LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Sea Scouts are the flagship, but not just in name, said Commodore Larry Richardson.
Richardson and the Kaua‘i Sea Scouts joined roughly 50 other scouts taking part in the recent Safety at Sea Weekend on O‘ahu. The Kaua‘i contingent joined scouts from Ship 200 from Wai‘anae, Venture Scouts, and members from a ship in the process of forming in Honolulu.
The weekend was an opportunity for Sea Scouts, Venture Crews and older scouts to spend time on a U.S. Coast Guard base and experience some intense water safety training, courtesy of the Coast Guard.
The scouts met at Sand Island Coast Guard Base in Honolulu with the weekend opening with a former boot camp company commander.
“It wasn’t ‘Full Metal Jacket,’ but it sure set the tone for the event,” Richardson said in an e-mail.
Scouts were worked through survival suits, firefighting and P6 dewatering pumps in the mooring followed by man-overboard drills, search-and-rescue training and vessel tours.
“This was an awesome opportunity for these Sea Scouts to learn a lot of stuff from the Coast Guard,” Richardson said. “And they did. The Sea Scouts were able to connect and network as never before, and we are planning more joint-unit ventures in the near future.”
This program has been taking place for more than 19 years at locations around the nation, but the Boys Scouts of America’s Aloha Council said this was the first Safety at Sea Weekend here.
During the weekend, the Kaua‘i Sea Scouts, members of Ship 11, “Decisive,” charted by the Kaua‘i Police Activities League, were housed at the Coast Guard gym and ate at the galley.
“We are the flagship, but not just in name,” Richardson said. “I received so many compliments from the Coast Guard, other Scout leaders, and Scouts about how good our kids were in the areas of military bearing, seamanship, knowledge, experience and uniforms. Kaua‘i Sea Scouts were the example that everyone followed and represented Kaua‘i very well.”
Richardson said when the Kaua‘i Sea Scouting program started, he thought it was, at best, a long shot, but the success of the Kaua‘i program has inspired others to follow with two new Sea Scouting units being formed on O‘ahu and one in Kona.
For more information on the Kaua‘i Sea Scouts, call Richardson at 652-0802 or e-mail sssdecisive@aol.com.
