Ship's Log

October was kicked off with advancement. Quinn L. held his eagle court of honor on October 3rd. After achieving eagle rank, his next goal is to reach quartermaster rank. He’s currently an able scout and steadily on his way to complete his quartermaster requirements.

Columbus day weekend was put into good use as Ship 1942’s annual Introduction to Leadership Skills for Ships (ILSS). The course is designed to train youth how to be a leader in the Ship and is important for all scouts to attend. Taking this training will not only set scouts up for future success in the ship, but also sign off a requirement for rank advancement. During this one day event, Ship 1942 held its officer elections. Quarterdeck candidates made 1-5 minutes speeches and elections were held with blind ballots. With this, we now have a new quarterdeck for the next year. Scouts were also able to complete rank advancements with two scouts completing their board of reviews.

Later in the month, Ship 1942 held a Fall Rendezvous - Marksmanship campout under the leadership of the new quarterdeck. From October 23 to 24 scouts camped at the Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation in Maryland and worked with rifles.

On October 25, we had our annual Franken row in Alexandria. Sea scouts and adults arrived in costumes to celebrate the holidays and rowed in row boats instead of our usual flying scots. After, we headed to Ben & Jerry’s to consume some creamy goodness.

The month started with a Labor Day short cruise. This 3-day sailing event lasted from September 4th to September 6th. Compared to the July long cruise, this event had a larger participant list with 17 scouts and 8 adult leaders. We started from Solomons and sailed to the Oxford sailing marina, then to Herrington Harbor North. This trip had many new scouts with this being their first time on our larger boats. Scouts were able to experience the water and practice their helm and navigation skills.

The week right after was Merit Badges Afloat. From the 9th to 10th, Ship 1942 held a weekend function to introduce people to sea scouting and showcase our sailing skills. The more experienced sea scouts went through the course as teachers. They launched the flying scot sailboats in the morning and recovered all crafts at the end of the day. Throughout the day, they managed the scouts and helped teach participants how to sail. New sea scouts and participants learned how to sail throughout the course. They also worked on the weather and oceanography merit badges.

August began with one good thing after another. Scouts were advancing steadily, with Skipper completing two Skipper conferences at the start of the month. Along with advancement came donations. Ship 142 was donated a bright shiny red 19-foot sailboat. After taking it out for sailing on Mondays, it can be confidently said that it runs and works amazingly well.

During the midst of early August, one sea scout was across the country in Seattle, Washington completing Sea Scouting’s highest afloat leadership course. On August 6, Zach H. successfully returned back as our 40th Ship 1942 Sea Scout to attend "SEAL". At the Sea Scout Advanced Leadership (SEAL) training, Zach developed leadership skills through “at sea” experience.

This month, Skipper taught Ship 1942’s annual lifeguard camp. However, due to new restrictions and complications, the course was modified to only be the American Red Cross 'Pool' Lifeguard training. Session 1 of 4 began August 19th and ran until August 31st. The course included 4 in-water sessions and multiple lecture sessions. Because of the altered course and location, only a select number of sea scouts were able to attend. By the end of the course, all six participants passed with flying colors and are now pool lifeguard certified.

To kick off the month, ‘Able’ sea scout Elijah D. completed his “Quartermaster” leadership service project on July 3. His project entailed the removal of trash/plastic/styrofoam from “Holmes Run,” a stream that runs through Fairfax County into larger bodies of water. The cleanup aims to benefit aquatic marine life in the Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay, and Ocean. Many volunteers and scouts attended and the project was completed in a timely manner with tens of trash bags filled.

July is also the month where Ship 1942’s yearly long cruise is held. The two week long trek began on July 17th and lasted until July 25th. Sea scout Zach H. took the lead in being activity chair for this event. Through effective communication and planning with the quarterdeck and adult advisors, Ship 1942 was able to have an exciting long cruise with little bumps in the road. Weather was pretty stable throughout the trip, except for the first day where our scouts were caught in the eye of the storm. Many of our boats almost capsized, but through guidance from the boat captains, everyone survived. Each night, our scouts impressed with their cooking skills. From hamburgers to chicken pot pie, we made it all. In total, there were 4 boats, 14 sea scouts, 7 adult leaders, 0 deaths, and a whole lot of fun.

This month, we had our first canoe trek of the year. From June 5th to 6th, several of our scouts participated in a trek down the Shenandoah river. Our activity chair, Jenny H., planned this two day event and incorporated a bridge of honor into the schedule. On saturday June 5th, we canoed the first half of the day, then conducted our bridge of honor. Here many of our scouts were honored for their accomplishments and achievements. The next day, we canoed until mid afternoon.

Thomas A., our boatswain for the ship has stepped down as he is out of state during the summer. He will be assuming James Y. duties as our boatswain's mate for administration as James is leaving for West Point. On June 5, during our canoe trek, Jenny H. was elected as our temporary boatswain. She will be responsible for our three major summer events.

From June 19th to the 26th, Ship 1942 conducted its annual Camp Able at the Patuxent Naval Air Station. During camp, scouts furthered their knowledge of sailing. The purpose of camp is to make sure scouts know how to safely operate our larger 30ft to 36ft sailboats, which we use during Long Cruise. This allows our newer scouts to be exposed to all the more advanced nautical skills and get hands-on experience.

While we began the month with virtual meetings, we ended the month with in-person sailing. As the CDC changed their guidelines, Ship 1942 is now able to conduct sailing activities. On May 22, some scouts stopped by the Washington Sailing Marina to prepare our flying scots for Monday sailing. We also conducted a rigging sailing school as it's been 21-months since we have sailed. On May 31, we had our first sail of the year. Scouts were able to shake off the rust and newer scouts learned how to operate a boat. Following CDC guidelines, everyone not vaccinated was required to wear face masks. And no more than four people were allowed aboard any flying scot, unless everyone in that single boat had completed their vaccinations.

This month, a few of our Ship members completed their final rank advancement. Sea scout Liam M. passed his eagle scout board of review. Not only did he achieve the prestigious rank of eagle scout, but also completed 127 merit badges. He was able to earn 21 eagle palms with the extra 106 merit badges he earned. Eagle scout James Y. earned sea scouting’s highest achievement, the quartermaster award. He is our 27th Ship 1942 sea scout to reach quartermaster and our 9th to earn both his eagle scout and quartermaster awards.

In early April, the ship held an Order of the Arrow (OA) election; the OA is essentially the national honor society for scouting. It’s composed of scouts who best exemplify the scout oath and law in their daily lives. On April 5, with at least 50% of our members present, we elected Sean as our OA representative.

Shortly following the election, members of the ship spoke at the Chainbridge Roundtable. This month, Ship 1942 was designated as the “Featured Scout Unit" for the district. On Thursday, April 8, 2021, scouts led the flag ceremony and introduced the ship’s history and experience. This meeting allowed members of the scouting community not as familiar with our program to learn more about sea scouts and our ship.

In addition, a scheduling change was recently implemented. Quarterdeck and adult leaders have chosen to reduce the amount of virtual meetings due to "Zoom fatigue." Ship 1942's boatswain brought this phenomenon to our attention as he learned that too much Zoom can burn out participants, especially when the meetings are on a consistent schedule. It is hoped that by reducing the amount of meetings, the quality of meetings and attendance will increase. Our new schedule will follow a monthly rotation with a quarterdeck and all hands meeting once a month and no meeting every other week.

Our media committee is in the midst of planning new social media implementations. Last month, we created an Instagram account to promote the ship. We are regularly posting photos of our ship activities and meetings. In addition, the media committee is currently planning an Instagram story takeover, where scouts can conduct a Q&A and promote sea scouting to the public.

The beginning of March concluded Ship 1942’s month-long virtual auction. The fundraiser ended on March 8, 2021, and raised around $15,000, a staggeringly amount. The silent auction was a major success, and this is all thanks to Captain Yvonne and everyone who participated.

Also in March, one of our scouts successfully accomplished his Eagle Project. Liam received 11 finished bat boxes from various scouts and planted them around the Washington Sailing Marina. His project aims to preserve the bat population, a vital part of our ecosystem.

This month, Ship 1942 took on the role of mentoring various Sea Scout Ships in the area. Some of these ships are newly created and have looked to us for guidance and advice. We are providing them with any leadership/structural instruction we can give. And gave them access to sit in during our Quarterdeck and All Hands meetings. We hope to see these ships thrive and grow in the future.

Since March 2020, Ship 1942 has been conducting virtual meetings through Zoom. Our All Hands meetings have continuously provided high-quality instructional sessions. As of March 8th, 2021, Ship 1942 has taught more than 50% of all Sea Scout Advancement requirements over online Zoom meetings.

February 2021 was kicked off with planning for a Ship 1942 virtual auction. Due to the current pandemic, our ship was unable to hold in-person fundraiser events. Instead, our scouts decided to set up a virtual auction where people can bid on items or services. Of course, this couldn’t have been achieved without our adult leaders guiding and helping us. The auction went live in mid-February and will be live until early March. Within the first few weeks, we have already raised about $2000. These funds will go into supporting our ship and our future sailing endeavors. This money couldn’t have been raised without the promotion of the event from both our scouts and adults. Our scouts created a promotion video and posted it online. Scouts were also tasked with forwarding news about the auction to family and friends.

February was not only occupied with our ship auction but also with scrapbook planning for Flagship Fleet 2021. Because we are virtual this year, our scrapbook is as well. Our scrapbook committee began the Powerpoint scrapbook presentation and is adding the finishing touches. Our scrapbook is currently 60 slides and includes everything from advancement to our ship photo we took via Zoom.

February also consisted of personal scout advancement. This month, one of our scouts, Liam, began his Eagle Project. His project consists of scouts building bat boxes with their families. When all bat boxes are completed, he will place them in various locations to help support the role bats play in the environment.

Author: Thomas A, Ship Boatswain

Like so many other organizations, Sea Scout Ship 1942 learned it would be barred from any in-person activities in March of last year. Initially, our prospects of an action-packed summer full of long cruising and Monday night sailing just seemed to be on delay for a while. Of course, this would turn out to be far from the truth. As we slowly learned the severity of the pandemic in March, our Scouting council put a blanket ban on any outdoor or in-person activities.

As a new(ish) Sea Scout, I was disappointed to say the least. The coming summer was supposed to be my first full one with Ship 1942, filled to the brim with our exciting summer program activities. But, just like everyone else, those opportunities vanished before my eyes.

It was now up to our Boatswain and Skipper to develop a plan to keep the Ship alive. Needless to say, they were worried. Worried that without any outdoor activities or motivations to be involved with the Ship, our recruitment would die out, and our Ship along with it. Finding a way to at least keep us afloat for the time being was the most critical step. So to start, the Ship purchased a “Zoom Premium” account and began hosting weekly meetings. This is usually something we do over the Winter when it’s too cold to sail, and it provides us with a great way to teach, learn, and socialize together. However, this year our weekly meetings would continue into the Spring and Summer.

At the time I started attending these meetings, I wasn’t expecting much. I mean, how could a simple Zoom meeting replace the thrill of sailing?! But, like so many others in our unit, I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself enjoying the virtual meetings. They were productive, engaging, and a great way to be social. However, as these meetings became commonplace, our Quarterdeck realized that Scout rank advancement, a critical part of any Scouting unit, would be yet another challenge to overcome. Without a way to teach the skills required for our Scouts to advance, youth interest was sure to die out. Plus, we were running out of things to do on our Zoom calls!

Our youth-led instruction program was born out of these two problems. Every week, a new Scout would take the time to learn a new skill or area of knowledge, produce a presentation and demonstration of that skill, and then present that during our meeting. This proved to be a great success and enabled Scouts to keep progressing in rank. To complement our Scout-led instruction, Sea Scouts all over the country were offered discounts on numerous online boating courses, including those from NauticEd and BoatUS. With many of our Scouts learning in these two ways, we certainly were developing into a very book-smart group!

That said, there’s only so much “Zooming” and web scrolling one can do, and many of us were still craving a taste of sailing. Our Skipper, along with our most senior Ship adults, made a virtual trip to our charter organization: St. George’s Episcopal Church. They were there to make a request: given easier COVID restrictions at the time, they asked our chartered organization for permission to hold outdoor events. To my surprise, the Church, along with our Scouting council, permitted us to hold limited outdoor events.

I was elated! I had spent many summer hours working towards advancement and learning new skills, and I was ready to demonstrate them on the water. Alas, I soon learned that I wouldn’t be sailing, but canoeing. Our primary sailing vessels, 18’ Flying Scots, were too small to allow for adequate social distancing onboard. Fortunately, our Scouting Council had a set of ten 14’ canoes they were willing to lend us. Aboard these canoes, two rowers would have nearly ten feet of distance between them, thus passing the BSA COVID safety protocols.

And just like that, we all went into overdrive mode to prepare for a series of “canoe treks” throughout Virginia and Maryland. Our first event took place on the James River. Although our time was cut short for weather, everyone who attended was just glad to be outside, together (6+ ft apart, of course), and on the water. It wasn’t sailing, but it was enough for us.

Meanwhile, our Ship was due for a new Quarterdeck. The new Quarterdeck (board of youth officers) would inherit the challenges of operating under COVID, and would have to live up the high standards of our previous officers (believe me, they had set quite the high standard). Lo and behold, I found myself running for Ship’s Boatswain. Upon my election, I felt a great sense of pride that my fellow Scouts had chosen me to lead them through the remainder of the difficult year. Alongside me on the Quarterdeck would be many of our most experienced Scouts, including those who pioneered our “COVID program.” Ready to lead and excited to get back out on the water, planning began for our next two canoe treks.

The first of these took place in September on the Shenandoah river. Starting from a local farm (thank you, Mr. Johnson!), we would paddle 20 miles in two days and camp overnight in the woods. With special help from our Ship’s Store Keeper and our very own Mike Taylor, we had delicious food and more canoes than we knew what to do with! It was truly a wonderful event, and a great reminder for why I joined Sea Scouts in the first place.

Our next canoe outing took place on Mallows Bay, the site of a sunken WWI fleet. Although this trip was much shorter than our previous treks, it was just as fun. We organized a tour of the “ghost fleet” with Dr. Langley, the Maryland State Underwater Archeologist and lead conservationist at Mallows Bay. The mid-November weather was perfect, and the tour just the same. Our Scouts learned all about each of the vessels that lay at rest in the bay, as well as the conservation efforts and history of the bay. Special thanks to Dr. Langley for her amazing tour!

With that trek out of the way, our outdoor program for the year came to a close. There was talk of one last trek, but with the weather turning, we had to call the plans off.

Still, the virtual weekly meetings we had been holding every week continue today. Despite all of the challenges of last year, our Ship managed to adapt and improve in so many ways. More Scouts are joining us (and advancing rank) than ever before, our website was completely overhauled (www.seascoutship1942.org), and many of our officers are now serving at the council level. We all feel so fortunate to have had these opportunities, especially since not every Ship did. Thank you to everyone who made last year possible, and here’s to improving even more in 2021!