Six Sea Scouts, Three Adventures, One Ship = SEAL
“A rising tide lifts all boats,” isn’t just an aphorism in Ship 1942 SS Dragonlady. The legacy of Ship 1942 with Skipper Tom Ballew at the helm has a long-standing tradition of sending Sea Scouts to Sea Scout Advanced Leadership Training (SEAL). Sea Scouts across the country in a variety of Sea Scout Ships apply to attend the 9-day intensive leadership on-the-water training held in locations such as New York, Tampa, Colorado, Tennessee, Galveston, San Francisco, and Seattle to name a few. Sea Scouts can apply for this advanced leadership training in a variety of Sea Scout disciplines from white water, paddle craft, sailing to living aboard motorized vessels.
The unique opportunity to have six Sea Scouts attend came to fruition because SEAL applications were opened to Scouts BSA. Any Scout who has reached the rank of First Class and age 14, and any Sea Scout who has reached Ordinary, can apply to attend SEAL. Three Eagle Scouts from Ship 1942 who are dual registered in a Troop took advantage of this opportunity to join their fellow Sea Scouts from Ship 1942.
When the information that SEAL was open to Scouts BSA was released, the Ship 1942 training chair took advantage of this unique opportunity and broadcasted it widely across the National Capital Area Council (NCAC). This led to a total of seven youth to attend four different SEAL Courses. All of the scouts earned their SEAL Certificate and coveted SEAL Pin including the 6 scouts from Ship 1942 and Life Scout Austin Snip from Troop 447. Each SEAL course follows a national curriculum but focuses on different vessels based upon their demographic location.
Eagle Scouts Aiden Maupin, Colin Maupin, and Liam Maupin from Troop 413 and Ship 1942 all selected SEAL Colorado White Water Rafting as their first choice. They were joined by Ship 1942 Boatswain Sebastian Morales-Talero for this 9-day camping and white-water rafting experience. Where the three brothers were placed in different crews by design, Liam Maupin and Boatswain Sebastian had the opportunity to be in the same crew, as SEAL Colorado had three separate crews and the Ship had four participants.
Quartermaster Candidate and Eagle Scout Quinn Laffey did not receive his first choice which was Tampa, Florida. Quinn was placed in SEAL Tennessee, which is a paddle craft course, but Quinn embraced this opportunity like a champion and had an awesome experience! Quinn utilized his prior skills from Northern Tier and relied upon a more recent certification he received while obtaining his USPS Pilot “P” rating to prepare for SEAL Tennessee. Ship 1942 is a sailing ship, but Quinn’s diversified Scouting and Sea Scouting experiences more than prepared him for the challenges of the Tennessee rivers.
William Kennedy, the current National Service Territory 12 (NST12) Boatswain who is also an Eagle Scout and Able Sea Scout joined SEAL Seattle and had the experience he had dreamed of aboard the SSS Propeller located in Seattle, Washington. William thrived in the SEAL intensive environment and hopes to return for more adventures on the SSS Propeller, a 1952 65’ U.S. Army T-Boat. SEAL Seattle participants navigated the San Juan Islands throughout the 10-day course. SEAL Seattle participants had the option to join the SSS Propeller crew for an extended stay to support Seattle’s Seafair Weekend Festival. To prepare for SEAL Seattle, NST12 Boatswain obtained multiple certifications including NASBLA Boaters Safety Education Course, USPS Boat Handling, USPS Marine Navigation, Pilot “P” rating, and a 16-hour hands-on US Power Boating Certification.
Quinn, Aiden, Liam, Colin, and Sebastian all earned the 50-Miler Award for paddling over 50 miles during their adventure. The SEAL Colorado participants also earned the BSA White Water Award. To prepare for SEAL Colorado, the Maupins completed an NASBLA Boaters Safety Course, and Boatswain Sebastian attended an in-person Marine Navigation Course offered through Ship 1942 and had completed Northern Tier. These accomplished Sea Scouts have shared their enthusiasm for the course and look forward to applying the leadership skills gained.
S.E.A.L., Sea scout Experience Advanced Leadership training is the Sea Scouts BSA highest leadership training for youth, which is now open for Scouts BSA as well. It is a demanding hands-on leadership experience that takes a lot of preparation. The course is designed to develop leadership skills in young adults in an “at sea” experience, but seamanship and nautical skills are merely the means, not the end. Sea Scouts need to have the rank of Ordinary (the second rank in Sea Scouts BSA, after the rank of Apprentice) or be a Venturing Pathfinder or a Scouts BSA First Class Scout by June 1st of the year of the SEAL training.
Troop 447 Life Scout and SPL Austin was accepted to attend the NY/NJ SEAL training off of Long Island NY on the 65’ motorized vessel Sea Dart II, out of Linden NJ the last week of June. Austin had only 6 weeks after he was accepted to this course to be fully prepared for this adventure. Fortunately was offered help for this by the new National Service Territory Boatswain William Kennedy, who gave Austin a crash course in Coastal Navigation, and in the use of Austin’s newly acquired Boatswain pipe, the high pitched device with which commands are given on a ship.
We dropped Austin off on the dock in Linden New Jersey on Saturday, June 25 and received sporadic messages during the week, as cell phone use is restricted on board during most of the day, so the candidates can focus on the rigorous training. Fortunately we were able to follow the vessel in real time through on online maritime locator system. From Linden, they visited Port Jefferson on Long Island NY, through the Long Island Sound to New London CT for the U.S.C.G. Academy, to Bridgeport CT, to Throgs Neck NY for the State University of NY Maritime College and back to home port of Linden NJ. During the trip Austin and his fellow candidates practiced and performed the twelve areas of leadership management of the SEAL course and experienced life on board of a vessel, including cooking, cleaning and preparing for the journey of the next day.
When we picked Austin up a week later, he was exhausted, but he was happy to report that he had successfully completed the SEAL training, and that he was now the proud owner of the coveted SEAL Award pin, the Silver Dolphin pin and SEAL certificate! In the 5 hour journey home it was a non-stop waterfall of stories from his adventure. In the end he shared with us that it was an exhausting trip, but more than worth it.
From April 8-10, 2022, 10 Scouts from Troop 160 (along with their families and siblings from Pack 1540, Lab 314, and Troop 7) arrived at the beaches of Normandy, France to witness about the historic deeds and sacrifices made during World War II and to experience the BSA Transatlantic Council’s 10th Normandy Camporee.
The Normandy Camporee is held every three years and brings together many of the BSA’s youth who are abroad, with parents in military or diplomatic posts across the European theater. Over 2,700 attendees packed a section of Omaha Beach bringing together French Scouts and BSA delegations from France, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. A handful of US units made the flight including a few families from fellow NCAC Troop 2012 in Aldie, Virginia.
Though the Scouts themselves had some language barriers, with the help of the Scoutmaster and the Mousses Leaders, they soon found that they had a lot in common. A quick game of “Have you ever?” detailed sibling rivalry is international and no one likes to clean their room. Though the Scouts might agree that the highlight of the twinning was sharing in the tradition of roasting marshmallows and eating s’mores around a campfire.
Outside the planned camporee events, Troop 160 spent a number of hours touring the local museums cataloguing the land invasion of Operation Overload and the airborne deployments. They were able to get up close and personal with the remnants of artillery bunkers along the coast, walk into the ruins of the artificial harbors at Gold Beach, climb in the bomb craters at Point du Hoc, and see the preserved Pegasus Bridge which was the first engagement of D-Day. Troop Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Yusuf S., reflected, “I can’t imagine what it felt to invade that beach, standing in the frigid water, wearing a standard army uniform, and carrying hundreds of pounds of gear!”
An adventurous crew of nine scouts and three adults from Troop 58 in Ashburn, VA spent a year eagerly anticipating a spring break Sea Base sailing adventure in the Bahamas. Due to the uncertainties surrounding international travel because of the ongoing pandemic, the crew changed course in January and chose a St. Thomas sailing adventure in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In April, the crew donned their matching Hawaiian shirts, met Captain Matias at Sapphire Beach Marina and boarded the deck of the 50 ft. yacht, Antillean, and set sail.
The first night sleeping on deck was quite an adventure with gusting high winds, torrential downpours, flapping side panels, squealing pulleys, squawking seagulls, and even crowing roosters! The weather improved and the crew enjoyed navigating from the shaded cockpit and at times relaxing in the on-deck hammock. Some of the highlights of the week included snorkeling, night fishing at Honeymoon Beach, hiking to Fort Segarra, and a beach BBQ. Late in the week, the crew swam ashore in their bathing suits to Water Island for a well-deserved hamburger dinner at a local waterfront restaurant.
Troop 58’s next high adventure will be dog-sledding, snowshoeing, ice-fishing and more at Okpik Cold Weather Camping at Northern Tier in January 2023!
