Liberty Flotilla Quarterdeck Training 2011

Volume 15, No.2
The Voice of Sea Scouts in the Northeast Region
Summer 2011
Liberty Flotilla Quarterdeck Training 2011
What is a “quarterdeck”? Merriam Webster defines it as “the stern area of a ship's upper deck” as well as “a
part of a deck on a naval vessel set aside by the captain for ceremonial and official use”. Sea Scouts also know
it as the slate of Youth Officers who lead in their Ship. They are the lifeblood of any successful unit! It is
important to provide guidance, training and encouragement to those members on a regular basis. A major
investment for a positive future. And for the Liberty Flotilla, we have found the additional camaraderie of
offering this to multiple ships at once to be priceless.
On February 26, the Liberty Flotilla provided a Quarterdeck Training Day with 6 ships in attendance. The
synergy of working with multiple units was great. Key topics covered included communication skills,
delegation, planning, and leadership styles. Flotilla boatswain Shea Sweeney presented one segment and it was
well received by the youth in attendance, as well as the adults auditing the sessions. Hands on team building
exercises were added to each segment to reinforce the learning. Some healthy competition existed between the
three teams on the Styrofoam Tower challenge and the winning crew created one that withstood both time and
some windblown debris.
It is the plan of the flotilla to offer this course again in 2 years; watch for details. Bravo Zulu to all involved –
the students, the facilitators, and the support network created among the ships of the Liberty Flotilla. You
couldn’t ask for a better outcome!
Leadership Training
Gordian Knots
Photos courtesy Helen Fricke, Ship 460-NY
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Styrofoam Tower Challenge
Styrofoam Tower Challenge – Winner!
Photos courtesy Helen Fricke, Ship 460-NY
Save the Date:
SEABADGE-8-MA-2011
Friday, September 30 thru Sunday, October 2
Course Director: Skipper Ben Feril (email: bengmferil@msn.com)
Location: USCG Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Cost: $160.00
Due to the venue, the maximum participant headcount is 24 - so enroll early!
Seabadge is the official advanced training program of adult Sea Scouts in the BSA. The course is designed to
provide the program specific management techniques that can improve the quality of the ships' programming. It is
an intensely participatory experience for the students as they interact with one another and the faculty in
seminars, workshops, role playing and discussion groups. As a special bonus the SB-8-MA-2011 course participants
will tour the Air Station and USCG Rescue Swimmer facility.
SB-8-MA-2011 participants will be selected from nominees recommended by their local councils. Any registered
Sea Scout leader who is active in the operations of their ship or council is eligible. Registration packets are
available on the NER website http://neregion.seascout.org/Seabadge%208%20MA%202011%20Application.pdf
Applications must be postmarked no later than September 1. This event is expected to fill early! A waiting list will
be maintained.
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DID YOU KNOW?
50 Sea Scouts from the New England Flotilla spent a cold February weekend aboard the USCG
Barque Eagle for a Quarter Deck Leadership training session. Any Sea Scout or adult leader
who wanted to, were able to do an "Up and Over" in the rigging of the Eagle. Academy cadets
and crew assisted the Sea Scouts in getting safety harnesses on and up, over and back down
safely. Newly elected Flotilla Boson Dorothy Markey, from Ship 2 in CT, was taken to the top of
the mast by Eagle’s BM1, who was very impressed by the Sea Scouts. All agreed this was a great
weekend. Flotilla Commodore Al Beal commented after the event, “I am sure many can envision
themselves underway as a Cadet at the USCG Academy.”
USCG Barque Eagle
Sea Scouts in the rigging
Scott Ongemach being checked out by the Eagle BM1
Crew of Ship 40 at the helm of Eagle: Bosun Lynn Francis, Purser Mike
Finnegan, Cape Cod Squadron Bosun Jessie Kennedy and
Storekeeper Scott Ongemach.
Photos courtesy Al Beal, Ship 40-MA
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Ships Pull Together to Repair Pulling Boats
by Shay Seaborne, Skipper, Ship 7916 VA
Over the past several months, Sea Scouts and adults from four National Capitol Area Council ships worked at the Calvert Marine
Museum with the Patuxent Small Craft Guild to complete extensive repairs on two pulling boats, so the vessels are ready to use for
training and competitions at the annual Nygard Regatta. Ships 548, 1009, 1942 and 7916 put about 250 hours into “Skipper Crabtree”
in the spring and 548 put in approximately 100 hours into “Skipper Nygard” last November. The extensive work included removing
and replacing of the stern and the bow plate, removing and replacement of 60% of the gunwales on one boat, and plenty of
scraping, sanding and painting.
The 24’ boats were built in the spring of 1997 by Henry Nygard (S759) and Jerry Crabtree (S1009). The design is based on plans for
the Grand Banks dory, which the skippers obtained from the National Archives. They built the boats to give Sea Scouts the
opportunity to meet an advancement requirement to row a boat with more than two oars.
Made of marine plywood, the pulling boats originally cost about $3,000 each in materials. Thirteen years later, sections of the rail
caps had gone punky, the bow cap pieces were soft, and the transoms had de-laminated and rotted and needed to be replaced. To
make the new 1.5” thick transom, scouts glued up two layers of ¾” marine grade plywood. They then used a cardboard pattern to
help determine the fit, cut the wood on a bandsaw, and finally used a multi-tool to trim excess wood to finish making the pieces fit.
Brenda Renninger of S548, Avenue, MD, logged about 24 hrs of work during several of the work days. Along with fellow scouts from
sister ships, the 15-year-old replaced rotted sections of rail cap and the bow cap. She used a multi-tool that worked as a saw, a
chisel and a plane, but also completed a lot of sanding by hand. Her favorite part was putting on the transom because, “it was cool
to see how you can take a regular piece of wood and shape it to fit into the space, and have it stay there.”
Eighteen-year-old Sarah Fucello, Bosun of S7916, Occoquan VA, also helped to prepare the replacement transom. Though she had
never used a bandsaw before, Sarah said it was “not at all scary to work with the saw,” because “the Guild members explained and
showed us how to do everything, they showed the safety precautions,” she said. Sarah liked learning that “the table would tilt to
change angle of cut.”
After the scouts trimmed the transom to fit, Sarah and fellow S7916 scout Isaac Weeks learned how to mix fiberglass resin and how
to apply it to the cloth and wood. They poured the honey-colored liquid onto the fabric and used squeegees to work it into the
fiberglass cloth so it would make a strong bond with the wood.
George Surgent, the Calvert Museum Boatwright, oversaw the work days, along with Al Lavish, the Secretary/Treasurer of the
Patuxent Small Craft Guild and Bill Lake, president of the Guild, who has volunteered for more than10,000 hours. Brenda enjoyed
working with the Guild members. “They were really hands on,” she noted. “They didn’t just do it for us.” She felt this is very
important, “because the kids are going there to learn how to do it and...if the adults are doing all the work, the scouts are not
learning or taking anything from the experience.”
Sarah wasn’t sure what to expect for the work day. She knew “we would be making a new stern, but I didn’t know what that
involved. I was able to learn a lot and would be willing to do more,” said Sarah. Brenda agreed, saying “it was really fun. If we had
another pulling boat I would definitely go down and do it again.”
Brenda said that working on the boats changed how she sees them. “Now you want to take care of the boat,” she said. “Some
people just bang it up against the dock and don’t really care, and now that you’ve fixed it up and painted it, it makes you want to
take the time to not hit the dock, and take care of it...because you had a part in fixing it and making it what it is now.”
Now that the boats are in good shape, Ship 548 will keep “Skipper Nygard” in Southern Maryland and Ship 1942 will have charge of
“Skipper Crabtree,” in order to best allow regional scouts access to the training vessels. “Skipper Nygard” will be put to use by
scouts involved in pulling boat competition at the Nygard Regatta.
Sarah Fucello and Isaac Weeks check the fit of the
new transom after cutting it on the bandsaw.
Calvert Museum Boatwright George Surgent gives guidance to Brenda
Renninger as she begins to cut out rotted portions of the gunwale.
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2011 NYGARD REGATTA HELD
OVER THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!
On Friday, May 27, nine Sea Scout ships from Maryland (361, 548 & 759), Virginia (1115, 7916 & 1942),
Pennsylvania (5 & 25), and Delaware (198), gathered in Southern Maryland for a weekend of competition in
nautical knowledge, skills, athletics, and even galley prowess. NE Regional Boatswain Amanda Ballassi was
our distinguished guest. Camp Brown is owned by the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington and the
facilities include air conditioned cabins for sleeping, a mess hall, pool, dock, beach, recreation pavilion, and
extensive manicured grounds.
The Henry I. Nygard Sea Scout Regatta (named for one of its founders, the legendary Skipper of Ship 759 from
1965 to 2005) has been running for 46 years. It is held every Memorial Day Weekend, and in addition to the
tests of Sea Scout skills, there’s a uniform inspection, the dreaded berthing inspection, and a dance. On
Saturday evening we “rig church” and all hands “dine in” for Sunday dinner in dress uniform. This year there
were 21 scored events and 6 unscored events. Points are awarded for 1st through 4th place. Perhaps the most
interesting unscored event was the cook-off in the galley. Doug Yeckley was the Regatta Chairman and Steve
Alexander served as Chief Judge.
Here are some photos taken over the course of the weekend by Amanda Ballassi and Steve Nichols:
Skipper Yeckly addressing the boatswains during the opening
briefing meeting at the Nygard Regatta.
Uniform inspection time.
2-man canoe racing
4-man canoe slalom
Event Scoreboard
Heaving Line
One of the Awards
32 point compass & relative bearings
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Powder Monkey
Sailing Competition
Scuttlebutt Hoist
Pulling Boat
Boson Chair Lift
Boatswain Camaraderie at Regatta
(l to r, Sarah S7916, Sarah S1942, Kyle S361, Mark S198, Amanda
S584/RB)
Mark your calendars: The 47th Henry
Nygard Regatta will be held over the
Memorial Day Weekend in 2012. Every ship
should consider attending this event. The
spirit of fun and competition makes this a
rewarding way to spend the weekend, while
building on the traditions and practices of Sea
Scouting.
This is also a wonderful
opportunity to meet fellow Sea Scouts from
different areas.
SEAL Graduates provide grace for the Sunday night dinner
(l to r, Mark S198, Erin S1942, Emily X1942, Cynthia S1942)
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After arrival and registration on Friday evening, the main events of the Nygard Regatta started on Saturday
morning with a full-dress uniform inspection and sailing regatta. Seven of the nine Sea Scout ships at Regatta
sent crews to the sailing event, held on the St. Mary’s River, near Camp Brown, using 15-ft “FJ” sailboats
provided by St. Mary’s College. There were eight races with 10 boats participating. Jack and Wesley of Ship
361 from Columbia, MD won the sailing regatta.
The Saturday afternoon events included eight stations to test the nautical skills, knowledge and athletic ability
of the Sea Scouts. Stations included canoe slalom, rowing, life ring toss, heaving line toss, signaling, compass
and relative bearing and powder monkey race. After dinner, we rigged church for an all-faith religious service.
The swimming pool was the scene of Sunday’s morning activity, with both individual and relay races. The
contestants’ shipmates provided lots of cheering to urge them on.
On Sunday afternoon, the competitions included pulling boat, scuttlebutt, radio, drill, marlinspike (splicing),
knot tying, and a navigation problem. After these competitions were over, every Sea Scout took a two-part
written test with questions on seamanship and first aid. The Sunday night dinner was special. The air
conditioning in the mess hall had failed, but the Boatswains decided that the uniform of the day for dinner
would be dress white (which was the original plan). The entre was roast beef, perfectly cooked. After dinner,
a dance was held at the Camp’s recreation pavilion and the second annual “Glamour Panel” was conducted.
Look at a 1960’s vintage Sea Scout Manual to see what that is!
Awards were presented at a dress uniform closing ceremony on Monday, Memorial Day itself, followed by
laying a floral wreath upon the waters of the Potomac River from the pulling boat, manned by the winning
pulling boat crew in honor of our fallen military heroes. This year, Ship 1942 of Arlington, VA was the high
points winner. Ship 1009 of Bowie, MD came in second. Ship 361, Columbia, MD combined with Ship 759 of
Ashton, MD to come in third.
“go confidently
in the direction
of your dreams.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
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Summer Reading - Book Reviews
by Deidre Buchner
The Angel's Command (A Tale from Castaways of the Flying Dutchman)
by Brian
Jacques is the next chapter in the adventures of Ben and his faithful Labrador, Ned. These
castaways from the legendary ghost ship swore never to go to sea again… but a mishap in South
America lands them aboard a French pirate ship with not one but two villainous sea captains in
pursuit. To make matters worse, Ben is still haunted by visions of Captain Venderdecken, whose
ghost seeks vengeance on the former cabin boy. And that is only the beginning of their
adventures.
Although this is a sequel, the first chapter will bring the reader up to speed on where the original
book left off and this installment begins. This novel is divided into two nearly separate stories
and is a real page-turner as the heroes escape from tight spots through fortuitous accidents or
divine intervention and some rather clever plot twists. Those who enjoyed the first book will find
this novel just as exciting. Readers can take satisfaction in the fact that virtue is rewarded,
evildoers get their comeuppance and good triumphs over evil. If you are looking for a fun, quick
read, give this title a look-see. Borrow it from the library or pick up a copy at your local
bookstore.
First You Have to Row a Little Boat: Reflections on Life & Living.
Richard Bode shares good-natured parables in which the lessons learned from sailing are
translated into lessons about living. Looking back across a half century to his boyhood years on
Long Island Sound, where he fell in love with boats and describing his own introduction to
sailing, he stresses the importance of mastering the simple, small things before attempting more
complicated actions. Later the author purchases a blue sloop, matures and, as a grown man with
children, decides to sell the sloop and sail into new, uncharted waters, assuming he will never
forget the many important lessons the boat taught him.
In the title piece, the author is “first made to row a small boat” at age 12 and from the
experience comes to understand the importance of mastery not over the boat or the elements
but over himself. Other themes include complacency ("Going with the Wind"), confusion
("Fogbound"), forgiveness ("A Forgiving Boat"), and violence ("A Lazy Sailor at Heart"). Even
sailors' knots become metaphors as Bode likens a sturdy square knot to a good marriage and an
improperly tied granny knot to a mismatched couple who “scrape and chafe against each other”.
A frequent contributor to Reader's Digest, Bode is adept at pulling messages out of ordinary
experiences. The images he creates are simple and clear, and so are the lessons he derives from
them. Determinedly inspirational, this book will appeal to admirers of Robert Fulghum; it’s a
warm and fuzzy read! Borrow it from the library or pick up a copy at your local bookstore.
(( Got a favorite book you think your fellow Sea Scouts might enjoy? Write a short review – please don’t give away
the plot or surprise ending – and send it along to the Editor at deidre.buchner@prudential.com ! Thanks. ))
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What did you do this weekend as a Sea Scout?
Buoyed by a desire to save lives
Local Sea Scouts begin installation of life-ring stations
By Mitchelle Stephenson (Southern Region Venturing Chair)
In April last year, Kemp Dawson of West River, Maryland, read the story of Eddie Knudsen Jr., a 15-year-old
Lothian youth, who drowned in the Patuxent River.
Kemp Dawson, left, and his son, Basil, measure the wood to be cut to build a life-ring station. Local Sea Scouts have plans to install about 30 of the stations at public
waterfront access points in Anne Arundel, Prince George’s and Calvert counties.
As a father of three, and someone who loves to spend time on the water, Dawson felt strongly that he had to do
something to try to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. The next day, he settled on the idea of
installing life-ring stations near water access points in Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Calvert counties.
And as one of the adult leaders of Sea Scout Ship 1009, Dawson had an active group of teenagers whose
enthusiasm and muscle he could tap. When he brought the idea to his Sea Scout unit they were excited and
wanted to get started right away.
"Support for the project was unanimous," boasted Skipper Marty Evans. As his first bit of research, Dawson
contacted the harbor masters in Baltimore and Annapolis. He found that the stations they employ - wooden
boxes containing a round swim ring attached to a 60-foot rope and an alarm - were prohibitively expensive to
install at the number of sites he had in mind. "Those life-ring stations were at least $400 with an alarm."
Dawson reviewed various designs online and decided, that if he could come up with a template for the wooden
components for the housing, he could easily make the stations in his shop, then buy the rings, rope and alarms at
a marine supply center. Dawson calculated that the do-it-yourself model he had in mind would keep the cost
down to about $130 for each station.
Dawson made the first life-ring station out of plywood and 2-by-4s mounted on a 4-by-4 4-foot post. "I made
the template so that the pieces could easily be flat-packed, then assembled." When finished with the prototype,
he took it to Annapolis and met with Chris Carroll, Chief of Park Operations - South for the county Department
of Recreation and Parks. After seeing the prototype and hearing the Sea Scout’s pitch, Carroll not only agreed
to the placement of the stations on county property, but volunteered to help offset some of the out-of-pocket
expenses, like the alarms, rings and ropes.
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In July, the Sea Scouts completed their first installation at the end of Main Street in Galesville, MD. Sarah
Blodgett was one of the Sea Scouts who helped. "I think it is a really good idea, and it saves lives. I really
liked drilling the post and am hopeful to be able to work with power tools again soon.”
Each life-ring station takes six hours to complete. Dawson estimated that cutting the wood takes two hours,
assembling and painting takes two hours, and then transport and installation takes another two hours. Dawson
said that it's good to teach the teens carpentry skills, but they've also been trained in throwing a life-ring.
Kemp's son, Basil, said he thinks that the life-ring stations are a good idea. "In Virginia, I heard of a Sea Scout
that was on a dock when someone fell in the water and couldn't swim. The Sea Scout jumped in and saved that
person, but there won't always be someone with those skills around, so the life-ring stations are good."
The stations built by the local Sea Scouts are designed so that an alarm is triggered if the ring is pulled off the
post. "If someone throws the ring, someone will hear the alarm and hopefully call for help," Dawson said. "It is
really loud. If you were next door at a bar with music playing, you would hear it." In some other waterfront
locations, like along Lake Michigan, a life-ring detachment from a box triggers a call to 911. But those systems
are expensive. Dawson said the Scouts from Ship 1009 will follow up twice a year to keep the alarm batteries
in the stations fresh.
Mate Dawson, Skipper Evans, and the Sea Scouts, hope to complete the installation of about 30 life-ring
stations by the end of Summer, with plans to put up stations at Jonas Green Park on the Severn River, Quiet
Waters Park on the South River, Jug Bay on the Patuxent River and Ft. Smallwood Park on the Magothy,
among others. A station also will be installed at Boone's Mobile Estates on the Patuxent River in Lothian, which
is where Knudsen drowned.
"If a station had been there then, maybe someone would have been able to toss him a ring and he'd still be with
us," Dawson said.
FLAG TALK
The “D” (Delta) flag
Also means: “Keep clear of me. I am maneuvering with difficulty”.
Resource Websites: http://octopus.gma.org/Tidings/snailtale/flags.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_maritime_signal_flags
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Jobs Await Maritime Academies’ Class of 2011
by Capt Kip Peterson
Nearly 800 young men and women are graduating from the seven maritime academies in the United States this
year, and many will be working on a vessel almost before the ink on their U.S. Coast Guard license is dry. U.S.flag vessel operators are clamoring for qualified deck and engine officers, so the class of 2011 will soon be
gainfully employed.
“We welcome our new shipmates,” said James Henry, President of the Transportation Institute, and Chairman
of the Board of Directors of the American Maritime Partnership. “It is no small accomplishment to pass the
extensive U.S. Coast Guard exam required for a deck or engine license. Now it’s time to put that knowledge to
work moving the cargos that keep America strong and safe.”
There are seven maritime academies in the United States, one each in California, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan and Texas, and two in New York. SUNY Maritime College in Fort Schuyler in the Bronx is the oldest,
opening in 1874. Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, Mich., is the newest, opening in 1969.
Most graduates will sail on vessels in the domestic fleet, which numbers more than 40,000 self-propelled ships
and tug-barge combinations. In a strong economy, these vessels will move more than one billion tons of cargo
between U.S. ports, or roughly a quarter of the nation’s freight.
New officers start out as either a Third Mate or a Third Assistant Engineer on self-propelled vessels or
corresponding positions on tug-barge combinations. Mates direct navigation and the handling of cargo.
Engineers are in charge of propulsion and the vessel’s machinery. A deck career culminates as the Captain or
Master of the vessel. In the Engine Department, the Chief Engineer is the top of the ladder. While salaries vary
from one segment of the industry to another, it is not unusual for freshmen officers to start at $60,000 or more
per year.
Not all graduates will enter the commercial maritime industry. A number will choose to safeguard our nation on
the oceans as members of the U.S. Navy or U.S. Coast Guard. Even those who pursue a career on commercial
vessels will in times of crisis often serve on government-controlled vessels engaged in ferrying supplies to U.S.
troops overseas.
Academy graduates face a daunting challenge when they take their Coast Guard exams. The testing covers
days and requires encyclopedic knowledge of the career path chosen. For that reason maritime academy
cadets must supplement their classroom instruction with significant amounts of time on either training ships
operated by their schools or aboard actual freighters.
Many forecast increased demand for waterborne commerce in the United States, especially as there are
environmental benefits to using vessels such as shifting cargo from congested highways and overburdened rail
systems to waterways with unused capacity.
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Just for fun . . .
The Word of the Day is:
alow
\uh-LOH\
adverb
Meaning: below
Example Sentence: "Then, with all her sails, light and heavy, and studding sails on each side, alow
and aloft, she is the most glorious moving object in the world." (Noel Perrin, The New York Times,
May 30, 1982, quoting from the book Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Jr.)
Did you know? In nautical use, "alow" means "in or to a lower part of the vessel," indicating the deck
or the area of the rigging closest to the deck, or below-deck as opposed to above-deck. The opposite
of "alow" in this sense is "aloft," used to indicate a higher part of the vessel. Yet, while we are still
likely to encounter "aloft," in both nautical and non-nautical use, "alow" has become something of a
rarity. When encountered, it is usually found in the combination "alow and aloft." This phrase literally
refers to the upper and lower parts of a ship or its rigging, but it can also be used to mean
"completely" or "throughout" -- similar to the more familiar "high and low."
Courtesy of Merriam-Webster Online at http://www.merriam-webster.com/
From the Staff of THE TELEGRAPH
Deidre Buchner
Noel Guzman
Connor Rieve
Brian Gray
Editor
Reg’l Commodore
Vice Cmdre, Admin
Reg’l Staff Advisor
Contributing Journalists and Reporters
Staff Photographers
deidre.buchner@prudential.com
SSS441Vigilant@nyc.rr.com
reddragon88@sbcglobal.net
brian.gray@scouting.org
YOU – Ships of the Northeast Region
Member Ships of the NER Flotillas
Watch for our next issue: Fall 2011, Vol.15 No.3, to be released in the fourth quarter. If you have any
submissions of newsworthy items, send them to the Editor before November 1st. Thank you for your
ongoing support of our great sea scout e-newsletter!
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