New Lakes Region Sea Scout Group Prepares Teens for Water Adventures – and Leadership
We’re finally ready to get underway!
Sea Scouts Lakes Region will have its first in-person meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd, 6 PM at the Laconia Public Library’s auditorium. (lower level)
- Sandwiches and drinks will be provided.
- Meet and greet
- Update on progress of the Ship and membership
- Check payments for unregistered Scouts will be accepted
- Discussion of meeting schedule
- Initial adult roles
- Complimentary Sea Scout hat for every youth registered!
- Invite your friends to attend!
LACONIA – Just what is a Sea Scout Ship? Local organizers hope to give young men and women a chance to find out, as Sea Scouts Lakes Region begins leadership training and maritime skills in preparation for fun on the water next spring.
Brendan McNeill, Commodore for the Daniel Webster Council, said Sea Scouts is a lesser known Scouting America program compared with Scouts BSA Troops, Cub Scout Packs, and Venturing Crews, but has been in existence since 1912, just two years after the birth of the Boy Scouts of America. Recently, Sea Scouting also became the official youth program for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
“We’re excited to have a ‘Ship’– the equivalent to a Scout Troop — in the Lakes Region, and we hope that teens, whether they have experience in Scouting or not, will check it out,” McNeill said. “It will be a blast, and while you’re having fun with your friends, you’ll also be learning valuable leadership, safety, navigation & maritime skills,” he said.
Brian Beihl, organizer of the new Sea Scout “Ship”, moved to Alton Bay in 2020, and asked among his Scouting colleagues to find out whether Sea Scouts had ever been active on Winnipesaukee.
“I was shocked to learn, with all the sailing, powerboating and sea kayaking on the bigger lakes, and kayaking and canoeing on the smaller lakes and local rivers, that a Sea Scout unit was never organized here,” said Beihl, a former Scoutmaster and current unit commissioner.
Unlike Scouts BSA Troops, Sea Scouts and Venturing units are co-ed, and for older youth and young adults, ranging from age 14 to 21. For decades, Sea Scout units primarily offered sailing and powerboating, but a Ship can now include kayaking, sea kayaking, canoeing, stand-up paddle boarding, and even SCUBA. Beihl hopes that Sea Scouts Lakes Region will be all of those, and more.
“We are incredibly lucky to have everything here: The lakes, the ocean, multiple white water and flat water rivers, islands we can paddle or sail to, all right in our own backyard,” Beihl said.
The organizers are in conversations with a potential sponsoring organizations, but will be looking for a no-cost meeting place, boat and equipment storage, and sometime in the future, donated sailboats which can accommodate eight or more Scouts. In the meantime, Sea Scouts Lakes Region will concentrate on smaller sail and power boats, sea kayaks and canoes.
Interested youth and their parents can sign up for more information on the form at the Sea Scouts Lakes Region Facebook page, facebook.com/seascoutslakesregion. Contact the organizers at seascoutslakesregion@gmail.com with further questions, or text or call 603-620-8300.
Click here to learn more about Scouting America’s Sea Scouts program.
