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Highlights |
Ship 25's Log Book of Past Activities Second Year: 2001-2002 |
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 SECOND CHARTER YEAR - 4/1/2001 to 3/31/2002
The skipper, committee member Mary Wills, the boatswain, the boatswain's mate, Tim, new crewmember Amanda, and cabin girl Hannah ventured to the banks of the Magothy River to assist Skipper Crabtree getting the Chesapeake Flotilla Wardroom's flagship der PeLiKan "ship-shape and Bristol fashion" for the coming Sea Scouting season. The crew soon became acquainted with the finer points of mildew removal, toe rail sanding and CETOL application, chipping and painting the CQR Plow anchor, cleaning out the lazarette, polishing the topside fiberglass gel coat, coiling lines, exploring the inside of the refrigerator, and scrubbing the stove. After 6 full hours of work and fun, we got permission to knock off from Skipper Crabtree. We then headed to Annapolis to walk the docks, window shop, and get some ice cream before heading home. Our newest crewmember, Amanda, won a skipper's commendation as the hardest worker of the day. See photos.
Tim and the skipper arrived at der PeLiKan Friday evening and settled in with the rest of the weekend crew: Boat Captain Steve Deatherage plus Skipper Gary Troutman and son T. Lee and crewmember Russ from SSS WINDFALL in Lancaster. We motored to Sillery Bay on the Magothy River in the lee of Dobbin's Island where we dropped the hook for the night. Tim and the skipper slept on deck while the others played cards below. Saturday saw us underway on sail power under the Bay Bridge and into Annapolis for crab cakes and parts to fix the forward head. Steve performed a masterful U-turn on this 46' long boat within the very narrow confines of Annapolis's Ego Alley. Under clear, sunny skies we proceeded down the Bay, around Bloody Point, up the Eastern Bay, and into the Miles River to tie up at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum at St. Michaels, MD. Two USNA sailboats were also there, so everyone checked out the other's boat(s). Several Midshipmen were kind enough to spend considerable time talking to Tim about the Navy, the Academy, and life at sea. Sunday we toured the Museum, saw the Easter Bunny while walking the streets of St. Michaels, and attended Steve and Gary's excellent course on marine engines. After some crab cakes and soft shell crabs for lunch, we headed back for the Magothy. Rounding Bloody Point, the skies darkened, the wind picked up, and rain began. With a good stiff breeze, der PeLiKan got a chance to really stretch her legs, and speeds of up to 6.6 knots over the bottom were recorded by GPS. Darkness fell as we proceeded up the Magothy, and by a combination of GPS navigation and a vigilant bow lookout with lantern, we arrived safely at our berth. 90 nautical miles for the weekend. Sea Scouting as it was meant to be! See photos.
The Skipper, Chairman Wes Garrod, and Committee member Mary Wills arrived at der PeLiKan Friday noon and with the help of Jeff Dombach of SSS WINDFALL in Lancaster, we got the boat opened up. Davis Jones and Gayle Rubin from Ship 1942 in Alexandria VA arrived followed by Boat Captain Garth Wells. Departure checklist completed, we headed down the Magothy River for Annapolis. Winds were good, and the weather fine. We moored to a buoy in Annapolis Harbor and had a fine dinner onboard. Saturday was spent with ship handling, mooring, and light wind spinnaker drills. Jeff also did a nice U-turn at the end of Ego Alley. Saturday evening we picked up the mooring buoy again and went ashore for an evening of wild carousing (Sea Scout style) at a local bistro. We became expert oarsmen rowing back and forth to the boat in the dingy. Sunday was spent with a discussion of open-ocean seamanship issues and then wind-puff spinnaker drills on the way back to the Magothy. We also got to watch an unscheduled demonstration of the effect of compression forces on spinnaker poles. With the boat "ship shape and Bristol fashion", Skip, Wes, Mary, and Jeff went back to Annapolis for another seafood dinner before returning to York. "A great time was had by all." No still photos, but I'm hoping to get some video clips up on the web. Stay tuned.
Trip report by Amanda: Tim, the Skipper, and I visited the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. We began our day with a tour of the grounds. We saw a submarine, an aircraft, the chapel, and a statue that the Plebes try to climb once it's greased with lard. We also saw the museum and the crypt. After our walking tour, Tim and I decided to take a cruise on the Yard Patrol Craft. That was interesting and educational. Upon arriving back on land, we saw an anti-terrorism video. Then we were off to the highlight of our day - lunch. We sat with two Venturing crews and were amused by their antics. After lunch we walked to the Fire Station to climb a 70-foot ladder. We did this without incident and then continued on to the MedStar medical helicopter. By the time we got to the presentation it was half-over, so we skipped it and went to the Crown Sailing Center. There we met Captain Moran, the sailing coach. He gave us a guided tour of one of the Academy's open-ocean racing sailboats. Then we checked out the rock climbing gym and drooled over the gorgeous indoor track. Then we had dinner with a Vietnamese Mariner Scout troop, toured downtown Annapolis, and returned home.
Skipper Kain represented Ship 25 and enjoyed himself thoroughly as a guest of Ship 91 of Annapolis (Sally Reuther, Skipper). Activities included meeting the crew of Ship 91 (fine folks), teaching knots to the public, hoisting Jonathan up the mast of On to Fortune, Sally's Moody 376, touring the U.S. Coast Guard Buoy Tender Rankin, touring the Pride of Baltimore, and listening to lots of good sea chanteys.
Coach Nate Blackford provided the expertise, the Skipper provided the audio-visual record, Boatswain Adam and crewmember Jason provided the muscle, and the combination provided a WIN! First Place! Considering that Adam and Jason paddled the entire 16 mile course without relief while the other crews switched in fresh paddlers at the 1/3 and 2/3 waypoints made the victory all the more sweet. Good work, Crew! WELL DONE!
Click on plaque to enlarge
The Skipper, Boatswain Adam, Blackford, Boatswain's Mate Joe, Crewmembers Amanda, Tim, Matt, and Leah, plus Committee member Wills enjoyed the Nygard Regatta despite the rain. The crew took 2nd place in canoeing, and third places in close order drill and in the pulling boat events. Skipper was especially proud of the third in pulling boat because the crew almost decided they were too wet from the rain to enter. Their success shows what a little extra spirit and motivation can accomplish. A trip to the local Laundromat Saturday night dried everyone out. The dance was also well attended.
click to enlarge the patch
Boatswain Adam became an Ordeal member of the Order of the Arrow, the national brotherhood of honor campers.
Crewmembers Tim and Matt became experienced in coastal piloting during this weekend cruise onboard der PeLiKan with Commodore Yeckley and others. They cruised from the Magothy to St. Michaels and return. Minor casualties occurred with the yawl's starter motor, the Genoa, and the electrical and cooling systems, but these are repairable, and Tim and Matt both reported having a great time.
The Skipper represented Sea Scouting at the Council's annual program launch at Tuckahoe. We hope this may in time result in some new members.
The Skipper, Wes, Leah, Amanda, Adam, Tim, Joe, and Matt took their respective turns at our Spring fundraiser at Shiloh Nurseries. We directed cars to parking spaces during Shiloh's Spring Fair. It was fun using the walkie-talkies, and we all looked "color coordinated" with our fluorescent orange vests. It may not be wildly exciting, but it is good revenue for us. The $250 proceeds will be forwarded to Friends of Sea Scouts of Maryland as a down payment on our ScoutFleet 2002 adventure.
The Skipper, Mrs. Dull, Joe and Leah left early Friday morning and drove to Connecticut. After checking into the Red Roof Inn in New London, we proceeded to tour Mystic Seaport in the afternoon. We enjoyed various exhibits including the whaling ship Charles Morgan, the planetarium, a breeches buoy demonstration, and the boat-building yard. All day Saturday and on Sunday morning Joe acted as skipper and Leah as crew in a sixteen race series sailed in FJ sailboats at the Coast Guard Academy. After gaining experience with how to start a race in the first part of the series, Joe and Leah steadily improved their standings in the later races. Saturday evening was spent touring the USS CARON (DD-970) as a guest of former crewmember Cliff Gordon, now a gunner's mate on the CARON. It was good to see our old shipmate again. It was a good weekend, and valuable racing experience was acquired.
The Skipper, Committee Chair Wes Garrod, and Mrs. Garrod, joined up with Garth Wells and the Crews of Ships 1009 and 1942 for an eleven day cruise in the British Virgin Islands. The opportunity arose at the last minute when 1009 and 1942 needed some "space fillers" to round out a quota of spaces they had reserved on the various chartered yachts. The skipper got to be a boat captain for one of the boats, and all three Ship 25 representatives acquitted themselves well. With more lead time, it would be nice to get additional Ship 25 participation and do it again. See photos taken by Sea Scouts from the other Ships. The following activities were originally on the Ship 25 calendar of events, but had to be omitted due to the temporary unavailability of the necessary two-deep adult leadership. We'll try to get to them next year.
Ship 25 resumed its regular schedule of activities with full two-deep leadership on 14 March 2002. THIRD CHARTER YEAR - 4/1/2002 to 3/31/2003
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