About Us
Prepared. For Life.
Sea Scout Ship 1176 was founded in 2001 and chartered by American Legion Post 176 of Springfield, Virginia. It is currently the only Sea Scout Ship in the Burke Lake District and one of ten ships in the flotilla of the National Capital Area Council (NCAC) of SCOUTING AMERICA (formerly Boy Scouts of America). Ship 1176 sails its own 30-foot Catalina sloop SSS BLUE NOVEMBER and the 23-foot sloop SSS LAGUNA BALBOA, as well as various other ships of the Maryland-based Friends of Sea Scouting of Maryland (FOSSOM) Flotilla, to which it belongs.
What Are Sea Scouts?
Sea Scouting is a program for young men and women ages 14 to 20, created by the Boy Scouts of America (now known as Scouting America). Along with Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting and Venturing, Sea Scouting provides a program for religious, fraternal, educational, and other community organizations to use for character, citizenship, and mental and personal fitness training for youth. As part of this training, Sea Scouts are expected to develop personal religious values, learn the principles of American heritage and government, and acquire skills that will prepare them to become successful adults.
Sea Scouting is the BSA's implementation of the Sea Scout program, initially developed in 1910 by Warington Baden-Powell in England. The founders of Sea Scouting in the United States are Arthur A. Carey of Waltham, Massachusetts, and Charles T. Longstreth of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both leaders independently established Sea Scout groups in the summer of 1912. This accomplishment was recorded in the inaugural issue of Scouting.
The advancement scheme for Sea Scouts places an initial emphasis on nautical skills before encouraging the youth to take a major role in planning activities in the unit. Young men and women who are willing to abide by the requirements of BSA membership, including agreeing to live by the ideals expressed in the Sea Promise, Scout Oath, and Scout Law are eligible to join a Sea Scouting ship. Ships are administered by volunteers with the assistance and support of some paid professional staff.
As of 2016, Sea Scouting is currently its own independent program within the BSA. From 1998 to 2016, it had been part of Venturing, and prior to that part of Exploring. In 2018, the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary expanded their memorandum of agreement and established Sea Scouts as the official Youth Program of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Registered members of the Sea Scouts BSA program also may join an Auxiliary Flotilla at age 14 and participate in age-appropriate activity with the Auxiliary.
