Presentation for the 2013 Sea Scout Flagship application. Shares the adventures of Ship 378, The Dawn Treader. The ship operates on West Point Lake, GA/AL and is part of the Flint River Council.

1. Adventures Aboard Ship 378,
The Dawn Treader
2013 Activity Log

2. What makes a small, inland Sea Scout Ship worthy of recognition in the
National Flagship Fleet?
A well organized program focused on Sea Scouting’s 4 S’s:
Scouting, Seamanship, Service, and Social.
We value the production of Quartermasters and Eagle Scouts.
Our advancement program is not for the faint at heart, but “if it ain’t fun, we
ain’t don’ it!!!
Behold! Our Adventures!!!

3. 2013-01/05: Sailboats from Legos
By the time the calendar year starts, we’re lookin’ forward to Sea Scout
Academy over Martin Luther King Birthday. By the time January gets here,
we’ve covered almost all the Apprentice and Ordinary requirements—leaving
the bilge-water knowledge until last. One of those is knowing the difference
between types of sailboats.
What else is there to do on a cold, January afternoon besides dumping out
crates of Legos to build cat boats, sloops, cutters, ketches, yawls, and
schooners? By the time we’re done buildin’ the boats, we remember what
they are!

5. 2013-01/12: Sea Scout Academy Preparation
Sea Scout Academy is a week away and Skipper determined to get us ready,
leaving only the creation of decklogs remaining. After this meeting is over,
we’re headed to the Atlanta Boat Show!
What a Way to Tie the Marlin Hitch

6. 2013-01/12: Atlanta Boat Show
Every year, the Boat Show comes to town. The organizers want to show off
their goods and services. We’re game. We’ll play their games, watch their
movies, and handle their wares. But, little did we know that we’d be getting
all kinds of ideas for Chattahoochee Council’s 2013 Scout Expo. We found
an air swimming shark and figured out a fish-toss game liked by kids of all
ages—including teenagers.

8. 2013-01/19: 1st Annual Sea Scout Academy: Mobile Bay
We look forward to Sea Scout Academy! Only this year, we got it with a
twist. We we’re signed up to go to Texas, but at the last minute they told us
their program capacity was suddenly limited: We had 10 days to create our
own academy for our Ship and Ship 1, The Beehive, in Mobile Bay.
We had a blast, alright. Before getting there Friday night, our sailboat
decided it needed a tire rub. The white smoke was impressive!

10. On Saturday morning, we endured Skipper’s decklog training. Hey, why do
we need it? We sail on a lake it’s impossible to get lost on! Something about
training like we’re at sea . . . Okay, Skipper, but we’re looking forward to
riding the police boat, shrimp boat, and two 30’ sailboats this afternoon.
On the police boat, the first thing that happened is that officer took us on a
boat ride faster than anything we’ve done before. It was cool seeing the
RADAR overlaying charts we were introduced to only this morning!

12. While we we’re doing that, the other half the academy was anchoring and
hooking up to a mooring ball in muddy Mobile Bay. Mooring ball? What’s a
mooring ball? Oh, those SEAL candidates out of Long Beach hook up to
them around Catalina Island. We use piers and slips, thanks. But then, we
just beach the boat!!!

14. On Saturday night, we got special permission, apparently to burn the
marina’s small boat rack down. First we had to get permission from the
Coast Guard to light up all manner of pyrotechnics used for distress signals.
Though we shot over the bay at the shoreline, one rocket decided it was a
guided missile, making a 60-g turn toward the only sawgrass in miles around.
Get someone to tell you the story about how we got it out.

16. On Sunday, we just switched classes. After figuring out ground tackle, we
got to play with fire and their extinguishers.
So Monday morning, Skipper put us to sleep with a bed-time story: Rules of
the Road. The COLREGs. Or just plain, The Rules. He did manage to try to
keep it interesting with animated software and ridiculous teaching methods.
Sorry, Skipper, we’re just too tired after hangin’ out with our new friends all
night.

18. 2013-01/26 & 02/02: Modifying a Boat Trailer
The next exciting thing to do on our schedule is Spring Break long cruise, but
it’s weeks away. Time to get the boats ready. We just got our second
sailboat last October, just before the 36-Hour Cruise (Ask us about our worst
best-day of Sea Scouting.)
The boat trailer needed a lot of work, including submersible lights. However,
we needed to extend the trailer so the boat could be moved further forward
on the trailer. It was always filling backward. So, our Chief Engineer got out
his cutting torch and went to work.

20. 2013-02/09: Scouting for Food
When Skipper was a Cubmaster, while we were all still in elementary school,
he became ran into this lady who liked helping us build pinewood derby cars.
Well, for the last 14 years, she’s been doin’ something else too: Scouting for
Food.
Skipper! We’d rather be sailing today!!! Okay, we’ll join our family’s troop or
pack and help them collect food. But don’t forget, you promised us a pizza
party!

22. 2013-02/09: Signal Flags
After spending the morning and mid-day collecting food, we started our
meeting around 1600, with pizza, of course! Skipper must’ve thought we
wanted to play games too because he brought in 4 decks of signal flag flash
cards and through them all over the room and told us to put them in order,
each in their own deck. Wait, Skipper, how do you use substitute flags to
spell my name?

24. 2013-02/14-19: Seabadge Underway
Skipper decided he needed to leave town for Valentine’s Day. He said he
needed to chase dolphins and pretend like he was picking up MOBs by
collecting heart-shaped mylar balloons that lost their helium between Long
Beach and Catalina Island.
Boy, we’re we sorry he came back! Now creates, and makes us practice 12
types of emergency drills. If that’s not enough, sometimes he makes us do 2-
3 at a time. He definitely creates chaos where chaos does not exist!

26. 2012-02/16: Modifying a Boat Trailer
You go right ahead, Skipper. Chase those valentines all over the bay. We’ll
be right here getting the boat trailer ready so we can go sailing again!
When you put this on,
you won’t see nuttin’

28. 2013-03/02: Fish Attractors
One our values helping Boy Scouts complete Eagle. By the time they come
to us, they have about 5 merit badges and an Eagle Scout Servant-
Leadership Project to do.
By the time Skipper is starts with one of these guys, he gets them to agree to
apply all the pressure our ship can bring to bear to help them finish. Our
Boatswain was the only one force-able enough to get this latest one through
Swimming merit badge.
In the mean time, we got to learn about making and placing fish attractors for
the fishermen on West Point Lake.

30. 2013-03/09: Wilderness First Aid: Classroom
Our Ship is focused on high-adventure. Every skipper should know first aid.
So, our Skipper puts everyone through Wilderness First Aid as part of our
Ranger requirements and for BSA Lifeguard. We’re lucky enough to have an
EMT as a Committee Chairman.
By the time the classroom portion is over, you understand BUFF means big,
ugly, fat, & fluffy for applying splints. You should see some of the
contraptions we got into!

32. 2013-03/16: Practical Weather
It took us a while to get to the weather station. We had to wait until the
weather forecaster who was also a sailor to be on duty on a Saturday
morning so we could learn what we needed to for Quartermaster. Skipper
wants us ready to get up on the hour ever hour for two days to see how well
the weather forecast was.
We learned the only thing we have to know about weather forecasting is how
to read the 48 Hour, Hourly Weather Forecast at www.Weather.gov. To keep
track of what is happening with the weather, we learned how to use a Kestrel
(hand-held weather station) and how to keep a weather log.

34. 2013-03/16: Sailboat Upgrades
Now that the boat trailer is ready, it’s time to make the boat ready for Long
Cruise. We found out on the 36-Hour Cruise that the cabin of this boat is no
place to sleep unless it’s storming outside. So, we made a bed across the
cockpit.
After making some other significant repairs, including some with fiberglass,
we’re ready to go.

36. 2013-03/21: Flag Ceremony: Golden Eagle Dinner
Somebody though we really needed to do flag ceremonies at the Council
level to help promote our Ship and with points toward Journey for Excellence.
Skipper thought we needed to do this Sea Scout style by using a Boatswain’s
pipe to call the commands. So, we did. The first one was for the Coweta
District Gold Eagle Dinner.
Here’s where we showed off our New Century Uniforms for the first time. We
really like it a whole lot better than the Navy dress uniforms. We routinely
use it for our on and off-water activities too.

38. 2013-03/30: Shakedown for Long Cruise
We finally got a motor to use for our sailboats for Long Cruise. One of the
upgrades was rebuilding the transom pad for the Seahorse 18. We were
really lucky to borrow one. (Ask us why Skipper burned up the first motor we
ever had!) We were so excited about having the motor, that somehow we left
the sails at home. So, we turned the sailboat into a motorboat—without
sailing rigging.

40. 2013-04/01-06: Spring Break 2013 Long Cruise!
Going on Long Cruise is a scheduling challenge for our ship because we
span two councils, two states, and two time zones. By the time we serve as
summer camp counselors at summer camp, most of the summer is gone.
This year, everyone managed to have the same spring break—a rarity!
Skipper says we train like were on the ocean, so we went to Mobile Bay.
After 7 hours, we finally arrived and went immediately to West Marine for
fenders and dock lines. When we got out a squall came through, so we went
to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. On return, we spent some time helping
remove downed tree limbs.

42. We got on the ocean with sailboats, while using our motor to tow us out.
Nobody told us the propeller has to stay in the water at all times. We figured
the engine porpoiseing in and out of the water was to be expected. We had
a fun rodeo chasing ring buoys thrown overboard by our chaos creator.
The next morning, two things happened. We recognized that it’s not a good
thing for the gunwales of our boat to scrape a pier piling. Skipper didn’t know
anything about fender boards at the time. The other was that our new
sailboat sunk because the drain plug came out. Who knew you had to look
for bait tank plugs to get the right size drain plug for the boat? We spent a
year trying to figure that one out.
One night, we went sailing. It was our best time on the water. We sailed.
Skipper laid on the deck watching the stars.

44. Strong wind and currents in a channel for a marina is not something we
worry about on our lake. When we headed out to sea, our motor started
smoking just is we got into the channel. To tow the other sail boat, we
decided leaving the keel up was the right thing to do. We couldn’t get both
boats to the pier so the one towed was set free.
That boat was blown up Dog River. We fought for control for about 20
minutes. When we were 10’ from running aground, we realized the keel
wasn’t down. Then we got blown into an area where no boat should go—into
the muck. The swim team girls drug the boat to deeper water, where a good
Samaritan towed our boat back to the pier.

46. So we spent the rest of the year, including next year’s Sea Scout Academy
learning how to dock, use docking lines, making fender boards, getting right-
sized motors, and we’re still learning how to use motors on the sea—if
Skipper will ever learn enough to let us try again!
Before leaving, we helped teach Quarterdeck Training (aka Introduction to
Leadership Skills for Sea Scouts) to Ship 1. In turn, they took us sailing
again!

48. 2013-04/11: Flag Ceremony: Distinguished Citizens Dinner
For the next month, we tried a lot of things for recruiting. We created a
summer program to teach a different aquatics merit badge each weekend
and then went to four district roundtables to let Scoutmasters know. Our
presentation was good, but did you know many Scoutmasters don’t go to
Roundtable?
This time of year, several fund-raising dinners are held, so we did the flag
ceremony for the Saugatachee District’s Distinguished Citizens Dinner.

50. 2013-04/13-14: Wilderness First Aid: Field
After finishing the classroom room instruction for Wilderness First Aid, we
needed to finish the course in the field. We learned a lot about what to do in
the woods, but Skipper kept on asking, “How do we do this on a boat?”
Have you ever tried doing CPR in the water after abandoning ship? It can be
done!

52. 2013-04/20: Day Sailing
While we were on Long Cruise, Skipper figured out how we ought to
abandon ship. So he created our abandon ship gear out of floating line and
a 5-gallon water tank. Then he started making us put our personal stuff in
dry-bags. Now when we do the drill, we tie the water cooler to a transom
cleat, and jump in the water with our dry-bags for additional floatation and
swim to the cooler.

54. 2013-04/25: Sailboat Parts
We were asked by Troop 2193 to help them get ready to take the Small Boat
Sailing merit badge course. So, went to their troop meeting and rigged our
22’ sailboat on the trailer. Then, by patrol, we showed them the parts of our
sailboat.

56. 2013-05/11: 2013 Scout Expo
We can’t wait until Scout Expo is over each year because Skipper doesn’t
make us spend so much time on recruiting until next spring. This year, our
air swimmer immediately flew away, so we got some remote-control motor
boats the Scouts could drive in the fountain. To be able to play, they were
first asked to create their name with signal flags. The fish toss game was hit!

58. 2013-05/23: Boatswain's Eagle Court of Honor
Our Boatswain graduated from High School this year. Though he earned
Eagle three years ago, his court of honor was held when his family came out
for his graduation. We decided it was a landship ceremony, complete with a
court of honor for Troop 2193.

60. 2013-05/25-06/01: Summer Camp Staff Week
This year, we finally figured out the best time to complete BSA Lifeguard:
Staff Week, just before summer camp. They don’t mind us helping setting
the water front and other parts of camp in exchange for the opportunity to be
trained. Every year, all the water front merit badge counselors take BSA
Lifeguard. Since we serve by providing merit badge counselors for Summer
Camp, we finish this Quartermaster requirement.

62. 2013-06/01: Summer Program: Rowing Merit Badge
We offered our first summer program merit badge, and nobody outside our
Ship came. So, we completed the Ordinary requirement for rowing boats
and played at the water front for the rest of the day.

64. 2013-06/08: Summer Program: Motor Boating Merit Badge
Even fewer people came to our second summer program merit badge:
Motorboating. So we spent the day learning better ways to land the boat in a
dock than crashing the pier. We also had a lot of fun practicing our sound
signals for crossing, passing, and overtaking. Then we played at the water
front for the rest of the day.

66. 2013-06/15: Day Sailing
We didn’t bother showing up for own summer program the next week, so we
went sailing instead! We helped our Boatswain’s Mate, who was moving
away, finish Ordinary. In the process, she brought a friend from Summer
Camp who became our new Boatswain!

68. 2013-06/17-21: 2013 Cub Scout Day Camp
It’s no secret Cub Scouts are the future of the BSA program. In fact, we
have more Cub Scouts who want to become Sea Scouts than Boy Scouts.
So, part of what we do is assist at Cub Scout Day Camp. It’s great fun
running around on a golf cart delivering water coolers.

69. 2013-06/22: Summer Program: Small Boat Sailing Merit Badge
The best day of our summer program by far was the day we helped teach
Small Boat Sailing merit badge at Camp Allatoona Aquatics Base. Many of
the Scouts from Troop 2193 came, who also brought their mom or dad. The
kids are hooked and will probably join us when they finally graduate the 8th
grade. Their parents seem to be excited too!

71. 2013-07/15-24: Sea Scouts at 2013 National Jamboree
Two of our Sea Scouts went to the 2013 National Scout Jamboree at The
Summit. This was the first time the event was held at Scouting’s newest
high-adventure base. It is the permanent location for future Jamborees.

73. 2013-07/14: Sailing w/ Ship 1, The Beehive
After dropping off a Scout to go to Jamboree in Mobile Bay, those of us who
stayed behind went sailing with Ship 1 in Mobile Bay. It’s good to spend time
with friends!

75. 2013-07/20: Summer Program: Kayaking Merit Badge
Summer Camp ended and we figured out we had an Able requirement to
become proficient in a kayak. So we offered the Kayaking merit badge.
Skipper decided he would test our orienteering skills on the water. That was
a disaster because we didn’t believe our lake charts and chased islands a
long way off. It’s amazing how land features change when they keep raising
and lowering water in the dam!

77. 2013-07/27: Webelos Campout: Camp Red Moon
We had a lot of fun helping Webelos with their requirements to go camping
for their Outdoorsman award and eventually, Arrow of Light. Each Scout
went to “Red Moon Island” for the night by taking their gear across the lake
in a canoe after winding through the woods while “backpacking”. While
waiting for travelers, we had a lot of fun playing with the boats at the
waterfront.
9 on a String

79. 2013-08/03: Summer Program: Whitewater Merit Badge
Once the Kayaking or Canoeing merit badge is earned, the Whitewater merit
badge can be earned. A requirement is to take a trip on Class I or Class II
water. Where’s the adventure in that? At least we didn’t have to have guides
or wear helmets. While kayaking down the Chattahoochee River, from the
power plants in Whitesburg, GA to Georgia’s new state park, Chattahoochee
Bend State Park, we picked up tires.

81. 2013-08/10: Water Mania
Every once in a while, Skipper seems to thing we need one of those
abominable business meetings to discuss what we’re going to do for the year
to meet our goals of completing Ordinary and Venturing Awards.
This year, BSA decided to redo the Venturing program, so we eliminated
everything from our program related to it to focus on completing both
Ordinary and Able in one year. Some of our Scouts are heading to colleges
and on mission trips next year.
Who wants death by business meeting rather than play on sailboards and
stand-up paddleboats—the latest editions to Camp Lumpkin’s waterfront

83. 2013-08/24: Sea Scout is SCUBA Certified
One of our opportunities this year was SCUBA certification. Though we
received scholarships to learn how, many of us were still unable to come up
with the money to take the class. However, our Boatswain’s Mate did! And,
she got certified!

85. 2013-08/24: Program Year Phase II Kicks Off
There’s still a lot of summer left when after we go back to school about the
first week in August. So we tend to start the second part of our program year
after school starts: working on Ordinary requirements.
One of the things we learned in Wilderness First Aid training was the need for
better personal first aid and survival kits. In our case, they have to serve us
on the water. So, we tried get everything in one nalgene water bottle, but
discovered we need two. Skipper makes us carry these in our dry bags.

86. 2013-08/24: Scout Camp Beaver Day
Just as it takes Staff Week to get Summer Camp set up, it takes a lot of work
to put everything away for next year. So, when we can, be help with Beaver
Days—Saturdays Venture Scouts come to camp to work. Our waterfront
director likes that!
Wimachtendienk, Wingolauchsik, Witahemui
(Brotherhood, Cheerfulness, Service)

87. 2013-08/29-09/01: Pirate Days
Normally, our Ship does not meet on National holiday weekends so families
can spend time together. This Labor Day was no exception. However, we
were invited to join several local area Ships in Kentucky and Tennessee for
Pirate Days at Camp Roy C Manchester, on Kentucky Lake. Skipper and his
son went though, and came back with motors for our sailboats!

89. 2013-09/07: Boat Motors Stand
Once you take the boating safety course, you really don’t want to do it again.
So, while several Scouts and leaders were taking the course, the rest of us
built a portable motor stand.

91. 2013-09/07: Sunset Sailing after Class
By the time the motor stand was built and everyone died taking the boating
safety course, it was time to go sunset sailing. The sun goes down pretty
late this time of year, so we spent the evening playing with our LifeSling to
learn what it really takes to get an MOB out of the water and back on deck.
Pick me! I want to be the MOB because the water is warm!

93. 2013-09/14: In-the-Water Ordinary Drills
We learn a lot by practicing drills. We didn’t do so well while sunset sailing,
so Skipper had us practice better methods next week. Finally! We finished
the Ordinary Man Overboard, Abandon Ship, and Fire Drills. Someday, we
might finish Ordinary, like we were supposed to by Long Cruise last spring.
Abandon Ship

94. 2013-09/20-22: Commodore's Cup
We look forward to the annual Atlanta Area Council Commodore’s Cup
sailboat regatta. For the past two years, we won the out-of-council trophy—in
part because there weren’t many other qualifying ships. This year we lost it,
but we had great fun—especially sailing at night!

96. 2013-09/22: Sea Sprout Sailing
For us, Sea Scouts is for our families, for a variety of reasons. So we have
several younger siblings (Sea Sprouts) that come to our meetings. So, after
Skipper get us started, he works with the Sea Sprouts. On young man, we
taught to sail. However, because he’s not old enough to participate in the
Commodore’s cup, he took Skipper sailing while we were racing.

98. 2013-09/28: West Point Lake Cleanup
The West Point Lake Coalition, our sponsor, coordinates with the Army Corps
of Engineers to do shore clean up once a year. You’ve never seen a lake
with so many tennis balls on it. They’re everywhere. We often throw them at
each other’s boats. They’re used to maintain the water and sewer treatment
plant lines up river. Why they don’t capture their own balls, we’ll never know.

100. 2013-09/28: Camp Thunder Beaver Day
After spending the morning cleaning up West Point Lake, we go back to Lake
Ini-To at Camp Thunder to continue putting things away after summer camp.
This is our second Beaver Day this year.

102. 2013-10/05: Keel Repair
When we got our sailboat, the keel cable was already frayed. But we had no
means of getting the boat off the trailer and out of the water to fix it—until our
motors showed up. Well, it happened. The keel cable had one strand left, so
we had to fix it. Skipper figured out a way to use our 55-gallon drums and
winches to create a dry dock in his driveway. As we were lowering the keel,
the cable snapped.
Literally Hanging by a Thread

104. 2013-10/05: Routine Engine Maintenance
We’ve had nothing but trouble with motors, largely because Skipper doesn’t
know anything about them either. Remember, when he started our Ship in
July 2011, the only vessel he was good at was a canoe—any only how to use
it on back country rivers and swamps—like Northern Tier. When we got the
motors, we ordered the service and user manuals to go with them. The local
marina shop owner brought his son, a new Boy Scout, over to show us how
to do routine maintenance and tune up our motors. Thank you, Sewell
Marine!!!

106. 2013-10/12: New Boat: Trailer Prep
We built the dry dock to get our newly donated sailboat sea worthy again. It
just came in handy for the keel repair. After hoisting the new boat off the
trailer, we started work to refurbish the trailer. Once it was off, we spent the
day scraping rust in a variety of ways. It wasn’t good enough, so now for
grinders and sand blasters . . .

108. 2013-10/19: 36-Hour Cruise
Another event we look forward to each year is the 36-Hour Cruise needed to
complete Ordinary. This year we brought a ship in formation, Ship 444, The
Rangnerok, from Athens, GA to come spend the weekend with us. This is
the ship our Boatswain’s Mate went to. This year’s trip was quite pleasant
because it didn’t have the additional drama created by Tropical Storm Sandy
that we had off Georgia’s Atlantic seaboard and our lack of experience as a
ship, like we did last year. We had fun playing with our new motors!

110. 2013-10/26: Fall Camporee: Search & Rescue Merit Badge
We know that for us, we’re always in recruiting mode. We prefer to do it
through service to Boy Scouts. So we participate in district camporees. This
year we taught Scouts how to use UTM grids with their topographical maps
as part of the new Search and Rescue merit badge.

112. 013-11/02: Skipper Teaches Sustainability MB
Skipper is Boy Scout first. He’s a very good dirt Scout! Sometimes the
Council needs him to teach merit badges. In July, the Eagle required
Sustainability merit badge came out. Since this is what he does for a living,
he left us to teach it.

113. 22013-11/02: Trailer Prep (Continued)
While he was teaching, we spent the day at a Sea Scout’s home to work on
Ordinary requirements and continue working on the trailer. The grinders
weren’t working on the rust so well, so we left it to sand blast later. By the
time Skipper got back after teaching, we completed several Ordinary
requirements.

115. 2013-11/05: Quarterdeck Training
Part of earning Ordinary is completing Quarterdeck Training. We pushed this
off until two days before the Apprentice and Ordinary Bridge of Review to get
it done. A lot of this stuff we learned in NYLT. I guess Skipper needs to
remind us how we plan to go on outings once in a while.
EDGE Method Gone Wrong

116. 2013-11/08-11/10: Instructor Training: Project COPE
Part of the Ranger Award program is helping teach Project COPE. This is
very popular with our ship normally, but we weren’t sure there was going to
be a Ranger Award we could complete, so we skipped the event as a Ship
this year. However, one of our Scouts is trying to finish Outdoor Bronze and
possibly Ranger before the deadline. So, she and her mom became COPE
Instructors. We found out the Ranger Award survived the Venturing program
reorganization unchanged New Year’s Eve. We look forward to doing this
again next year!

118. 2013-11/08-11/10: Skipper at Seabadge
Every Scout deserves a trained leader. So went sent Skipper to complete the
last of his adult leader education as a Skipper by the Boy Scouts of America.
When he came back, he figured out his primary role is to be our mentor—to
help us realize our dreams by creating goals and plans to get there. He
learned that he just might have to use a directive leadership style (the kind we
don’t like) to help us get there. It’s a good thing, because one of our Scouts
needed it to complete applications to the Coast Guard Academy this year.

120. 2013-11/16 & 12/07: Anchoring: This Time w/ Motors!
Anchoring is not new to us, but we haven’t done a lot with it because a lot of
the guidance assumes we have a motor. Skipper took the time to give us a
completely fresh look at how to do anchoring using our ground tackle. The
difference is night and day!

122. 2013-12/08: QM Project Begins: Build Osprey Nests
This year, one of our Scouts completed almost all the requirements for
Quartermaster except the Servant-Leadership Project. Sometime in the last
year, the requirements changed, such that the project had to be done similar
to an Eagle project.
Since it also needed to be a conservation project for the Ranger Award, he
decided to build four osprey nests on West Point Lake. He started work by
calling on friends who started Cub Scouts with him but left the Boy Scout
program a while ago.

124. 2013-12/14: Sea Scout Marksmanship: Pistol Qualification
Back in August, when we planned the program year, the Sea Scout
Marksmanship program did not exist, but came out in October. However, we
decided we wanted to learn how to shoot pistols anyway. So we qualified,
laughing the whole way because we’re now qualified to shoot flare guns.

126. 2013-12/21: Sea Scout Academy Prep: Navigation
It’s time to get ready for Sea Scout Academy again and Skipper wants us to
attempt to complete all the skill and knowledge requirements for Able before
Summer Camp begins.
Earlier this year, we learned how to fill out a decklog. Skipper wants us to
learn how to do fixes, set danger angles, and estimate position as part of Sea
Scout Academy next month. Skipper knew we’d have trouble completing the
decklog, so he held up a mirror by having us complete a version of the SEAL
Navigation Test.
The test wasn’t much fun, but the Christmas season goodies were!

128. 2013-21/31: Venturing Silver & The Southern Belle Drop
The last highlight of the year was the annual New Year’s Eve party we enjoy
with many Venturers through the Venturing Officer Association. We call it
“The Southern Belle Drop” because at midnight, one of the young ladies
goes for a ride on the zip line. Then we spend until 0200 on the Giant’s
Swing.
This year was special because two us earned the Venturing Silver Award—
the first and last ones to make it in our ship. Next year we’ll be working on
The Summit Award.

130. Advancement Recap
When the year was through, though our Ship averages 5 Sea Scouts, we
had a lot of fun and advanced well.
Apprentice: 2 Ordinary: 3 Able: 0 Quartermaster: 0
Long Cruise Award: 1
Outdoor Bronze: 2 Venturing Gold: 3 Venturing Silver: 2
Ranger: 0
BSA Lifeguard: 2 Wilderness First Aid: 3
Boating Safety Course: 4
Eagle: 3
SCUBA: 1
SEAL: 0

131. Ship 378 Motto
If it ain’t fun,
we ain’t doin’ it
(unless we have to)