marcus Eriksen is a veteran junk raft builder, a Gulf War veteran, and has witnessed firsthand the true cost of our petroleum addiction. He asserts that "We’re destroying our marine ecosystems with throwaway plastic products. This is both morally and ecologically wrong. The age of disposable plastics must end now.” Then came the idea to build Junk–"a raft made from 15,000 plastic bottles and a Cessna 310 fuselage—and sail it from Long Beach to Hawaii." You can read details of the journey here.

Thanks to my mother for alerting me to the story by sending a newspaper clipping.

"Buy Popcorn, Support Sea Scouts!"

2008-11-08T16:56:00.084-05:00

by Caitlín

This morning a handful of Scouts and adults unloaded a lot of popcorn and set up in front of the Woodbridge Wal-Mart. We hoped to get all the stuff off our hands so we wouldn't have to re-load it and no one would have to have it take up space in their house.

At first we were all sort of shy about going up to people and asking them to buy popcorn, but after fifteen minutes or half an hour, we got bored and tired of people hardly looking at us and decided it was time to get down to work.

"Excuse me, ma'am, would you like to support Sea Scouting today?" we asked, handing them fliers that listed the different kinds of popcorn and information about ordering online.

Still, most people shied away or muttered "no thanks" as they passed, heads down and not meeting our eyes. It was discouraging when after an hour of advertising we had yet to sell anything.
Part of the problem might have been that the Salvation Army and the VFW (our sponsor) happened to be there, also taking donations, so people had already given by the time they got to us. Also, as David pointed out, people are probably "Scouted out" by now because popcorn sales have been going on all summer.

We got into a real popcorn-selling frenzy for a while, giving away fliers right and left (Daniel got the award for most fliers handed out) and calling out to people to "Buy popcorn, support Sea Scouts!" But it got to be lunch time and we were all hungry and getting tired of standing around and saying the same things over and over again.

David arrived as a reinforcement, and his little sisters really got into advertising. They fought over who got to hold which sign and wear the corn hat, and the two of them (in the first photo) attracted a lot more attention with the signs than our display did.

One gentleman who used to be a Boy Scout bought a tin and said his tour bus company would give us discounts, so if we ever need to go on long trip....
Another couple walked up and said, "How much popcorn can we get for $100?"
"You can get a lot of popcorn," David replied. They ended up buying $98 worth of popcorn and trail mix, our largest purchase by far, and probably the largest we'll ever have.

In total we made $280.00, which is really good, and much better than our first attempt to sell popcorn at the Occoquan Arts & Crafts Show, but at 2:59 p.m. we had a second-by-second countdown until it was time to start packing up.

There is still popcorn left, but not huge amounts like before. Maybe we can sell the rest of it in one more day of fundraising.

Not Your Traditional Halloween

2008-11-03T08:26:00.007-05:00

by Caitlín

Everyone should know that Sea Scouts are too old to go trick-or-treating, so we didn't. Instead we celebrated Halloween by going to the schooner Sultana's annual Downrigging Weekend in Chestertown, MD. I had tried to get a large group together to go, but a lot of people already had plans or just weren't interested.

It ended up being just my mom, Daniel, Rebecca, and I going as friends and not making it an official Scout activity. After driving around and around trying to find Gus's un-find-able house, I finally made it there and took him to pick up Daniel, then met Rebecca and my mom at her office to leave from there.

Finally, only an hour later than we had planned, we started off towards Chestertown. As you can tell from Rebecca's quotes (yes, she's begun bringing her quotebook everywhere, and especially when Gus will be along), it was a pretty weird trip.

Driving up seemed very long. It didn't take as long to to Chestertown by land as it did by water in August when we visited Sultana on our Long Cruise, but of course sitting in a car wasn't as enjoyable as sailing up a river either.

Surprisingly, although there were quite a few people queuing up to see the ships, we found parking very near the dock. Over the rooftops, our first view of the ships: crossed spars, a tangle of rigging against a hurt-your-eyes-blue sky; tall masts topped with colorful pennants a proud reminder of the freedom of the open seas.

Rebecca and I headed straight to the ships, while the boys trailed behind acting unusually bizarre even for them (which they unfortunately kept up for the entire day).

First we went aboard Pride of Baltimore II:

And took lots of pictures of each other, sometimes at the same time...

My mom took one of me at the wheel, a companion to the photo taken at least eight years ago the first time I toured Pride.

A view up the ratlines.

We asked people to take our picture of us all at the wheel of every ship we toured.

Aboard the schooner Virginia:

At the helm of the Lady Maryland.

Lady Maryland's compass. (Notice the goldfish in the corners.)

Probably because she was the most ornate ship attending, there was a line to get on board the Kalmar Nyckel, but it gave me a chance to take a lot of pictures of the carvings and many colors on her hull.

Like the figurehead...

the huge anchor (I wonder if that would hold Amanda Grace?)...

and the rigging. One of the crew members told us as we waited that of the ships at the Downrigging Weekend, Kalmar Nyckel's rigging is the most complicated and does the least.

At the tiller (only it's not called a tiller, I just can't remember the proper name) of Kalmar Nyckel, which works...

...like this. The rudder is on the other side of the transom.

We looked around at other things at the festival and then tried to find somewhere to eat. The waterfront restaurants were all very crowded, but we found one little deli-style place, "Play it Again, Sam," across the street from the Sultana Center.

We sat outside and watched little kids run around in costumes, waiting for it to get dark. Even though the line was long, Gus and Daniel had to go back (separately) and get cupcakes, which they ate like a hobo and a barbarian, respectively:

Once it got dark, we went back to the docks to see the illuminated ships. But because the docks were roped off (I guess to keep people from tumbling into the water) we couldn't get close enough for our cameras to focus, so no pictures there.

But we did get photos of of the fireworks, but those aren't as interesting as a little video of one fifteenth of the firework display:

Quotes from Uniform Trip

2008-11-01T23:00:00.003-04:00

by Rebecca

Today a bunch of the scouts went up to Avenue, MD to get Winter Blues. We ended up not only getting the blues, but also getting the whites.

As usual, I had my notebook to write down quotes. Here are some of them.

"On every long cruise, everyone should have a nickname." "Let me say: 'NO!!" - Daniel and David

"Too bad Gus isn't here to hit on Caitlín." - Daniel

"I have more pictures of Gus than you." - Daniel

"She's writing down everything we say." - Mark

"Was that a yawn or a scream?" "It was a Daniel thing." - Adam M. and Caitlín

"Darn, I forgot to buy a gag for Daniel." - Caitlín

"Who said anything about killing?" - David

"What would happen if we left him on the side of the interstate?" - David

"Is that an Adam question?" "It's not an Adam question, it's THE Adam question." - Caitlín and David, in regard to Adam L.

"Your hair is just too strong." - Mark

"I once had too much cheesecake." "Is that possible?" "Yes." - Daniel and Adam M.

"You look like a scary clown." - Caitlín

"Are you bionic?" - Daniel

"Daniel, are you being creepy?" - David

"I think I'm actually speechless." - David

"Who votes for real music over Daniel?" - David

"I've run out of strength." - Daniel

"Oh my gosh, we're all going to die." "No, Daniel, not everyone, just you." - Daniel and David

David: [referring to Daniel stroking his chin] "Daniel, you don't have anything to stroke down there."
Daniel: "Yes I do."
David: "I see one [hair]."
Daniel: "There are six!"
David: "I shaved this morning and I already have more than six."

"You can sleep through death." - Mark

"He was trying to look like a girl." - Caitlín

"You don't have to worry about that. You already do, Daniel." - Adam M.

"I would say a girl or an emo guy, but then I realized they look the same." - Mark

"You have a muscle?" - Caitlín

"Anyone have a hair tie?" "No." "Whoa, what?" - Daniel, Adam M., and David

"We should attach a price tag to Daniel and toss him out." - David

"Good thing we don't have more than one Daniel." - Caitlín

"No, not dating. You're considering dating a Nazi." - David

"Why are we arguing about showers?" - Adam M.

"I love that smell." "Burning bags?" - Mark and Caitlín

"It's not dangerous. Ouch!" - Daniel

"I can do it with my head. Can you?" - Caleb

"You don't want to smell this hair." - Daniel

"We could probably throw Daniel on the fire." - David

"Do you think he will taste more like beef or pork?" "Chicken." - Mark and David

"I'm a mud Scout." - Daniel

Caleb: [Speaking to Mark, who was in charge of cooking:] "I can be your faithful sidekick."
Caitlín: "No, it's the 'galley slave,' remember?"

"Daniel is a weed." - David

"Daniel is not talking for once." - Caitlín

"It sounds like a duck." - Sarah

"Just don't wear it in public." - David

"I'm sorry, I won't say 'Hi' anymore." - Caitlín

"Daniel, do you want to pick out Gus's clothes?" "All right!!" - Caleb and Daniel

"You look like a little elf or something." - Caitlín

"Let me sleep in peace for petesake." - Daniel

"Oh no, not the hat!" - Adam M.

"I didn't know you all had things that small." - David

"I was listening to this song and thought it was a soup commercial." - Adam M.

Downrigging Quotes

2008-11-01T02:30:00.001-04:00

by Rebecca

This afternoon Caitlín, Daniel, Gus, Skipper Shay and I went up to Chestertown for the Sultana's Downrigging Weekend.

Here are some of the quotes that were said in the car on the way up and back. (There were more funny quotes, but I didn't write them down because we were on the tall ships.)

"I wish David was here so he could teach me The Irish Rover." - Daniel

"We're all going to die." - Daniel

"Daniel, what's wrong?" - Caitlín

"You know how glad I am that I'm not claustrophobic?" - Daniel (who was in the middle of the back seat, between Gus and me)

"Do these look like dog biscuits?" 'They are." - Caitlín and Skipper Shay

"Your ears perk up when you hear 'trouble'." - Skipper Shay

"You'll never guess my middle name." "Hamster!" - Skipper Shay and Gus

"Aflac!" - Gus

"What if the helicopter hits the bridge?" - Caitlín

"Oh, you bit me." "I just put my tooth on you." - Daniel and Gus

"I've never been to a full service gas station." - Caitlín

"This is a historic moment." - Skipper Shay

"My brains almost came out my nose." - Skipper Shay

Mason Neck Kayak Trip

2008-10-13T17:22:00.002-04:00

by Rebecca

This morning six scouts and three adults set off from Occoquan Regional Park in kayaks. They paddled for about two hours down the Occoquan and into the Potomac. Eagles were seen, including a golden eagle diving for a fish right in front of the group.

I think everyone had a good time, and those who had never been kayaking before really enjoyed it. The water was very calm, with no waves, current or wakes to worry about.

In my opinion, the highlight of the trip was seeing the Amanda Grace coming right towards us. We had only passed one motor boat, and as we were going under the I-95 bridge, we saw a sailboat (under power) coming up the river. I immediately recognized it as the Amanda Grace. When Skipper Shay called 'Ahoy Sea Scouts!', we all made a beeline towards the sailboat.

We will probably be doing some more kayaking trips in the future, so those who missed this event can go on some in the spring.

Amanda Grace Comes Home

2008-10-13T14:11:00.008-04:00

by Caitlín

Yesterday morning at 4:45 a.m., five dedicated members of Sea Scout Ship 7916 met at the Old Bridge Road/Route 123 commuter lot to drive to Lusby, MD and bring our favorite boat, Amanda Grace, home.

Captain John Ashton (far right) drove the Skipper, Mate Dan, Daniel, and me to Skipper Doug Yeckley's house and dropped off us and our load of gear.

The drive was long, and because of both the early hour and Daniel's famous ability to sleep at any time, anywhere, he fell asleep like a lump in the seat.

We arrived earlier than planned, so we hauled our food and supplies down to the edge of the water so we could ferry it out to Amanda Grace, anchored past the end of the dock.

Skipper Shay called Skipper Yeckley just before 0700 and asked which rowboat we should use, and he came down the hill to help us.

Mate Dan, Daniel, and I launched the boat (hard to do on the slimy, slippery rocks at the edge of the water), and rowed to Amanda Grace to open her hatches and begin the engine checks.

Three our four loads later, the gear, provisions, and crew were aboard, and Skipper Yeckley rowed out to show us the best places to anchor along our route and help us weigh anchor. We needed a fifty pound plow anchor to keep our mischievous Amanda Grace from wandering where she shouldn't.

Mate Dan started the engine and we prepared to haul in our anchor, but the stern line had become caught between Amanda Grace's rudder and hull.

So Daniel tried pushing it out with his feet. When that didn't work, Skipper Yeckley suggested that we try pulling the line from the starboard side, like so:

That didn't work, even with the line around the starboard jib sheet winch.

So Daniel had to almost fully submerge in the chilly water to pull the line free, and after he dried off Skipper Yeckley hauled his anchor up:

Finally we were ready to set off, through the mist rising from the still morning water and under a brilliantly blue sky. The wind didn't seem promising, but we hoped it would pick up--preferably from the East at 15-20 knots--once we were out on the Bay.

Mate Dan (who must, for this trip, be called "captain") was first at the helm, while Daniel and I raised our Ship flag.

Out on the Patuxent we were quickly passed by a lot of boats, which made our progress seem even slower than it was. As we went beneath the Patuxent Beach Road bridge, I snapped this picture of a warning on the bridge pier for Adam, because it reminded us of how he always wants to know if we're going to hit the bridge and what we would do if we did.

The wind speed had improved a lot, but we had to motor for quite a while before rounding Drum Point and putting the sails up.

When we first tried to set it, the Genoa sheet felt too tight, and was really hard to unfurl, even using the winch. Captain Dan went forward and untwisted the halyard from the forestay and then it worked perfectly.

We got a little bit of nice sailing in before the wind died back down and we had to turn on the engine to make good time. About then we were besieged with flies--many of which liked snacking on human flesh. One of the supplies we have yet to buy for Amanda Grace is a flyswatter, and every sailboat out on the Bay should have at least one.
The decks--both above and below--soon became so infested with flies that Daniel and I were both smacking them left and right and still there were too many.
Once, when a particularly large specimen was killed, the Skipper and Daniel had the following exchange:

Daniel: "I got him!"
Skipper Shay: "I see the big bloodstain!"
Daniel: "I see his dead body right there!"

It was really gross, but eventually there weren't as many flies. In the evening we had to wash the "carnage" off the deck so that we could sit without squashing fly bodies.

Daniel and I were employed in making lunch, which was seafood salad wraps, with tuna salad as an option if we ran out of the first. But we didn't know the tuna was not supposed to be in with the rest, so we mixed it all together. Then the tortillas were so torn up that we couldn't use them without salad spilling out, so Daniel had the idea of shredding them up and mixing them in, along with the lettuce.

We ate that with mismatched forks out the funky blue retro bowls my mom picked up at a yard sale. It mostly tasted like tuna, but it was okay.

After lunch I had a turn at the wheel, where I saw a trio of pelicans fly by (the first time I'd ever seen any in the wild) and mistook a tower for the green marker Captain Dan was talking about. So I cut closer to Point Lookout than I was supposed to, which took us through a field of crab pots that I had to carefully avoid because we didn't want the lines caught in our propeller.

We motored up the Potomac a looong way, until the moon rose and the sun set in a wash of oranges, yellows, lavenders and, later on, turquoise.

Eventually we got hungry, and making dinner was an experience because none of us had operated the alcohol stove before and it hadn't been used in at least six years. Earlier Captain Dan and Skipper Shay had tried it out to see if it worked at all, and flames shot up--and out beneath the stove, darkening a bit of the woodwork.

Because the alcohol tank was loosing pressure, cooking dinner took four steps:

1. Follow the directions on the box of Hamburger Helper and stir:

2. Continuously pump the alcohol tank (beneath the starboard quarter berth) so that there is enough pressure to have fuel:

3. Keep the flames from shooting up too high around the frying pan, although they licked the edges:

4. Add canned green beans, and it's ready to eat! Surprisingly the noodles were even soft:

Doesn't it look tasty? It actually wasn't too bad, if you like warm salty goop. I think a good word for it is "burgoo," while the Skipper described it as "Hamburger Helper stroganoff flambé."

The latch on the door to the head doesn't quite catch, and would open and close as Amanda Grace rolled, slamming each time. Daniel put his creative engineering skills to use and made this invention out of an extra PFD (Personal Flotation Device). We could open the door just enough to slip the PFD strap off the handle and open it, and do the reverse to close it. The contraption worked very well, and made sleeping much more peaceful.

Captain Dan decided to motor all night, with Skipper Shay to help keep him awake and watch for buoys. Daniel and I, however, fell into our berths fully clothed around 10:00 and didn't get up for several hours.

Monday, October 13th

I was wide awake at 3:30 a.m., when a life vest fell on my hand and woke me. I went up on deck, where Captain Dan was waiting for sunrise so he could be relieved at the helm. The morning light was slow in coming, and by the time it the sun rose Skipper Shay and I were in familiar territory; at Possum Point power plant, just downriver of Leesylvania Park and the Carefree Boat Club, from which we had our training sails.

Around 7:00 Captain Dan went below for an hour and a half of sleep, and the Skipper called COR Sanford to report on our progress. The sky was very pretty, with dramatic coloring.

The route from Leesylvania to Prince William Marina seemed surprisingly short, but we arrived later than our estimated 9:00 a.m.

Ahead, under the I-95 bridge, we saw a group of kayakers that looked familiar. As we got closer, we recognized members of our Ship, who were starting out on their Occoquan to Mason Neck kayak trip.

"Ahoy, Sea Scouts!" the Skipper cried, which raised a cheer from the small fleet. Skipper Shay told them about our galley fires, feasting flies, and sailing all night, and Rebecca called that her mom was taking pictures of us and Amanda Grace.
"And I'm taking pictures of you!" I shouted back.

Adam (M.), Caleb, and Mark came over to investigate more closely. It was, for a few of the kayaking Scouts, their first glimpse of Amanda Grace, and for others their first view since she started to look loved.

The boats continued on their way (Daniel had slept through the whole thing), and we very soon arrived at the Marina, to be met by Mr. Sanford, who was waiting on the dock with hot coffee and fresh doughnuts.

We wanted to pump out the tank for the head, but at first the pump-out station was not working, and when it did, we couldn't get the cap to the waste tank to unscrew, so that will have to wait until later.

We tied Amanda Grace up, and Skipper Shay made completed the first page of Amanda Grace's new logbook (right) before we went to the end of the dock to eat doughnuts.

We sat around chatting with Mr. Sanford for a while, and then we had to pack our gear up and clean up Amanda Grace a bit so that she would look pretty.

Captain Dan suggested that the October Quarterdeck meeting be held aboard her, and that it could double as a welcome home party for our special boat.

"Welcome home," Amanda Grace!

Petty Officer Traing Quotes

2008-10-06T17:53:00.000-04:00

Once again, those not on the cruise will not understand most of these quotes. Some of us that were on the cruise don't even understand some.

"I miss Kitty." - Skipper Shay

"We don't have Gus." - David

"I've always wanted to serve under Santa Claus." - David

"Annapolis is ten miles from Baltimore, but it will take us six hours to get there." - Skipper Shay

"He might as well be putting a flaming dog turd to his mouth." - Skipper Shay, referencing a man smoking a cigar

"I'm going to fill the role of both me and Gus on this ship." "Gus doesn't sing; we prefer Gus over you." - Daniel and David

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, oh!!" - Daniel

"Daniel's completely dead." - Caitlín

"Daniel, you're like a demented monkey." - Caitlín

"He's firmly rooted in the 19th century." "Ah, the days of his youth." - Captain Nichols and David

"Come on Daniel, beat your chest." - Skipper Shay

"9:21 and we're really sailing." - Caitlín

"Open your eyes before going down below." - Skipper Shay

"Are we going to hit the bridge?" "Only if you keep talking about it." - Adam and Skipper Shay

"Wake!!" "What?" "You're acting like a drunk person." - Daniel and Caitlín

"There we go, 6 knots. Much better." - David

"It's killing him now anyway." - Skipper Shay

"Geezo Flip!" "You need to email that to Sarah Palin." - Mr. Longhi

"We can periodically throw things at you if you want." "Yes, if they're dry." - Caleb and Mr. Longhi

"What's breaking the rules?" "Feeding David." - Adam and Caitlín

"You can't force homeschoolers to do anything." - Skipper Shay

"No wonder they're so cracked. They don't have a dollar's worth of salt." - Caitlín, about lame chips

"We got them from the dollar store." - Skipper Shay

"He usually chews through books." "3-5 knots is his normal speed." - Skipper Shay and David

"Sounds like a crocodile mating." (Indescribable sound coming from Daniel's mouth while it was closed.) - Skipper Shay

"You're the odd duck." "I'm not a duck!" - Skipper Shay and Daniel

"The Commodore's having too much fun this morning." - Skipper Shay

"Hey, I should try that. Knocking Scouts around." - Skipper Shay

"Gotta find a sharpie." - Skipper Shay

"Oh, I forgot Sea Scouts." - Daniel

"Doesn't Sea Scouts rule your world, Daniel?" - Skipper Shay

"Dating" "Girls" (Daniel coughs whenever these words were mentioned)

Sea Scout Mad Libs

2008-10-06T17:25:00.001-04:00

by Rebecca

These were done on the Petty Officer Training Cruise.

From a Mad Lib of the Sea Scout Promise:

As a Car Scout, I promise to do my best:
To guard against lip accidents.
To know the location and sweet use of the life saving devices on every Caleb I board.
To be prepared to render picks to those in need.
To seek to preserve the motto of the sea: Noses and Caitlín first.

From a Mad Lib based on Long Cruise Quotes (All names refer to the original quote.):

"There's always a bigger rutabaga." - Gus

"When we have to do the amputation, you're not going to be able to sneeze very well." - Skipper Shay

"There's a really big zipper on the dinghy. Oh, wait, that's Gus." - David

"I sometimes wish I was a potato." - Gus

"A helpful scout is a ducky scout." - Skipper Shay

"If you have anything disgusting, Gus will laugh it." - Mate Dan

"Everybody watch what you say, she's got her crack out again." - Daniel

"I like dust bunnies." - Gus

"I'm not good at pickpocketing rolling stuff." - Daniel

"Why are you pinching your spleen?" "I don't have anything else to do." - Daniel and Gus

"Gus, you don't have to eat your appendix, you can eat cookies." - Caitlín

"Did she taste like OCCL (over concentrated Crystal Light)?" - Gus

"That's the last hangnail you get from me, missy." - Skipper Shay

"Is there such a thing as bad ice cream?" "Yes, hash flavored." - Mate Dan and Skipper Shay

"Are you eating your nose hair again?" - Daniel

"That's girly tea." "It's tea that mops back." - Mate Dan and Skipper Shay

"Tell me that's not surreptitious." "That's not surreptitious." - Skipper Shay and Mate Dan

"I wonder what a jellyfish elf would shiver like." - Caitlín

"Did we run out of kitties?" "Yes, you ate them all." - Daniel and David

"Buy canned fried grapes at the dollar store." - Daniel

"No one else is fruity, it's just your imagination." - Gus

"My tonsils are 3.2 nautical miles apart." - David

"Mine are 3.1 nice leagues." - Caitlín

"Did Gus get attacked by dung beetles again?" - Mate Dan

"They're girls, you're never going to understand them, so just chew." - David to Gus

Lone Sailor Awards Dinner

2008-10-01T15:34:00.004-04:00

by Caitlín

Last night the Skipper and I attended the United States Navy Memorial's Lone Sailor Awards Dinner. We only had a week and a half of notice that we were going. At the last NCAC Wardroom Meeting it was announced that there were two spots still open at the table of ten that is donated annually to Sea Scouts. Everyone except for my mom and me was either already going or had attended previously.

So they talked talked us into going, even though at the time we had nothing suitable to wear. As a Scout, I technically should have been in dress whites, but we don't even have our work uniforms yet (but the delay isn't our fault; the Ship Store is relocating).

But Skipper Yeckley of Ship 458 (S.S.S. Sea Eagle) said he would send us some of the donated US Navy uniforms that could be converted to Sea Scout uniforms. Unfortunately they had not come by the time we left, so both the Skipper and I were in black dresses and heels.

We arrived at the National Building Museum (NBM) at 4:40, very early for a 6:00 dinner. I was not in the best of moods; I could hardly move my arms in my dress, my feet were already getting a bit sore from wearing heels (which my feet are completely unaccustomed to), parties are not my thing, and I felt stupid wearing a dress. But I tried to make the best of it, and fortunately enjoyed the evening a lot more than I expected. Not that I'd want to do that sort of thing all the time...but it was kind of fun.
(Right: The stage area, with two of the TVs and the fountain.)

After we checked in we went to our table (#77), which was faaar back from the stage area and behind a row of the immense pillars that soar to the ceiling. But several large TV screens had been placed around the room so that those who couldn't see the podium directly could watch the speaker.

We didn't see anyone else from our party, so we wandered around the building, checking out the decorations from the second level balcony (imagine trying to walk up and down the highly-polished brick stairs of the NBM in heels!) and trying to spot the other Sea Scouts who were coming. We took a total of four whole pictures before the batteries on our camera died. The man in the gift shop said there was a CVS a block away where they would have digital camera batteries, but we didn't think we would be able to walk that far in high heels.
(Above: The Sea Scout ad featured in the program, along with our table number.)

Luckily Rob Haas and Basil from Ship 1009 (S.S.S. Sea Devil) had recently arrived, and Mr. Haas offered to let us use his camera.

Steve Nichols--Captain of SSTV der PeLiKan--showed up much closer to 1800 hours, and soon after him came Andrew of Ship 1942 (S.S.S. Dragonlady). And then there was a lot of talking, eating the yummy little hors d'oeuvres brought to us by the waitstaff, and standing around, which I'm sure I would have enjoyed more if I hadn't been thinking, Oh my gosh my feet hurt!

My mom wanted to circle the room and see if there was anyone she recognized, so I went with her because I thought walking might help my feet a little. It didn't, and we saw no one she knew. When we got back to our group, we immediately sat down at one of the small tables placed around the reception and bar area.

It felt so good to sit (and slip my shoes off beneath the long gold table cloth!) that we remained that way until dinner was served. I talked with Andrew and Basil--neither of whom I know well--a little, and people-watched. There were people in all types of dress, from movie star-like to elegantly simple, to a couple pretty "unique" outfits.

Finally we were called to our tables to begin dining. At our table we met the liaisons between the gentleman who donates the table and the Sea Scouts themselves. Above right: Basil, me, and Andrew sit down to our very prettily laid out first course of, to quote the menu:

A savory Tomato Tarte Tatin Baked in a Puff Pastry Crust Served with Endive and Green Leaf Lettuces Drizzled with Basil Pesto Vinaigrette

French Dinner Breads,
Housemade Black Bread with Raisins,
Madeleines and Cheese Straws Served with Sweet Butter

Except none of us really knew what we were eating until later in the evening when we read the menu. We were hungry, it was food, it was good, that's all that mattered. By the time the announcer said, "Ladies and gentleman, please go to your table so the ceremony can begin" four or five times to get everyone to sit down and stop talking, we were almost finished with our first course.

The colors were presented, an invocation was given, the National Anthem was played by the U.S. Navy Band, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited, and Rear Admiral Richard Buchanan gave the welcome. Awards were presented to United States Congressman Norman Dicks and John H. McConnell, and then we dined on:

Noisettes of Lamb marinated with Lavender, Oregano, Garlic, and Pinot Noir
Filets of Grouper seasoned with Basil and Shallot-infused Olive Oil, oven-roasted with freshly prepared pesto

Artichoke Bottoms filled with an Artichoke and Potato Puree

After dinner the representatives of A.G. Lafley and Arnold Palmer received their awards while we had a "trio of American classics" for dessert.

Miniature Coconut Cupcakes dusted with Red, White and Blue Sprinkles, Miniature Chocolate Cheesecake topped with Cherries, and Miniature Apple Crisp

The little circle on the right is not, as I first thought, a pog. And it was edible, as we three Scouts discovered after suspicious examination. It was actually white chocolate, with an image of the Lone Sailor and "United States Navy Memorial" printed on it.

A bit after dessert was finished, it was finally time for the closing remarks, and I think we were all ready for them. Some of the speakers were more interesting than others, but it had been a long evening and personally I was about ready to fall asleep at the table.

Before we parted ways, the group of us said we'd see each other in January at Winter Training.

Basil, myself, Andrew, Steve Nichols, and Rob Haas. Notice that somehow my mother escaped being in any photos.

Raven Canoe

2008-09-29T19:18:00.000-04:00

"On June 19, 2008, The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and the Sealaska Heritage Institute held a formal naming and welcoming celebration for a new ocean-going cedar log canoe that has been especially carved for inclusion in the new Ocean Hall at the National Museum of Natural History."

I learned about this cool boat from the latest issue of the e-newsletter, Anthropology at the Smithsonian, then Googled for this online article:

Tlingit Canoe Plies the Waters of Our Nation's Capitol

"A traditional Tlingit cedar canoe journeyed the Potomac River in Washington D.C. The 26-foot canoe, carved by Tlingit artist and Sealaska shareholder Doug (Kevin) Chilton was gifted to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History."

Photo credit: Smithsonian Institution, Donald Hurlbert

Popcorn Selling

2008-09-27T10:32:00.002-04:00

by Caitlín

This morning we conducted our first BSA popcorn sales at the annual fall Occoquan Arts & Crafts Show. The VFW was kind enough to let us use the spaces next to their front steps and hot dog booth to set up displays of the tins and hold signs so that we didn't have to pay for a booth ourselves.

Part of our agreement was to also help the members of the VFW staff their hot dog and drink stand, but they really didn't need much help. Adam was the only one of us who was on food duty.

At right is what we first used to draw Craft Show visitors towards the table (marked by the balloons and "Support Scouting" banner in the background) filled with every different kind of popcorn and information about our Ship. Me, Sarah, and Peter show off our first dollar--which was a donation.

After a while with almost no interest in the popcorn--even with us saying "Good morning!" to every passerby--we brought the banner down to the side of the street, too.

When that didn't catch people's attention, we tried making more signs from the flaps of the cardboard boxes that the popcorn tins came in. Peter was occupied doing that, so Sarah and I were the only ones holding the banner and greeting people.

There were also several comments muttered about, "Why are girls selling Boy Scout popcorn?"
Sarah thought they didn't notice our shirts (here's a time when true uniforms would help a lot!), and that it we should turn around so people could see the larger, more eye-catching text on the backs of our T-shirts. The Skipper said, "Turn around? What if we turn the banner around and write on that?"

So Skipper Shay wrote on the nice blank reverse side of the banner that we were specifically Sea Scouts and that it's a co-ed branch of the BSA for youth ages 14-21. It wasn't as colorful as the printed side, but it explained our purpose much better than a photo of a very young boy in a "dirt Scout" uniform. Trail's End (warning, music begins abruptly on their site) really should make a popcorn banner that includes both Venturing Scouts and Sea Scouts, pictures both boys and girls, and features older Scouts.

Our new banner caught a little more attention, and we got a lot of amazed exclam-
ations of "Sea Scouts!" as if people didn't believe we existed or something. Or probably they'd never heard of us, as Sea Scouting is the "best kept secret in Boy Scouts." There was one girl seemed very interested in our program and took a flier with contact info and more information, so hopefully we'll at least gain a new member!

But despite people noticing us, business was still so slow that Sarah, Adam, and I were counting the minutes until we could go home. Or at least until our relief came, which was supposed to be David and Daniel. David was sick and didn't really feel up to being there, and Daniel had to attend a school function and that caused him to arrive an hour late for his shift, so it was still pretty much me and Sarah running the show.

A few people did buy popcorn, and several others, including Mayor Porta, said they would buy it later online so that they didn't have to carry it around town. A couple people came up and asked about prices, but after finding out how much it cost they said they were sorry they couldn't help out.

In four hours we made a total of $75.00 (most of which was in donations), while at the car wash we made over $300 in the same amount of time. Hopefully the popcorn-sellers will do better tomorrow--maybe a fresh crew will help.

To support Sea Scout Ship 7916, www.OrderPopcorn.com and enter this code: TEYQBZ7. You can also send $25.00 worth to the men and women fighting overseas--with 70% of the proceeds still supporting our unit--by clicking "Other Treats" and then "Military Donation."

Open House

2008-09-24T16:03:00.002-04:00

by Caitlín

Yesterday evening Sea Scout Ship 7916 held its first membership open house. I thought we did rather well for the little formal planning we put into it, although there wasn't as large a turnout of prospective members as I had hoped (but then I was a little late in getting some of the publicity blurbs out).
I arrived early with my sister and my friend Chelsea to help Skipper Shay set up. Rebecca and her mom had come very early, and almost all of the other Scouts who came showed up soon and brought with them food and display items.

There's no real story to tell here, so some photos instead. The lighting in the VFW is really horrible for picture-taking, so they came out a bit grainy and everyone has red-eye:

Chelsea (on the right) and my sister Laurel put up a Venturing Advancement poster. (They did not like their pictures being taken, can you tell?) We had the most frustrating time trying to get the poster and chart--which had both been rolled up for however long--to lie flat. We ended up using a lot of tape.

No one noticed me taking this shot until it was too late. Skipper Shay explains what needs to be done to set up for the team-building activity Mate Dan planned.

Light refreshments were provided, including snacks, soda and other drinks from David's family, muffins from Rebecca's, and cupcakes from Gus's.

Everyone schoomzing.

Eight people were randomly assigned to either Alpha or Bravo team, with David and me as the leaders. Each team had to pick a container of "toxic waste" out of the middle of one 9'x9' square and move it--without touching it--to a second square using the supplies provided or stepping inside either square. Here, Alpha team (David's crew) lowers their invention down to the container.

David right where he likes it best; in the center of everyone and making them laugh.

This slide show I made--showcasing some of the best photos taken in our first year of being chartered--played throughout the evening to give visitors an idea of what we do.

2008 Long Cruise

2008-08-25T10:17:00.011-04:00

by Caitlín

Monday, August 18th

It was so amazing to get ready to go sailing in Maryland and not have to get up at the crack of dawn to be there in time like usual. We arrived at Henderson's at noon to unpack, get settled, and arrange some plans for tomorrow, so we had to leave Woodbridge at only 10:30 or so.

Rob Marks, the Scout joining us from Ship 306, was already aboard and had opened the boat up and turned on the reefer (refrigerator) so it could begin to cool down.

Once aboard we had to stow the food was, place our gear temporarily in either the aft cabin or the V-berth, raise the colors (me cleating off the American flag, above left), and fill our drinking water supply.
The engine needed to be checked, and we had a boat orientation. We also, without anyone but the Skipper and myself knowing, conducted a hand-washing experiment.
Skipper Shay put the Glo-Germ, a lotion that mimics the transferring behavior of germs, on her hands (and mine), and then we waited. Reading, talking and, in my case, writing in my notebook, passed the time.

The wind was perfect, but as our captain isn't arriving until tomorrow, we could only sit and watch a lot of sailboats go by on beautiful tacks with their rails almost buried.

Rebecca made a vegetarian chili for dinner, which only needed heating up, but unfortunately we could not get the stove to work, even with over-the-phone advice from Captain Nichols. But the chili tasted good eaten cold. Thank goodness something like spaghetti wasn't planned for tonight, because that would be really hard to eat raw. Yummy chocolate-chip cookies were for dessert, with entertainment by Gus (above) and Daniel, dancing to the Numa Numa song, played on Gus's iPod.

After dinner, Skipper Shay revealed her long-anticipated surprise to everyone. I had warned them not to be too excited, but they didn't seem to take me seriously. But I think they were disappointed when their crazy Skipper only turned off the lights and brought out a tiny black light. I don't think they were too impressed, except Daniel seemed pretty interested. I had seen it before, and still find it gross to think about all the real germs that are on doorknobs and things.

Almost everyone slept to sleep on deck tonight because it was nice out. Us girls got the cockpit and the boys either slept on the bow or on the upside-down dinghy at the stern (that was Gus because he's so weird).

Tuesday, August 19th

I don't think anyone got much sleep last night. There were too many ducks around that wouldn't stop quacking all night, and one board of the dock right near der PeLiKan was coming off and kept squeaking against the other boards. But we woke to a lovely west breeze and a building on fire. Not really, but the rising sun reflected off the glass of a sky rise and made it look like it was in flames.

Daniel and I had an adventure making pancakes for breakfast. The stove actually worked, but our batter-mixing technique didn't. Daniel brought a special mixing container, but apparently we forgot the shaken-baking soda experiments we'd all done when we were little, because we put the top on and shook it and then this happened:

Sticky flour paste all over the galley, what a fun mess to clean up!
The first pancakes came out underdone or a bit black, because the gas on the burners is touchy. But we eventually figured it out and had two skillets going at once to improve time. Everyone was so impatient to eat, but I thought they should have been happy the stove actually lighted.
There weren't that many pancakes, so Daniel made canned beef hash for the first time. I did not brave a taste because to me it looked and smelled disgusting, but the Skipper did try it, and said it tastes like it smells.

Just after the brief meeting the Boatswain of the day (David) held to determine whether cooks should also be galley cleaners (it was voted they should), Rebecca started writing down things people said, to save as humorous quotes (click to read the best ones). She took much delight in it, but not everyone was happy about being recorded. Daniel even stopped talking completely for a while. People who weren't on this cruise definitely won't have a clue what we're talking about.

Captain Nichols soon arrived and Aaron and I were sent to the parking lot to greet him and help haul his gear. (Me with one of the marina's carts, left.)
Then it was time to make at least some kind of plan for where to go and when. I suggested that we go visit the schooner Sultana, which--as the Skipper pointed out in her comment on the last post--would actually be in Chestertown at some point during our cruise. Since nobody had any strong opinions on doing something else, I called the Sultana Projects, Inc. line to confirm that we'd actually get to see her.

Speaking with Drew McMullen, President of Sultana Projects, I learned that the Sultana would be in port all day tomorrow, but sailing from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. For some reason I had assumed that tours of the Sultana were given, and was disappointed to learn that we would only be able to view her from the dock. But when I mentioned that we were a Sea Scout Ship coming as a group, Mr. McMullen became even more enthusiastic and said he could give us a tour tomorrow at 9:00. What a cool opportunity!

We decided to spend today going up the Chester River and anchoring there overnight before sailing on to see the Sultana tomorrow morning.

Plans after that were hazy besides that we would probably visit Annapolis, but we cast off the lines and got underway. The wind was blowing us right back into the dock, so we had to walk the boat back and swing the bow out, then bring the stern line back aboard.

As usual we motored out past the Francis Scott Key bridge before we started sailing. We got a good look at the skipjack Sigsbee (above) just before going beneath the bridge.

Around 1:00 (or 1300 hours) we finally put the sails up, but are still motor-sailing to make better time. Rebecca and Rob plotted our course for the day, but we rotated duties, so they also took turns at the wheel, adjusting the jib sheets, and on lookout.
While I was off duty, I either wrote in my notebook, or watched the waves leap to caress the hull, then sink back and gurgle the rest of the way down der PeLiKan's side.

It wasn't until about 3:00 that we killed the engine and could sail, but that only lasted for roughly 40 minutes before we changed course to go up the river and the wind died.
Two more hours of motoring and we arrived at Comegys Bight, the only named bight on the Chesapeake. You would think that if there are more than one of them (and I think there are around five), they would all be named because, as Captain Nichols explained, bights are a very useful thing. Quoting Wikipedia, "Traditionally explorers defined a bight as a bay that could be sailed out of on a single tack."

Rebecca, Mate Dan, and I lowered the anchor, then Aaron and I (with David's help) plotted tomorrow's course for Chestertown to Annapolis while Rebecca and Skipper Shay went for a swim (despite the jellyfish, they did not get stung). Daniel and Gus cooked spaghetti, then the boys played poker, and we watched a beautiful sunset (above) off the port beam.

After retiring the colors, it was time for the on-board Quarterdeck meeting. We decided that we all think the Amanda Grace should be brought down to Woodbridge and not given to the Carefree Boat Club for a similar arrangement as with Takin' it Breezy. She's ours!

Once that was over with we just relaxed while Gus pretended to drink his own blood. It was actually Kool-Aid powder that he apparently liked to eat and for some reason started licking it off the back of his hand. I imagine it tasted something like a Pixie Stick.

We didn't stay up that late because we had to get up early to make Chestertown in time tomorrow, but we all slept much better because it was so quiet there. A couple more people than last night ended up sleeping below because the wind had picked up just before dinner and it became pretty darn chilly for sleeping on deck.

Wednesday, August 20th

This morning we were woken up way too early and it was so cold! Everyone who brought long pants with them (and wasn't trying to be macho) wore them--plus sweatshirts.
(Aaron's method of keeping warm while at the helm, right.)

We went with the tide and were doing 5.5 knots, even at only 1500 RPM, but I still wish we could have been sailing up the river. Along the way the lookout spotted an iceberg, so of course the Skipper took a picture of it. In case you couldn't guess, it's not really ice, only an inflatable one that's part of an aquatic obstacle course.

We got our first glimpse of Sultana from the water, on our way to the public docks. Isn't she pretty? The lighter colored mast behind her belongs to the skipjack Elsworth.

It was a good thing there weren't many people around to see us dock, because it wasn't especially nice. der PeLiKan has two anchors, the larger of which, a Danforth, is kept on the portside of the bow--partly because the captains of der PeLiKan like to tie up on the starboard side. But this time Captain Nichols decided to dock on the portside, and the anchor became hung up on one of the pilings. So we had to back up enough to let it slip off.

Mr. McMullen--who is extremely knowledgeable about everything to do with Sultana--met us aboard and gave us a really interesting tour of her and told us a lot about her history. This replica is very exact, because when the original schooner (built as a merchant vessel) was bought by the Royal Navy to use as a tax-enforcement vessel, and the British Admiralty made a complete survey of her including detailed drawings. The swivel guns mounted on the rails are even made from casts of Royal Navy guns of the time period.

It was seriously cool, and I can't wait to come back for the Downrigging Weekend (or on a sail any other time!), but Mr. McMullen had a long-planned meeting he had to attend and the tour was much shorter than it could have been if we had time to learn everything we wanted to know.
Everyone who wanted to got a turn trying out the special pulley system for the tiller, as David is doing on the right.

After Mr. McMullen left we took some more pictures of Sultana and the neighboring Elsworth from the dock, and then explored Chestertown for an hour.

As Rebecca and I wandered we stumbled across...
Since we're the S.S.S. Blue Heron, of course we must take a picture in front of the Blue Heron Café.
We didn't even spend a whole hour in Chestertown. It's a cute little town, but there really isn't that much to see and the Sultana Center wasn't open yet. So Rebecca, Rob, David, and I went back and sat on a bench near der PeLiKan.
Mate Dan and Gus found something a little more interesting; they chipped in and bought two boxes of Dunkin' Donuts for us to eat after lunch.

After our more graceful departure from the dock, we motored down the river to the Bay and held School of the Ship on the way, including learning about how to use the VHF radio, safe swim defense, and working on knots required for advancement.
(Rebecca concentrates on tying a knot, left.)
I was proud that I understood some of the knots right away, and figured a few out before Gus did, so I showed him how to tie them.

We actually sailed (with no help from the engine) on the Bay for a little while before we had to bring the sails in to go under the Bay Bridge. It's not that you can't sail underneath it, but the winds are unpredictable, so Captain Nichols likes to motor and have more control over the boat.

Through the bridge we went to City Dock in Annapolis and picked up mooring #2, between the Wild Goose III and the Wind Whisperer and near a cutter-rigged catamaran, something I had never seen before.

Before we could go to shore, we needed to flip over the dinghy, put it in the water, and attach the motor to it. Plus Captain Nichols was tired of having the plastic registration plates on the sides break, so he enlisted us Scouts to help paint the numbers on either side with special "inflatable boat paint." I never would have guessed there was such a thing.

Daniel and his dad held the boat at a good angle, while I got the job of painting each number. It wasn't hard, but we only had taped paper stencils, so parts of the numbers and letters got a bit drippy or sloppy.

Rob had to leave, so after our dinner of mac and cheese, we made multiple trips in the dinghy to go ashore and see him off. And to get ice cream from Storm Bros, get a new power inverter from Steve Alexander (because the one aboard broke), and take showers! Being clean was definitely highly anticipated by some of us.

Since Commodore Alexander was there to drop off the inverter anyway, he joined us for ice cream and pointed out the Elf, a topsail sloop from 1888, which is docked in Annapolis and in beautiful condition--especially when you realize she's 120 years old (unfortunately, we did not get any pictures).

Thursday, August 21st

We had originally planned to spend just one night in Annapolis, but this morning we got up and learned that the pump-out boat would not be available until after 12:00, and there wasn't supposed to be much wind today. So we decided to spend another night in Annapolis and try to get some real sailing in tomorrow since the forecast was for 10-15 MPH winds.

Breakfast was an approximate 1.333333 eggs (with American cheese) for each of us, because David divided a dozen eggs between 9 people. Skipper Shay talked the galley slaves into adding fruit cups, and Captain Nichols also cut up the leftover doughnuts so everyone had some.

For stuff to do today we went to the U.S. Naval Academy Visitor Center and looked around, and Gus imitated the stoic pose of one of the mannequins depicting Naval uniforms.
We didn't spend that long there, as we didn't have enough time to take the 75-minute tour of the whole academy and unless you do that, there isn't a whole lot to see.

We wanted to get food at a fully-stocked grocery store, so we planned to walk to the nearby Safeway, which after probably a mile of walking, turned out not to be that nearby at all. It was at least as far we'd already come again. So we just went to a Rite-Aid, which was over-priced, but at least it had a bit more selection than we would find at a 7-Eleven.

I guess we looked like a sea of navy blue while we walked around town, and between that and my mom and Mate Dan's leader uniforms, we received quite a few looks. One couple even said,"Sea Scouts, cool!" and even knew where Occoquan is located.
Just wait until the Scouts get our real uniforms with the patches and everything, then I'm sure people will pay even more attention.

Aaron was the next to leave us, because he'd either sprained or dislocated his shoulder the night before--and had not told anyone. When he finally did tell, the Skipper called his mom and she wanted him to come home. So she arrived to pick him up just after we came back to the dock with the groceries.

Gus really wanted to go to the Ninja Café, a Chinese restaurant he'd seen the night before (and you should have seen the look on his face when he noticed it). Although he was disappointed that they did not serve General Tso's chicken, he bought some shrimp toast, which he declared "super!"

The rest of us ate grilled cheese, and then the head-pumping-out boat arrived. Eew, it smelled gross. Thank goodness I was not one of the ones chosen for handling the hoses.

Then it was time for School of the Ship, and then we got to wash the hull. That was actually pretty fun (especially when the knot in the rope tied to one of the buckets came apart and dumped water all over Gus), and something different to do. And after we were done, Captain Nichols said it looked a lot better, even really getting it sparkling has to be done when der PeLiKan is on land.
First David, Rebecca, and I climbed into the dinghy and Daniel and Gus were on deck holding the lines to keep us from drifting away. It was pretty awkward because the dinghy is just not that big, and as we tried scrubbing, our movements pushed us away from the hull. David started out rinsing by throwing buckets of water in the general direction of the boat, but stopped after Rebecca and I shrieked at him for getting us and the bottom of the dinghy wet.

We washed the stern and the whole portside, then Gus, Rebecca, and Daniel did the starboard side. In the middle of that, a Boston Whaler dinghy (so much nicer than an inflatable one!) came by filled with Sea Scouts from another Ship! Captain Nichols had seen a previous load of them going by earlier, and waved to them frantically because it is really rare to meet another unit while on the water. They saw our Ship flag, and came over to say hello.

Then their Skipper came over to talk with the adult leaders, and we learned that Boy Scout Troop/Sea Scout Ship 37 is from New York, and though their Troop has been around for a while, their Ship is only 2 months old. What's funny is that they already have uniforms, while we've been chartered a year next month and are still in T-shirts. Skipper Ken Reichner invited us to a "campfire" (no one could think of an equivalent Sea Scout word) they were having at 9:00 p.m., which would include singing and food.

It was very unusual, and while we ate ice cream without her, our wonderful Skipper even washed our worn-too-often-in-a-week Ship shirts for the occasion. Since the other Ship's dinghy is bigger, they came and picked up as many as would fit and then Captain Nichols also brought der PeLiKan's dinghy over with two more from our Ship.
Ship 37 does not have any boats of its own yet, so they have two charters. We met on the 39' 3rd & Final, which really is not big for however many people were on board. The first activity was camp songs (which I don't know any of, having never been a Girl Scout, nor attended summer camp). I think the other unit's enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming for some members of our Ship, but it was fun. David sang The Irish Rover for us (above right), and led us in Yellow Submarine--which none of us actually knew all the words to, but oh well.

Next was a short little dance party below deck. It was very crowded, and Gus went above to sit at the bow and "be emo." I decided to join him because I needed some fresh air, and soon a sudden flood of people came up also. We snacked on watermelon, told stupid jokes and stories, and just hung out.

Left picture, left to right: Daniel, Rebecca, me, Søren (aka "Sir" because no one can easily pronounce his real name), the side of Gus's head, the back of Ian's head, Rachel's eyes, and the back of David's head.
It's lucky there are any pictures at all of this, because do you know how bright a camera flash is in the pitch dark? You can't see for several seconds after the flash goes off, but at least two people kept on taking pictures.
Everyone in the above picture and some others exchanged email addresses, and we hope to see them again sometime. Maybe at January's winter training at Catoctin Mountain Park, if they feel like driving that far.

Thursday, August 22nd

Going to sleep around midnight and being awakened by your skipper at 6:00 a.m. is not fun. I had galley duty today, and began making French toast early.
Unfortunately, that meant that I missed when Ship 37 came by in both the Wind Dancer and 3rd & Last, to salute us goodbye and hand over their extra watermelon (somehow no pictures were taken of that, either). Their cruise was ending today, so they had previously stopped by in the dinghy to give us what they hadn't eaten.
We especially liked the watermelon and lettuce, because we'd had about three bags of salad that were frozen from being put in the coldest part of the reefer, our fruit supply was down to 1 banana, and we were feeling a little starved for something fresh.

We set sail for Saint Michael's, MD this morning, and it will take us 6 to 8 hours to get there at an average of 3 knots.

Once we were underway, Captain Nichols showed us how the knot-meter works (he usually uses a GPS now), because someone in the unit had been curious. It's basically a little wheel which, as it turns, creates magnetic charges each time one of the magnet-wielding paddles passes a stationary magnet. Before he put the knotmeter in the water, we tried spinning it with our hands to see how fast we could make it go, but we couldn't keep it at an consistent enough pace, and the helmsman reported a speed of "lots of different numbers."

The wheel gets dirty with marine growth very quickly and needs to be cleaned often to keep it accurate--which is the main reason it is not used very much since GPS systems became readily available. To measure the knots, the wheel obviously has to be in the water, and it is placed below the waterline in the hole that is normally filled with a plug. Captain Nichols made sure he had everything ready before unscrewing the plug and putting in the knot-meter.
The Skipper got a perfect shot as water just began to leap through the hull and into the engine room.

Throughout the rest of the trip, we compared that meter with the reading the GPS gave, and it was pretty similar, off by maybe a fraction or two.

Gus had Boatswain duty today, and he had a hard time with it. Giving orders is just not his thing, and he really wanted to help do stuff, but the Boatswain isn't supposed to do any physical work.

Arriving at Saint Michaels and anchoring near the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM), we put the oars on the dinghy so that we could each prove our ability to handle a dinghy to meet an Ordinary rank requirement. We decided the course would be a figure 8 around buoys 2 and 3. However, this was more difficult than it sounds, as inflatable dinghies are made to be rowed only as a last resort. Gus and Daniel went out first, and Daniel did pretty well, but Gus very nearly hit the green buoy. While they were rowing, a young boy--probably 10 at the oldest--also came out in an inflatable dinghy and rowed with ease. We thought he might doing it on purpose to show off.

I went out next, along with David, and while he was rowing three members of the Lyons family (Nicolas, Rheannon, and Debbie) from the neighboring boat came over to say hello. We had noticed their boat earlier because of its bright color, junk-rigged sails, and Captain Nichols' liking to test us on our abilities to tell ketches from yawls.
The family set sail from Wisconsin nine months ago, and designed and built the 39' Terrapin (shown below) themselves.

Noticing our rowing trouble, Debbie offered to let us try rowing their handmade dory. She and Nicolas climbed aboard der PeLiKan to visit with our Skipper while Rheannon went with Daniel and Rebecca as they tried handling a boat that was actually made for rowing. None of us rowed as well as the Lyons, but then we haven't had as much practice.

David went for a swim with the jellyfish, which thankfully made his feet smell better; I rowed as fast as I could in the dinghy so I could get away from them sooner. Then we ate the spaghetti I made for dinner, and then sanded the aft hatch. A lot.

Because the dinghy is usually kept over the hatch, there isn't usually a chance to sand and refinish the wood, but since the boat was in the water, we gave it a try. Even with 5 of us sanding madly, we only made a dent in removing the old finish. Eventually, after our arms were nearly falling off, Captain Nichols decided that we should just wait until an electric sander was available because it would be so much more efficient.

I spent a frustrating time this evening with David and Gus, charting out tomorrow's course for Baltimore. It was tiring for me because David, who was doing most of the work, wasn't communicating especially clearly to me. I was writing down the courses, buoy numbers, and distance, but he didn't tell me all of them. Plus, no one had explained navigating to Gus, who was completely lost, so, on top of writing things down, I was trying to help him understand.
We did eventually get it done, and then went straight to bed so we could get up early tomorrow and visit the Maritime Museum.

Saturday, August 23rd

(Today's sunrise.)

Rebecca--and especially Gus--also learned a lesson in making pancakes this morning: don't fill the pan half-full of batter. That was Gus's mistake, but Rebecca had the good sense to pour the batter back into the bowl, leaving only a few small strangely-cooked bits in the pan. The flapjacks they made later were fine, though.

While Rebecca cleaned the galley, I, as Boatswain of the Day, had Daniel and Gus put the motor back on the dinghy so we could go ashore to the museum. We were a bit pressed for time, so we hurried to clean up, but when we arrived at the museum at 9:05, we realized it doesn't open until 10:00, so we decided to go shopping.

On our way around the outside of museum building, we found these painted photo-signs and snapped some quick photos:

Daniel the crab...

Caitlín the fisherman and Gus the fish. Silly, but funny.

We wandered around town and bit and went to the local farmer's market and the Acme, a genuine fully-stocked grocery store! They had fruit, and reasonably priced soda, so we bought some, but somehow the M&M's didn't get rung up or placed in the bag with the rest of our groceries, so we had to do without. :-(

David and Gus made a run back to der PeLiKan to deposit the food. We explored the lighthouse, and the different museum buildings--which being air-conditioned seemed almost too cold after living nearly a week without it.
There was too much to see in the few hours we had before we needed to leave, so we breezed through.

Right: Daniel, Gus, and Rebecca (plus myself, who took the picture) check out the below deck of a skipjack in the museum. It was really cramped in there, only two bunks and about a 3 foot ceiling.

Outside, we met up with the Lyons again. They were filling their water tanks in preparation to sail to Annapolis, and invited us aboard Terrapin. It was really cool; very well designed to maximize both storage and living space. While we talked with them below, Mike Lyons showed Mate Dan and Captain Nichols things above. When we left, David was saying how he wanted to build his own boat and live aboard it, and Gus said he wished the Lyons would adopt him.

Soon, it was time to board the dinghy, wave goodbye to the Lyons, and set sail for Baltimore. Or motor there, as was the case.
It being a weekend, the water is a lot busier than it has been the previous days of our cruise. When we saw that the line for boat fuel was two-deep, we decided to hold off until the marina on the other side of Kent Narrows Drawbridge.
On the way out to the open Bay, at one point we had seven power-
boats coming at us at once. The wakes were really fun to ride, though. Especially for Daniel and Gus, who were cleaning the mud off the anchor at the time. (The bow is usually the best place to be, in my opinion, but you also feel the wakes the most.)

I didn't take many notes today, but it was probably around 2:00 p.m. when we came to the Kent Narrows Drawbridge, and had to call the bridge operator to raise it up and let us through.
Gus was at the helm, and steered us safely through (looking back after passing beneath the span, right) and over to the dock to refuel and, once again, pump out the head tanks.

As gas prices are high, and der PeLiKan takes a lot of fuel, we spent...
...on diesel. The numbers are total cost, number of gallons bought, and price per gallon.

The Skipper must have found this outrageously shocking, because this is one of three pictures taken of the gas pump after fueling up. Fortunately the Ship only had to pay for half of it, the rest of it covered by Friends of Sea Scouts of Maryland.

After leaving Kent Narrows, we just motored for a looong time until we got to Baltimore. Within sight of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, we passed by a cargo ship from Egypt, and a cruise ship, from which the passengers waved. We didn't get pictures of those, either.

We arrived back at Henderson's Wharf around 7:00 p.m., which was a bit earlier than we had calculated. Some of us were a bit disappointed because we didn't get any real night sailing in, but it was probably good we came back earlier because then we had time to hold another Quarterdeck meeting to discuss plans for the Labor Day sail, which we'd forgotten to talk about on Tuesday.

The meeting was rather scattered--I think because we were all a little over-tired--but when we finally finished we played Mad-Libs that were pretty funny, such as this bit from one titled "My Dream Girl":

"The girl of my dreams has cautious blonde hair scented like signal flags. Her eyes are like two pools of Coca-Cola. And her lips remind me of noxious skipjacks."

During this time, Mate Dan played Master and Com-
mander: The Far Side of the World on his laptop. I had previously seen the movie and although finding it highly detailed, thought it mediocre in other aspects (Hello, where's the plot? How about emotions? Could we even come to care about the characters a little?). I enjoyed teasing him by saying, "Oh, I remember this part, it was boring." And then apparently Mate Dan thought it was boring, too, because here is what he did when watching it.

David said he wasn't tired, but soon he disappeared and when I next saw him he was on deck already asleep. He was so zonked he didn't even wake up when the helicopter with a searchlight whirred right over us. Not tired, indeed!

Sunday, August 24th

It was hard to get up this morning, as we lacked sleep and faced the knowledge that we wouldn't be sailing at all and only cleaning before going home.
We were slow to start, but brown sugar cinnamon and strawberry Pop-Tarts, plus some Skittles and M&M's from David's stash helped us wake up. Then David, the day's Boatswain, randomly assigned jobs using Skittles. Whomever pulled the yellow one out of his hand got the job of cleaning the head, whomever got the red one vacuumed the cushions, etc.
I volunteered to go first, thinking I'd have the best chance at getting something not-too-bad, but guess which one I got? The yellow one...the head. Eew.
It actually wasn't too bad, and wearing rubber gloves helped.

After the three of us had completed our major job assignments, David, Daniel, and I scrubbed the whole deck. David took control of the hose, which he used to "threaten" us to do things, but also to cool us off with a mist.
Clean up didn't take us long, really. We rose at 6:00 AM and finished cleaning and loading gear into cars and were on the road by 10:40.
The whole cruise did not seem like it had lasted a week--it felt more like a weekend--and I don't think any of us really wanted to leave; the sailing and company was just too fun, even after a week of being stuck on a boat together. I think that's remarkable, not wanting to scream at your shipmates to leave you alone after that amount of time together. (But on the drive home David played selections from his iPod that made me want to scream at him. Just kidding, it wasn't that bad--except for the Evanescence.)

If you have read the entirety of this very long post, congratulations. But I got it down to only 10 pages in Microsoft Word rather than the original 25 pages I'd written in my notebook.

Visit the Ship photo gallery, First Long Cruise Album to view more pictures taken during the cruise.

Long Cruise Quotes

2008-08-24T20:16:00.003-04:00

by Rebecca

Do you wonder what scouts (and leaders) talk about on a week long cruise? I have the answer right here.

These are select quotes from the week. A lot of them may not make sense to those who were not on the cruise. (Some don't even make sense to those of us on the trip.)

Tuesday:

"There's always a bigger fish." - Gus

"That's my line!" - Daniel

"When we have to do the amputation, you're not going to be able to walk very well." - Skipper Shay

"There's a really big lump on the dingy. Oh, wait, that's Gus." - David

"Daniel's actually going to be quiet." - Mate Dan

"I sometimes wish I was a girl." - Gus

"A helpful scout is a happy scout." - Skipper Shay

"Dog is quite tasty." - Skipper Shay

"If you have anything disgusting, Gus will eat it." - Mate Dan

"This is not going to be something we will enjoy." - Daniel

"Time to torture the scouts!" - Skipper Shay

Wednesday:

"Who's Willy Nilly?" - Gus

"Anchor fun, Aaron." - Skipper Shay

"Super Shay!" - Gus

"Everybody watch what you say, she's got her quote book out again." - Daniel

"Wake up Gus, wake up!" - Caitlín

"Daniel, wake up!" - Everyone (said multiple times during the trip)

"I have a question. When do we sail?" - Skipper Shay on the Sultana tour

"Rotten brain cells." "What?" - Skipper Shay and Daniel

"Gus is so funny." - Skipper Shay

"I like potatoes!" - Gus

"I'm not good at pickpocketing small stuff." - Daniel

"Why are you pinching your temple?" "I don't have anything else to do." - Daniel and Gus

"I like pie!" - Daniel

"Bunnies are best." - Gus

"How shallow is super shallow?" "2.7 feet." Captain Nichols and Mate Dan

"Did she taste like root beer?" - Gus

"I'm a little evil, but not that evil." - Daniel

"Geez, we shouldn't talk around her." - Daniel

"Isn't that what fishing is: an excuse to drink beer?" - Skipper Shay

"Have you licked the skin off yet?" - Skipper Shay

"He puts powder on his wrist, then eats it." - Caitlín

"Boater's foot. We're not sure we want to know exactly what that is." - Skipper Shay

"Tie an overhand knot around something." "Ok." (Caitlín pretends to do it around David's neck.) - David and Caitlín

"Just enjoy bossing the boys around." - Skipper Shay

"That's the last quote you get from me, missy." - Skipper Shay

"Is that the bathtub boat?" - David

"Is there such a thing as bad ice cream?" "Yes, bubble gum flavored." - Skipper Shay and Mate Dan

"Are you eating your hand again?" - Daniel

"Gus, you don't have to eat your hand, you can eat cookies." - Caitlín

"He was checking his eyelids for light leaks." - Captain Nichols

"You look like you're wearing lipstick." - Caitlín to Gus

"Scrambled brains and monster guts." - Skipper Shay

"It's the Ninja Café." - Daniel, Caitlín, Rebecca to Gus

"Boys, you're creeping me out!" - Caitlín

Thursday:

"The tropical mix has red stuff in it. That's the only difference." - David

"Girly tea." "It's tea that bites back." - Mate Dan and Skipper Shay

"Tell me that's not beautiful." "That's not beautiful." - Skipper Shay and Mate Dan

"For a moment I thought that was Gus in the boat." "His sneaking skills have improved." - Skipper Shay and Caitlín (A boat passing us had a person who looked like Gus)

"Most of the scouts are un-ironed." - Mate Dan

"Pump out boat, pump out boat, pump out boat, this is Der Pelikan." - Captain Nichols

"1.333333 eggs!" - Caitlín

" I wonder what a jellyfish elf would look like." - Caitlín

"Did we run out of cookies?" "Yes, you ate them all." - Daniel and David

"Do we have a dollar store around here?" "No, what are you thinking?" - Daniel and everyone

"Buy canned fried bananas at the dollar store." - Daniel

"Then you'll look like an alien and bleed to death." - Skipper Shay

"My shirt does smell funky." - Daniel

"I wish Rebecca forgot her pen." - Mate Dan

"The tentacles of the squid are the best part." - Daniel

"That tasted good. Although a few hours later, I threw up." - Gus

"Mushy, smooshy, cookies." - Gus

"Ha! Black socks." "Ha! White socks." - Gus and Caitlín

"The weather, not the company." - Skipper Shay

"So, because it's me, you're going to try the shrimp?" - Gus

"No one else is mild, it's just your imagination." - Gus

"Red delicious are disgusting." - Caitlín

"Amazingly David and I agree on something." - Caitlín

Friday:

"Point 1, Point 2, Point 3!!" - David

"If it's evil, eat it." - Skipper Shay

"The wings are not on fire." - David

"I've spent more time in the engine room than in the cockpit." - Captain Nichols

"This cheese is scary." - Caitlín

"Peace, love, gotta cut your hair." - Daniel

"So if I try to grab anything, I'll have to do it like this." (makes a gesture) - Caitlín

"No whining in the ship." - Skipper Shay

"The great big notebook of quotes." - David

"So next time you have a long cruise, the scouts will be in charge of everything. The adults will just sit here and watch." - Skipper Shay

"You were starved for a sailing experience." - Captain Nichols

"I'm always with the girls." - Gus

"If I'm lucky, it will scar." - David

"Your name's Kitty, so she should pet you." - Daniel

"It's covered in seagull poop. Don't touch it." - Skipper Shay and Caitlín

"Can I lick you?" - Gus

"I'm ready to set fire to this place." - Gus

"We're trying to make sure we don't crash into anything." - David

"My eyes are 3.2 nautical miles apart." - David

"Mine are 3.1 nautical miles." - Caitlín (about her eyes)

"Hello Kitty is crying." - Caitlín

"We're on a boat, it's rocking." - Skipper Shay

"We're sailing until midnight." - David

"Soup gloop sounds more appetizing than poop gloop." - Skipper Shay

"Three Crazy Ladies is one store." "Why add one more." Captain Nichols and Mate Dan

"Get the Sea Scouts to pluck it." - Skipper Shay

Saturday:

"Why is it wet?" - Gus

"Adults are creepy." - Caitlín

"Make me a steak." - David

"One of the two of them. Space cadets." - Skipper Shay

"Oh yeah, well my two rabbits are slightly more interesting than all of you combined." - Gus

"We don't care about the old members." - Caitlín

"Daniel is making weird monkey sounds." - Caitlín

"You have an extra bathtub?" - David

"They have four, but might have one and might have two." - David

"English is a stupid language." - David

"Bring your sister. I'll pay you." - Gus

"People are such idiots, I swear." - Caitlín

"Did Gus get attacked by ducks again?" - Mate Dan

"They're girls, you're never going to understand them, so just talk." - David to Gus

"I used to be a tree hugger, but then I decided it would be more fun to watch it all burn down." - Gus

"Massage your sleeping bag with a cow that has been soaked overnight in a sock full of warm Amp." Everyone doing a mad-lib

"The bride wore a long wet potato with goopy edging." Mad-lib

"When she enters a room, people always stare at her and say 'Frick!'" Mad-lib

Downrigging Weekend

2008-08-12T17:36:00.000-04:00

I wanted to visit the schooner Sultana as an activity to do during the Long Cruise next week, but unfortunately she'll be in Cambridge throughout, and not back to Annapolis until the day after.
But, while looking for that information I came across the Downrigging Weekend 2008 page and omigosh I want to go!

Several tall ships are attending--including the Kalmar Nyckel, Pride of Baltimore II, schooner Virginia, A.J. Meerwald, Lady Maryland--and there will be fireworks, a showing of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, a lighted ship display...and a dinner with members of the crews of said tall ships.

I think Sea Scout Ship 7916 should take a field trip, don't you?

Amanda Grace Sails!

2008-08-03T21:48:00.002-04:00

by Rebecca

On Sunday afternoon, Caitlín, Daniel, Rebecca, Stu, Skipper Shay, and Steve Alexander took Amanda Grace for another shakedown sail. This time she actually sailed.

We put our ship flag up and got the cabin organized while we were docked. Then we checked the engine. The first time we tried to start it, nothing happened. Captain Alexander checked the batteries, and found that a bolt was loose. As soon as he tightened that, the engine started and we were able to motor out of the marina, put the sails up, and enjoyed the afternoon on the water.

Everyone got a chance to be at the helm. About halfway through the sail, the flies started to swarm around our legs in the cockpit. Captain Alexander used the new chart to swat the bugs. We decided that we should have one fly swatter for each person on board.

The Amanda Grace is a great sailboat. She responds to the slightest movement of the wheel, and has good balance. We almost had the railings under water, but each time we tried, the wind would change. At one point, a power boat sped up when it got next to us, leaving a big wake. The Amanda Grace rocked from side to side, but held her course fairly well.

We all hope to have many more sails on Amanda Grace. Stay tuned for more updates.

Car Wash

2008-08-02T20:51:00.004-04:00

by Rebecca

On Sat, Aug 2, Ship 7916 had its first fundraiser. We held a car wash in the parking lot by Mom's Apple Pie Bakery in Occoquan.

The first hour or so was slow, but it had rained earlier in the morning, and was still sprinkling. The traffic picked up as the day went on. Sometimes we had three cars being washed at the same time.

All the scouts that were there took turns washing the cars, and some of us held signs up on Rt 123 to direct people to the wash. Caitlín and I found that jumping up and down while waving the signs really got people's attention. We even had one motorcycle come to the wash.

We raised over $300 over the 4 1/2 hour wash. One couple gave us a good donation just for washing the tires.

Overall, I think it went really well, and all the scouts know how to wash cars. (Remember: 'Start from the top' as Mike kept telling us.) And we all had fun, even in the heat. Everyone got a little wet, but no one got soaked.

"A Three-Minute Tour"

2008-07-26T18:24:00.000-04:00

Steve Alexander, Rebecca, Caitlín and I were set to take Amanda Grace on her first cruise in 6 years. The weather was gorgeous for sailing today, with a nice breeze...but we could not raise sails because the halyards had not been put back and we could not get the line through the pulley at the top of the mast.

We decided to take Amanda Grace out anyway, to put the engine through its paces, but discovered in preparation that the thimble had been cut off the end of the anchor rode and the anchor wouldn't have worked without it. So, thanks to Cap'n Alexander's patient tutelage and skill, Caitlín and Rebecca learned some marlinespike. They also cleaned out the anchor locker, and laid the rode in neatly.

The Volvo Penta diesel engine started and sounded beautiful for a "one-lunger." Cap'n Alexander reviewed proper procedure for helm commands and responses, then we cast off with Rebecca at the wheel.

Out in the main channel, Rebecca gave her half throttle, and in about a minute the engine temperature alarm went off. Even though Mr. Schmoker cleared the clog in the salt water cooling system, there is apparently not enough water coming through. So, the Cap'n shut her down, turned the boat about, and we sailed back under Bimini power. A three-minute tour.
Upon reaching our row in the dock, he turned us deftly, and then we used the boat hook and other boats' bows to crawl back to our slip.

Disappointing? YES!

Frustrating? YES!

Are we quitting? NO!

Breakthrough!

2008-07-24T00:07:00.000-04:00

Mate Schmoker generously and dedicatedly used his day off from Prince William Marine to burn precious gasoline and perform vital work on Amanda Grace's engine today. He blew the clog out of the cooling system with the hose, started her up and held his phone at the exhaust so I could hear the "blub, blub, swhoosh, swoosh" of the engine running and expelling water as it should and must. Amanda Grace's engine cooling system is flushed out and working! YAY!

Not that all is finished, though. Dan gave me two things to tend to on the next visit, since he says he has had enough of Amanda Grace for a while:

Check installation of strainer
Solve mystery of disconnected wire on top of engine

Cap'n Alexander and I are looking at a shakedown cruise this weekend, but won't have that set until tomorrow night after we discuss it during the Chesapeake Flotilla Sea Scout Wardroom meeting in Bethesda. I am inviting the most proven sailors among the scouts, who are also among the hardest working. They have earned special consideration.

This success is the result of uncounted hours of work contributed by Steve Alexander, Joel David, and Dan Schmoker. A round of grateful applause for Steve, Joel and Dan!

Beautiful "Blub, Blub, Blub"!

2008-07-21T02:45:00.000-04:00

Another run up to Herrington Harbour, this time to check out two boats in addition to another attempt to start Amanda Grace. After crawling through Sunday evening traffic snarled by an accident on the Wilson Bridge, my first stop was Quandary, a friend's Catalina 30. I'm trying to work out an owner-retained deal with her, so she can keep and use her boat, and we can have access to it on a regular basis. Oh, Quandary is nice! Standing on the carpeted deck below, my eyes roaming the cabin, I noted the accommodations and thought, "I could live on this boat!"

Next, a quick look at South 40, a Catalina 27 that is up for adoption. Friends of Sea Scouts of Maryland is taking her, but I wanted to have a peek, anyway. Not bad.

I met Steve Alexander aboard Amanda Grace at about 6:30 PM. The first order of business was to open the fore hatch, flip the "receptacle" switch and turn on the blower. Steve and I chatted in the cockpit for a few minutes while the fan dispersed the diesel fumes, and then he went to work. He showed me the fuel injector that he had had reconditioned for only $45. This is a great deal, considering that a new one runs about $300. Steve said he asked Arundel Diesel to go ahead and rebuild the other injector--which will cost $75--because we need a spare and that was a good deal, too.

Mr. Alexander crawled into the space next to the engine compartment and I stood by, handing him sockets, Vise Grips, a "great hammer" (say that with a Scottish accent), screwdrivers and such on request. Between tool fetching, I applied copious amounts of lemon oil to the teak in the cabin and around the companion way. The wood is still thirsty, but it is looking very nice.

When Steve had the injector in place, I went above to the cockpit to start the engine. Pull out the "cold start" handle, adjust the throttle to about half, make sure the transmission is in neutral, turn the key to position I for the oil pressure alarm, turn the key to II for start. "Give me about 5 seconds," Steve instructed. Amanda Grace said, "Chuh...chuh...chuh..." but no start. It took several rounds of 5- and 10-second attempted starts to clear the air out of the system.

"Okay, I'm going to give her a squirt of WD-40," Steve announced. We knew Amanda Grace likes it, as she had previously run on it for a few seconds. "Give her about 10 seconds." Amanda Grace said, "Chuh...chuh...bluh, bluh, bluh, bluh..." She ran for a few seconds, then sputtered out. "Was that the WD-40?" I asked. Steve acknowledged. She must be a high-test girl. Another attempt or two, then Amanda Grace said, "Chuh...chuh...bluh, bluh, bluh, bluh...blub, blub, blub, blub, blub, blub, blub, blub, blub, blub!" A single-piston diesel is noisy and coarse, but to us, it was the most beautiful "blub, blub, blub"! Steve said, "YAY!" and I yelled, "WOOHOO!" For the first time in about 6 years, Amanda Grace was running!

From his horizontal spot next to the engine compartment, Mr. Alexander told me to check for water coming out of the exhaust. Amanda Grace's 8 hp Volvo Penta single-cylander engine is water cooled. Sea water is brought in by a pump, run through the transmission and engine where it picks up heat, and expelled by the same through hull as the exhaust. Looking overboard on the starboard aft side, I could see the exhaust, but no water. This was not good. The engine cannot be run long without cooling or it will overheat and be ruined. I shut her down and Steve began to troubleshoot. He took the cover off the impeller--the part of the water pump that does the work--and said it looks good. I wanted to know what it looks like, so he moved out of the way and let me crawl back in there where I could see the rubbery blades that push the water through. Cool.

Next, Steve took the hose off the sea cock and turned it to "open" position, to test whether water is coming in there. It was, so he put the hose back on. By then, it was closing in on 9:00PM, and we had both had enough, so we turned off the "receptacle" switch, closed up the boat, and headed to the Skipper's Pier for a bite and a celebratory beer. The food and drink was pricey for my budget, but very good. Best crab soup ever! And, oh, the A/C felt really nice, too.

Fighting Discouragement

2008-07-12T19:08:00.000-04:00

Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there. -Josh Billings

Another Amanda Grace work day--2-hour round trip, plus 3 hours on site--and still the engine only runs on straight WD-40. With a wet slip charge of $150/week, the engine's idleness is racking up considerable expenses.

Steve Alexander came to remove the fuel injector, intending to replace it with one that had supposedly been reconditioned. However, examination showed that the alternate fuel injector was rusty and in worse shape than the original. Mr. Alexander promised to take both to a diesel shop for cleaning and testing. Then he will have to make yet another trip to Herrington Harbour.

At least the cushions and life jackets are no longer filling my living room. I hauled them up in a borrowed truck and Daniel and I stowed them on board, cramming as many as possible into the v-berth, hoping they will stay dry. We also washed the halyards and continued cleaning up below deck.

This photo was taken on my first visit to Amanda Grace, back in September of last year.
It shows the clutter in the belowdecks, but not the dirt and mildew, both of which were considerable. Application of large quantities of elbow grease has made a difference. The boat is starting to look good. When I board her now, I think, "there is hope." Several scouts and adults have put numerous hours into cleaning, organizing, and treating the wood.

The lag in engine operation is disheartening, but we will not give up.

Our First Advancement Ceremony

2008-07-09T01:47:00.000-04:00

Seven of our scouts advanced to Apprentice rank during a ceremony they organized. Our ship's flag happened to arrive the day before, just in time to be included.

Our teens learned and accomplished a lot in preparing to be Sea Scout Ship 7916's first Apprentice scouts. I reminded them that they are young, capable, intelligent people who are not in school right now, and appointed the lot of them to the ad hoc committee for advancement. They were allowed to create whatever they wanted, so long as it is within BSA and Sea Scout guidelines.

Mark created beautiful certificates; Aaron selected music to play on his iPod and his family provided a chocolate cake with cream cheese icing; Sarah brought cups and drinks; and David came up with a landship ceremony.

Given the level of advance communication (it was sketchy), I was pleasantly surprised by how well the scouts pulled together our premiere advancement ceremony. By the time I arrived, they had the chairs, table, and landship set up, and my heart did a little happy dance when I saw them rehearsing from across the room. The scouts' individual contributions and collective creation showed that they took the event with due seriousness. As I have said, they have done me proud before, and they did so again tonight. They showed me that I am not crazy for doing this thing that has taken over my life, reminded me that they are the reason. I am looking forward to seeing how they will use this experience to make things happen even better in future.

Launching Amanda Grace

2008-06-25T20:42:00.001-04:00

by Caitlín

In the early afternoon of Wednesday, June 25th, 2008, the Amanda Grace felt the caress of water on her hull for the first time in five years.
It was a monumental moment. Putting all that work in to make her ready for sailing (painting the hull, cleaning and waxing above the waterline, pumping out the bilge numerous times, etc.) really made it seem special; she's our boat and we earned her.
Unfortunately, although Daniel and his dad came earlier to charge the batteries and install the new bilge pump, only Gus, the Skipper, Mr. Finn, and I were able to be present for the launch.

The boat hauler backs beneath Amanda Grace.

With Amanda Grace fully supported on its arms, the hauler starts off for the launching ramp.

The boat crane (don't you love all these "technical" terms I'm using?) backs over Amanda Grace...

so that she could be lifted from her cradle...

and lowered into the water.

Then she was towed to row O, where she'll remain until Independence Day weekend for the sail down to Woodbridge.

Once we stowed everything away, closed up the hatch, and hooked up a power source for the bilge pump, we took turns blessing her and then had a toast.
(That's sparkling apple cider we're drinking.)
(See more photos.)

Flag Day Flotilla Sail

2008-06-15T20:05:00.003-04:00

by Caitlín
The three boats pictured above (the Seeking Peace, an on-loan and unnamed O'Day 25, and the Takin' it Breezy) made up our "flotilla" this past Saturday (Flag Day), our unit's first multi-boat sailing event. The Flag Day Flotilla Sail included a visit from a reporter and a photographer for the Potomac News.

Although it didn't look like there was much wind inland, there was a pleasant breeze on the water. We met at Leesylvania Park and held a muster, and the Skipper conducted a uniform inspection (left).
Several people failed because they weren't wearing blue jeans, didn't have a hat, or didn't pack lunch. But they weren't punished too hard. ;-)

We received a surprise visit from Tim Rupert, the District Executive for Occoquan District. He brought us samples of the new Venturing-specific fundraising item, On-the-Trail Mix to get us excited about selling it sometime in the near future. We all taste-tested both the "Classic Mix" and the "Power Mix," and the general consensus was that the Power Mix (with honey-roasted nuts and peanut butter chips) was the better of the two, although both were pretty good.

Once the press arrived, everyone went to their assigned boat and the captains held briefings. (Captain Ashton briefing the crew of Seeking Peace, right.)
The boat I was aboard, Breezy, was the last one out because Captain Ross had us rig the sails before going out. Once we turned off the engine and put up the sails, it became obvious that what is a pleasant breeze ashore isn't much of a sailing wind; there was definitely not going to be any rails buried under the water. Or even any heeling. :-(

Ah well, at least there was enough wind that we were actually moving, unlike the last Petty Officer sail I went on. But once, while we were on the same tack as the O'Day, and I was at the helm, we our boat overtook theirs. The captain of the O'Day was Tom Finn, who races his Hobie Cat, so we were pretty happy.
But I think they might have been explaining something about sailing and not trying to go fast at the time.
Left: Our view from the Breezy of the O'Day as we passed her.

No matter which tack we were on we didn't get much speed that day, but it was enough that it wasn't entirely boring and we could still practice our sailing skills. There was less pressure to adjust the jib so quickly or take in the sails as fast as possible than if there had been a lot of wind, and it was actually kind of nice. (Gus pulling the jib over to port side during a tack, right.)

Once we decided that there was probably not going to be any wind, and it was nearing 2:00, we started up the motor and headed for the Carefree Boat Club, Breezy's home while Gus and I furled and stowed the sails.

I had brought my own car to the Carefree Boat Club, and did not return to Leesylvania, so did not get to see how the other Scouts had enjoyed their sail. I hope Sarah had fun, since it was her first time out.

And another group shot, courtesy of John Boal, taken before we went out:

The article appeared in the "Life & Leisure" section of the Potomac News on June 29th, 2008.

Click the top photo to view more pictures from the Flag Day Flotilla Sail, or visit our photo gallery to see pictures of past events.

The Spirit of Enterprize

2008-06-12T19:57:00.001-04:00

by Caitlín

Some day (hopefully soon) Washington D.C. will get its own tall ship! The Spirit of Enterprize will be a replica of the War of 1812-famous schooner, the Enterprize, and will be a floating classroom and education center. Cool!

Piloting Course

2008-06-08T17:01:00.000-04:00

Two Scouts from our unit, David and Aaron, were aboard der PeLiKan this weekend for the piloting/navigation underway course taught by Douglass Yeckley (Skipper of Ship 548 (S.S.S. Sea Eagle), and Steve Alexander, the chair of the Chesapeake Flotilla.
Neither Aaron nor David are interested in blogging about their experience (although it sounded like they had fun), but Rob Marks of Ship 306, also attended and posted photos on his website.

Petty Officer Sail

2008-05-28T10:20:00.001-04:00

by Caitlín

Yesterday evening marked the first training sail for Petty Officers (the youth leaders are called Petty Officers, and they make up the Quarterdeck). From 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. members of the Quarterdeck got extra sailing experience so they will be better prepared to take leadership positions when more of the unit goes out.

The weather forecast told us to expect thunderstorms, but as it hadn't rained more than a couple drops all day, and the front was supposed to bring wind, we went anyway. Skipper Shay started up the motor and we putted out between the docks and underneath the train bridge.

Once past the channel markers we stopped and raised the sails. (Skipper Shay and Aaron raising the mainsail, left.) Just as we did, what little wind there had been died. Daniel was first up at the tiller, but there wasn't much point because we were going so slowly. Soon the wind picked up just enough to tease us into thinking we might actually sail. But we only went a tiny bit faster.

The boat hadn't moved much a while later when we realized it was a little after 7:00 and that after we furled the sails, it would be time to head back to the dock. So that's what we did.

Adam knew exactly what to do with the motor, and had a great time steering us back towards port while the rest of us took down the sails.

Then my mom and I remembered the chocolate cupcakes my sister had baked the day before and sent along with us. Aaron and Adam seemed to think they were pretty good, but that was before they knew what the secret ingredient was. We didn't reveal that until almost back at the dock. Can you guess what it might be? It was sauerkraut! Adam didn't seem to care, but Aaron told me I should never let my sister cook again, so it must have grossed him out.

Just as we got to the trestle bridge, we sighted another boat waiting to get through the gap. At first it was very hard to tell whether it was moving or not, and if it was coming towards us or going away. Eventually we agreed that it was staying still and waiting until we came through. It turns out it was a fireboat from Prince George's County, the Lawrence Woltz. We were all wondering what they were doing way over here.

To allow for ample passage between the two boats, we steered far to the right of the channel...and promptly ran aground. Which Daniel and Adam found pretty funny (left).
Mr. Finn steered the Breezy back into her berth, and we all pitched in to get her ready for the next person to sail her.

So that was basically our entire trip. If only there'd been wind!

Nygard Regatta

2008-05-25T20:06:00.002-04:00

by Caitlín

Today two Scouts from Ship 7916 attended the annual Henry I. Nygard Regatta for the first time to see what it was like and report back to the rest of the Scouts so we can determine whether it is something we want to do next year.
Right photo: Hauling a up the Boatswain's Chairlift.

Skipper Shay, David, and I set our alarms for the dreadful hour of 4:45 a.m. and had to leave the commuter lot by 6:00 in order to arrive at Camp Brown by the time the event began. It was beautiful out, but driving for a little over two hours straight still wasn't fun--especially that early when we were all wishing we could be back in bed.

Once we had found the camp and stretched, we went into the mess hall to get oriented, find out which competitions were being held today, and use the head. We found out from Mr. David of Ship 1176 that no competitive events were scheduled until 1:00 p.m., so we had a lot of waiting to do. We should have looked at the boarding manual more carefully!
Below: A crew from Ship 1942 practices their rowing.

On the deck outside the mess hall we stood overlooking the Chesapeake and watching the boats go by. There were several sailboats out, as well as a lot of powerboats, and we were wishing we could be sailing. Ship 1942 (S.S.S. Dragonlady) has one of their boats only 30 minutes from Camp Brown, and a few members half-seriously said they should go jump aboard.

Various Skippers came up to say hello, and urged David and I to go mingle with the other youth, but neither of us felt up to it. Instead the two of us sat outside and talked about nothing of importance. Eventually my mom came over and made us get up and take pictures of things that were going on.

But since there wasn't anything besides a church service, the three of us ended up standing by the car and talking instead. I think my mom managed to thoroughly weird David out during that time. By 10:00 David had convinced us that we should go back into town and try and find a movie theater to watch either Indiana Jones or Prince Caspian just for something to do.
Right photo: Scouts practice their Scuttlebutt skills, raising a fifty-five gallon drum. Only the Coxswain is allowed to speak.

So we drove quite a ways down Route 5 before realizing that Scotland and the surrounding towns were too small to have any theaters. Instead of going to the movies, we stopped at a local grocery store and bought some snacks and a couple soft drinks to go with our lunch. More time to kill back at camp, and then lunch. David and I sat at a picnic table and watched the boats sail by just out of reach.

The competitions finally began at 1:00, so I took pictures of the knot-tying contest (which David, being David, was sure he could win easily) and the boatswain's chairlift. No one was participating in the scuttlebutt at that time, but I'd gotten a couple shots of one team practicing earlier in the day. After that we were all ready to go home, so we left.
Left: A team of knot-tiers leap into action. This activity is judged on speed and accuracy.

I think that the Regatta might be something fun to go to next year if our Ship is good enough to compete in at least a couple things, but I don't know if I would want to spend the entire weekend there. I'm sure the event would be a lot more fun if me and the other Scouts actually socialized with people, but David and I were both feeling shy this time.
At right: Ship 548 (S.S.S. Sea Eagle) had its own Advanced Life Support vehicle decorated with team spirit!