southern boating

It’s never too early to start discussing summer camp

options with the kids. Luckily, on the Gulf Coast a great

camp option offers boating adventures to kids that make

their parents green with envy. The Sea Scouts, a maritime

version of the Boy Scouts, have a major facility on the Gulf

Coast in Galveston, Texas. Known as Sea bases, these

scouting programs are major hands-on educational boating

programs for the next generations.

Originally conceived as a camp and high-adventure

facility for the Sea Scouts, the Sea Base Galveston on

Offatts Bayou has fresh programs and a new facility that

was completed in early 2015 with an endowment reported

to approach $100 million. The scope of the original project

broadened to include a Community Youth Sailing Center

and a maritime education facility for merchant mariner

students and others. Financed almost entirely by a donation

from a private donor who is very active in the Sea Scouting

programs, the 60,000-square-foot facility includes lodging,

offices, classrooms, and a cafeteria. The structure is

adjacent to floating docks and piers and can host 200-300

scouts on a weekly basis.

Home to a fleet of Sonar and FJ sailboats and an 82'

Coast Guard cutter converted to a functioning on-the-

water classroom, the Sea base also holds a variety of

vessels ranging from kayaks to schooners with the goals

of emphasizing sailing instruction, seamanship, navigation,

and high adventure. The program draws more than 20,000

scouts a year from throughout the country.

Quite similar to the Sea Base in Galveston, a Sea Scouts’

facility in Islamorada in the Florida Keys also offers high

adventure maritime camps with everything from

snorkeling and scuba diving to sailing expeditions

to exploring a deserted island owned by the

organization—all in sunny South Florida.

With many different programs, the Out Island

Adventure in the Keys is one of the most irresistible.

Sea Scouts are taken to the rustic and undeveloped

Big Munson Island for a week of snorkeling and

kayaking on coral reefs, all while camping on the

beaches. Described as a Survivor for kids but fully

supervised, the program urges scouts to carry their

own gear and provisions before being led on mini-

expeditions to fish the reefs and forage on the island.

Both of the programs in Galveston and the Keys

are designed to foster a sense of self-reliance on

the water and build lasting memories for these future

boaters in a safe and supervised environment. It’s one thing

to hear adventure stories from your child as they return

from tennis or space camp, but imagine their smiles and

tales of courage from living on an island, sailing through a

formidable squall line or reeling in dinner that was enjoyed by

a campfire. Adventure and freedom is what draws boaters to

the water, and the Sea Scouts are an incredible way to ignite

or cultivate that passion in your children.

36 s SOUTHERNBOATING.COM s MARCH 2016

By Troy Gilbert

The learning experience afforded to Sea Scouts lasts a lifetime.

Fostering seamanship with

Sea Scouts

THE SEA SCOUTS