| Preparing
for the sailing portion of the Sea Base trip began with our first
meeting February 24th, almost six months before the trip, for Scouts and
their parents. We covered trip planning, the training program and
what everyone should expect.
The boats Sea Base charters run from 35 to
44 feet in length and can't be considered small boats. Just the
same, we used the Small Boat Sailing Merit Badge as the springboard to
train the Scouts in the fundamentals of sailing.
We held two, three-hour classes in March to
cover the majority of the material in the Small Boat Sailing Merit Badge
booklet. Scouts were required to have read significant portions of
the material at home, which gave us plenty of time in classes to review
and practice. |
 |
One
of the two sailboats we used in training belonged to Mr. Brand. |
On
April 1st, we met at our local sailing lake (Lake Hefner was within 3
miles of everyone going on the trip) for the first of four on-board
training days. Each sailing trip lasted at least four hours with
each Scout spending as much time at the helm as possible.
After two sailing days and as April ended,
Troop 168 held an Oceanography Merit Badge class introduction for a
couple hours to get everyone started on it.
Our last two sailing days were spent by the
Scouts handling all aspects of sailing the boats, from leaving the docks
to returning and everything in between. The adults aboard were
excess baggage, but necessary for safety.
Then, two weeks before leaving on the trip,
the crew and their parents met once again for a shakedown of all gear
going on the trip. Everyone checked each others' gear to make sure
they weren't missing anything ... and just as important ... weren't
taking extra stuff along. |
