V-Week: Thursday and Friday as Sea Scouts

The stalwart crew
The stalwart crew: Sammy, Maddie, Michela, Westy (the First Mate), Erin, Ryan, Tommy, Candy, and Skip (the captain)
Setting sail
Setting sail

The kids really enjoyed their 24+ hours afloat.  I wasn’t with them (as described in my previous post), but I’ve included some pictures that Candy took to give an idea of what the kids did.  As they set sail, it was raining, but by mid day the rain had abated, the weather turned nice, and they began to enjoy themselves more.  Living in Maryland, many of the kids have been on boats before, but the captain, “Skip,” literally showed them the ropes and had them manipulating sales and taking the helm.

Francis Scott Key buoy
Francis Scott Key buoy

On the way out of the Inner Harbor, they passed the Francis Scott Key buoy.  This is thought to be the location from which he watched the bombardment of Ft. McHenry the night he wrote The Star Spangled Banner.  Tommy said that you could barely see the fort from this point.  You can see that it was still overcast when they passed this point, but Tommy thought that he could probably only see the flag and not the fort itself.  Certainly this would be true at night.

 

Lining up for inspection
Lining up for inspection
Anyone in the mood for Gorton's fish?
Anyone in the mood for Gorton's fish?
In the galley
In the galley

The kids prepared meals for all on board, including Skip and his first mate.  Lunch was simple fare — salt beaf, hard tack, and rum.  Actually, it was ham and cheese sandwiches, but that doesn’t sound as nautical.  For dinner they made cheese burgers on Skips shipboard grill.  Breakfast consisted of French toast and bacon.

Maddie at the helm
Maddie at the helm
Hoisting the sails
Hoisting the sails
Recreation aboard a foldable boat
Recreation aboard a foldable boat

About 4:00 they dropped anchor near Annapolis.  The kids broke out Skip’s foldable boat and played in the water for an hour.  Scuttlebutt is that the water was warm if you kept moving, but was chilly if you sat still.

Enjoying the crystal clear (?!) water of Chesapeake Bay
Enjoying the crystal clear (?!) water of Chesapeake Bay

After dinner they played more Kung Fu Fighting and then hit the sack.  The girls took up the V berth below decks.  Tommy and Ryan had to sleep on deck, which they didn’t mind until about 11:00 PM when it started to rain on them.

Hard at work
Hard at work
Erin steers under the Bay Bridge
Erin steers under the Bay Bridge

The first thing Erin had to tell me when I met them at the dock was that she got to pilot the ship under the Bay Bridge.  Skip said he doesn’t often let the Sea Scouts do that, particularly on their first voyage.  Tommy said that Erin was quite good at maneuvering the boat.

Approaching the Bay Bridge
Approaching the Bay Bridge

On the way back to the Inner Harbor, Skip’s engine overheated and began smoking.  They came into the harbor on just wind power until the last mile or so when Skip turned the engine on long enough to approach the dock.  In addition, over the emergency radio, they heard a report of a boat taking on water and saw a Coast Guard boat speed by to rescue them.

Inside the boat
Inside the boat
Sammy at the helm
Sammy at the helm

Before releasing the crew, Skip sat them down and complimented them on their performance and attitude as well as the way they quickly learned the needed skills.  This has become a common theme with the Venture Crew.  There’s lots wrong with American society and our largely ill culture, but the kids in the Venture Crew routinely impress me with their maturity, teamwork, and support for each other.  This is a tremendous group of kids, and they are a pleasure to be around.  You parents out there should be proud of these kids!

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