ScoutFleet to celebrate Sea Scouting’s 100th anniversary

Hoist the main sail!

Starting today, 28 vessels and 230 Sea Scouts arrive in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for Centennial ScoutFleet 2012. 

The event, which celebrates this year’s 100th anniversary of Sea Scouts, will put the program on full display with events including an exciting ScoutFleet Regatta starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. The regatta—visible to those on land in the harbor area—will feature uniformed Sea Scouts sailing boats of all variety and lengths, including the flagship boat of the Chesapeake Sea Scout Flotilla, a 46-foot Morgan Ketch sailboat, Der PeLiKan.

After the regatta, an exchange of cannon salutes from the Der PeLiKan and USS Constellation—the Navy’s last wooden warship—will echo throughout the harbor as the Scouts undergo a review of ships. A parade of ships will follow. Then, the group will celebrate Sea Scouting with a gala birthday party—the highlight of which will be a cake with 100 candles! Keith Christopher, national Sea Scout director, will also speak to the crowd.

This visible display of Sea Scouting in such a prominent and busy harbor honors 100 years of tradition in a program that keeps older Scouts active by teaching how to “cruise large boats, operate large diesel engines, and make lifelong friends,” says Joshua Gilliland, national Sea Scout Centennial chairman.

Learn more about ScoutFleet and find a Sea Scout ship near you by visiting newseascout.org. Plus, you can find a recap of this event, including photos of the regatta, in the November-December issue of Scouting.


About Aaron Derr 429 Articles
Aaron Derr is the senior editor of Scout Life and Scouting magazines, and also a former Cubmaster and Scouts BSA volunteer.