NAWILIWILI — Larry Richardson was like a father on prom night Wednesday. This was the first outing for the Sea Scouts of Kaua‘i, a newly-formed organization that is a collaborative effort between the Kaua‘i Police Activities League, the Boy Scouts
NAWILIWILI — Larry Richardson was like a father on prom night Wednesday.
This was the first outing for the Sea Scouts of Kaua‘i, a newly-formed organization that is a collaborative effort between the Kaua‘i Police Activities League, the Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council, the Nawiliwili Yacht Club and the United States Coast Guard.
Following an organizational meeting a few weeks ago, the Sea Scouts program sprouted four scouts that have been getting familiar with the program with hands-on activities.
“This is the first time the scouts are going out with the Coast Guard and we want to make a good first impression,” Richardson said. “We want them to invite us back.”
Richardson said he grew up as a Sea Scout in California, and based on his experience, wanted to see a similar program take root on Kaua‘i.
“We’re surrounded by water and it’s only natural that our young people grow up knowing how to live with water,” Richardson said.
Sea Scouting is a program combining the tradition of the past with the technology of the future, states a flier on Sea Scouting.
The program is co-educational and offered to young adults between the ages of 14 to 21 years old. Sea Scouts love boats, the water, have a desire to learn the skills of a sailor, can work as a team, and can also set personal goals while having fun.
Richardson said, based on his experience in California, the Sea Scouts learn the history and traditions of the sea, and actually participate in cruises where they learn about taking a vessel from Point A to Point B and being ready for whatever they may encounter.
His dream is to one day acquire a ship from the United States Navy that the local group, or ship as the Sea Scout terminology defines it, can use for long cruises to Neighbor Islands.
Initially, Richardson said the group will be doing a cruise from Nawiliwili to Hanalei where the Scouts disembark and camp before returning.
Joining the ‘Ohana Cruise hosted by the USCG was an honor because the Sea Scouts could not only experience cruising aboard a ship the size of the cutter Kittiwake, they got to meet the families of the cutter crew as well as members of the USCG Auxiliary and their families.
“The ‘Ohana Cruise is an opportunity for the crew and Auxiliary members to bring their families aboard,” said Lt. Gordon Hood, commander of the Kittiwake. “The cutter will be going to drydock for its maintenance and the ‘Ohana Cruise allows the family members a chance to enjoy a cruise before the cutter is drydocked.”
Jim Jung, one of the USCG Auxiliary members, said the Wednesday cruise was appropriate because it coincided with the 70th Anniversary of the USCG Auxiliary.
Ken Dorland, another of the USCG Auxiliary and a member of the NYC Race Committee, said the involvement of the USCG with the Sea Scouts is fairly recent and only after the USCG and the Sea Scout program signed a “Letter of Understanding.”
Richardson said any young adult wishing to learn more about the Sea Scouting program can drop in on their weekly meetings held on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. at the NYC Clubhouse located in the Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor complex.
More information can also be found by visiting the Sea Scouting Web site at www.seascout.org, or call Boatswain Max Richardson at (510) 734-9096.
