Summer Cruise - 2005

The Catalina and one of her crews sails on the Delta.

(to be read as the pictures load)
There are some things Scouts have to be grateful for after summer cruise.  This is also known as, "We didn't know how sweet it was at home!"

At the annual family Thanksgiving Feast in November, it is customary in some homes to have each person list something for which he or she is grateful.  After summer cruise, Sea Scouts have several options, and parents and other family members might wish to be forewarned.

Things Sea Scouts Could Be Grateful For:

Dirt:  Dirt holds still.  Do you know that dirt does not move unless you move it?  It does not go up and down twice daily, and it does not flow in and out at ever changing rates?  If you park a boat on dirt, the boat stays there; if you park a boat on water, it might stay there, but that has not been our Scout's experience.  Water, whose motion is unwelcome but predictable, is aided by its good friend Wind, which has no predictability at all.  Together Water and Wind make for "Adventure", which is why we went on this trip to begin with, right? 

Street Signs:  Street signs actually tell you where you are or where you are going.  Some street signs tell you how far someplace is.  Aids to navigation tell you things like, "R Fl '4' 3s 2.5m".  Surprisingly enough, some of our Scouts were positively delighted to find "R Fl '4' 3s  2.5m"; they kept looking, sometimes with binoculars - kind of like a treasure hunt?

Bed:  as opposed to a "bunk", a bed is usually in the same condition and location at the end on the day as it was when you left it in the morning, unless Mom washed the sheets.  Beds also have pillows  Bunks have no sheets, but can accumulate "gear" throughout the day; gear can include wet anchor line, Oscar, other sleeping and sea bags, line (not rope, thank you), squirt guns, tools, and other peoples' shoes (never your own shoes).  Furthermore, a bed typically holds one Scout.  Bunks are traded or shared; sometimes it is easier and more fun to sleep on the sailboat, on deck, or above the cabin.  In rough seas, bunks can also become quite wet. If you are foolish enough to fall blissfully asleep on a bunk during the day, you can bet that someone else will need something stored under your bunk; they might need bearing grease, deck screws, the next meal, lifejackets, wind surf gear, sails, oil sorbs, etc.  To get to the gear, you need to move, naturally.

Electricity:  dependable electricity.  Now, right up front, I'd like to point out, in defense of our boat and crew, that we had electricity.  However, in a house, you do not typically have to keep generator watch, worry about depleting the batteries, rewire the ground to the engine, tighten the alternator belts, unplug the coffee pot and microwave and  toaster, or ask if you can go to the bathroom.  If the last seems like a non-sequitur, keep reading . . .

Bathroom: as opposed to a head. A bathroom has a flush toilet and a shower, both of which run on water, not electricity.  Our head has an electrical processing unit with buttons to push, lights that flash to tell you if you did things correctly or not, and allows you to pump your own water.  To use the head, each Scout needed to pass a test before he/she used it.  That sure puts a new light on "failing the test", doesn't it?  Fortunately, each of our Scouts passed the test.  Showers are found ashore; you might have to walk a half mile and pay for one, but we sure used the ones we found.  Absolutely, the BEST bathrooms on the Delta at at Willowberm Marina, right next to Lighthouse Marina.

We also found that we are grateful for:
The sound of the engine running: as opposed to the sound of the engine not running.

Bedroom floor: for many of the same reasons Scouts may appreciate dirt and bed.  In addition, no one ever lifts up the floorboard of the bedroom floor to "look".  What do they look for, you may ask?  In a bedroom someone would NOT look UNDER the floor for extra or unwanted water, fresh-water valves, nuts and bolts, fuel valves, bilge pumps, shaft logs, pillow bearings, or spilled and moldy Cheerios.

Checklists:  at home, Mom is the check list - "Dear, did you remember your sweater and umbrella, sunscreen and hat, breakfast, clean hands?"  There are no irrepairable consequenses for ignoring Mom's checklist, and there are always second chances.  On the boat failure to do your own checklist could result in a variety of effects, all unpleasant.  Check lists on the boat insure that the engines get fuel, safety equipment is available when it is needed for a drill, water is available for drinking, tools and cooking gear are stowed before we hit rough seas, piloting the boat or making a radio call are options.  There are three checklists.  It takes Scouts about an hour to do a check list well - that is to get it right.  We spent the entire cruise trying to "get it right".  Checklists insure that we arrive safely.  The one personal checklist item underway is  ___Lifejacket.

School:  It might seem strange that Scouts could appreciate school.  However, on careful examination, school has several benefits.  At school you get to sit still.  The safety of the entire crew does not depend on your ability to tie a knot, or to find "R Fl '4' 3s 2.5m", or stand generator watch faithfully.  If you do poorly on a test in school, that is the end of that and you get a funny mark on paper; if you do poorly on a test in Sea Scouts you get to do it again and again until you "get it right"; tests on the boat get harder each time you take them, so it is advisable to pass the first time.  Even the fun "stuff" has tests - like the mile swim.

Fellow crewmates:  Fellow crewmates make it possible for Scouts to have fun, and keep their sanity and sense of humor.  Scouts find that they cannot do things alone - they have to have help, and working together makes it possible to move the boat.  The crew can make it easy or hard, depending on the willingness of the crew to work together.  Fortunately, we have a great crew; they spent the entire cruise figuring out how to make the entire cruising procedure work well.   As skipper I particularly wish to thank the other adults and J.O.'s who made this cruise possible: Jessica for food planning and preparation; Nick and April for command of the Catalina, and for trip preparations, equipment repair, and navigation; and Stan for dependable, safe, boat handling.  I also very much appreciate Nate and Chelsea who served as J.O.D.'s for the entire cruise.  We could not have sailed the Catalina if Mr.  and Mrs. Martin had not towed it to and from Brennan Island for us; special thanks to them!  Several parents came to visit and/or provide a food run; thank you,  thank you! Crew members were great, too; everyone gave his/her best and helped make this cruise a rewarding and memorable experience. 




The Catalina and one of her crews sails on the Delta.




Anchoring practice in Three Mile Slough.


Galley duty.


Helm watch with the J.O. and the J.O.D. supervising.


Navigation watch required accuracy and lots of concentration,


and supervision.






Sternwatch and radio check.


The logistics of feeding 16 people in a small galley for 3 meals a day for 9 days is a great feat, but Jessica did it well.
We had to keep an eye on the water supply, too.


There were checklists to do, and


lessons to give,


tests to take and pass.


The tests included a mile swim for several Scouts.

But there was time for fun, too:

Swimming in Georgianna Slough.


Swimming at Westgate.




The inevitable watergun battles.


And a few moments to relax.


Mr. Sterling caught fish.

There were the games and dinner at Westgate.

Then it was time to put away all the toys and come home.




Believe it or not, at the end of the cruise, some of the Scouts were tired.




But we all arrived safe and sound, and ready to go again - some day.


There are some things Scouts have to be grateful for after summer cruise.  This is also known as, "We didn't know how sweet it was at home!"

At the annual family Thanksgiving Feast in November, it is customary in some homes to have each person list something for which he or she is grateful.  After summer cruise, Sea Scouts have several options, and parents and other family members might wish to be forewarned.

Things Sea Scouts Could Be Grateful For:

Dirt:  Dirt holds still.  Do you know that dirt does not move unless you move it?  It does not go up and down twice daily, and it does not flow in and out at ever changing rates?  If you park a boat on dirt, the boat stays there; if you park a boat on water, it might stay there, but that has not been our Scout's experience.  Water, whose motion is unwelcome but predictable, is aided by its good friend Wind, which has no predictability at all.  Together Water and Wind make for "Adventure", which is why we went on this trip to begin with, right? 

Street Signs:  Street signs actually tell you where you are or where you are going.  Some street signs tell you how far someplace is.  Aids to navigation tell you things like, "R Fl '4' 3s 2.5m".  Surprisingly enough, some of our Scouts were positively delighted to find "R Fl '4' 3s  2.5m"; they kept looking, sometimes with binoculars - kind of like a treasure hunt?

Bed:  as opposed to a "bunk", a bed is usually in the same condition and location at the end on the day as it was when you left it in the morning, unless Mom washed the sheets.  Beds also have pillows  Bunks have no sheets, but can accumulate "gear" throughout the day; gear can include wet anchor line, Oscar, other sleeping and sea bags, line (not rope, thank you), squirt guns, tools, and other peoples' shoes (never your own shoes).  Furthermore, a bed typically holds one Scout.  Bunks are traded or shared; sometimes it is easier and more fun to sleep on the sailboat, on deck, or above the cabin.  In rough seas, bunks can also become quite wet. If you are foolish enough to fall blissfully asleep on a bunk during the day, you can bet that someone else will need something stored under your bunk; they might need bearing grease, deck screws, the next meal, lifejackets, wind surf gear, sails, oil sorbs, etc.  To get to the gear, you need to move, naturally.

Electricity:  dependable electricity.  Now, right up front, I'd like to point out, in defense of our boat and crew, that we had electricity.  However, in a house, you do not typically have to keep generator watch, worry about depleting the batteries, rewire the ground to the engine, tighten the alternator belts, unplug the coffee pot and microwave and  toaster, or ask if you can go to the bathroom.  If the last seems like a non-sequitur, keep reading . . .

Bathroom: as opposed to a head. A bathroom has a flush toilet and a shower, both of which run on water, not electricity.  Our head has an electrical processing unit with buttons to push, lights that flash to tell you if you did things correctly or not, and allows you to pump your own water.  To use the head, each Scout needed to pass a test before he/she used it.  That sure puts a new light on "failing the test", doesn't it?  Fortunately, each of our Scouts passed the test.  Showers are found ashore; you might have to walk a half mile and pay for one, but we sure used the ones we found.  Absolutely, the BEST bathrooms on the Delta at at Willowberm Marina, right next to Lighthouse Marina.

We also found that we are grateful for:
The sound of the engine running: as opposed to the sound of the engine not running.

Bedroom floor: for many of the same reasons Scouts may appreciate dirt and bed.  In addition, no one ever lifts up the floorboard of the bedroom floor to "look".  What do they look for, you may ask?  In a bedroom someone would NOT look UNDER the floor for extra or unwanted water, fresh-water valves, nuts and bolts, fuel valves, bilge pumps, shaft logs, pillow bearings, or spilled and moldy Cheerios.

Checklists:  at home, Mom is the check list - "Dear, did you remember your sweater and umbrella, sunscreen and hat, breakfast, clean hands?"  There are no irrepairable consequenses for ignoring Mom's checklist, and there are always second chances.  On the boat failure to do your own checklist could result in a variety of effects, all unpleasant.  Check lists on the boat insure that the engines get fuel, safety equipment is available when it is needed for a drill, water is available for drinking, tools and cooking gear are stowed before we hit rough seas, piloting the boat or making a radio call are options.  There are three checklists.  It takes Scouts about an hour to do a check list well - that is to get it right.  We spent the entire cruise trying to "get it right".  Checklists insure that we arrive safely.  The one personal checklist item underway is  ___Lifejacket.

School:  It might seem strange that Scouts could appreciate school.  However, on careful examination, school has several benefits.  At school you get to sit still.  The safety of the entire crew does not depend on your ability to tie a knot, or to find "R Fl '4' 3s 2.5m", or stand generator watch faithfully.  If you do poorly on a test in school, that is the end of that and you get a funny mark on paper; if you do poorly on a test in Sea Scouts you get to do it again and again until you "get it right"; tests on the boat get harder each time you take them, so it is advisable to pass the first time.  Even the fun "stuff" has tests - like the mile swim.

Fellow crewmates:  Fellow crewmates make it possible for Scouts to have fun, and keep their sanity and sense of humor.  Scouts find that they cannot do things alone - they have to have help, and working together makes it possible to move the boat.  The crew can make it easy or hard, depending on the willingness of the crew to work together.  Fortunately, we have a great crew; they spent the entire cruise figuring out how to make the entire cruising procedure work well.   As skipper I particularly wish to thank the other adults and J.O.'s who made this cruise possible: Jessica for food planning and preparation; Nick and April for command of the Catalina, and for trip preparations, equipment repair, and navigation; and Stan for dependable, safe, boat handling.  I also very much appreciate Nate and Chelsea who served as J.O.D.'s for the entire cruise.  We could not have sailed the Catalina if Mr.  and Mrs. Martin had not towed it to and from Brennan Island for us; special thanks to them!  Several parents came to visit and/or provide a food run; thank you,  thank you! Crew members were great, too; everyone gave his/her best and helped make this cruise a rewarding and memorable experience.