A little more than a year ago, John Paddock, a Skaneateles resident and retired Navy rear admiral, began putting the wheels in motion to form a local chapter of Sea Scouts, a coed program that falls under the Boys Scouts of America organization.
Sea Scouts hadn't been present in central New York for more than 40 years, and the Boys Scouts Hiawatha Seaway Council had decided to bring it back to the region. Paddock, a member of the council's executive board, thought Skaneateles had the resources for a unit.
Now Skaneateles Sea Scouts Ship 23 is sailing full steam ahead into its first full summer of activities.
The unit meets several times a month on Tuesday evenings. There are six members - three boys and three girls - ranging in age from 14 to 17, and more are expected to join soon.
Adult mate, or co-advisor, Christopher Legg, who served 22 years as a commissioned officer in the Navy, said that he enjoys watching the scouts interact with one another and take on leadership roles. Though Legg and the other adults are involved in the daily and organizational efforts of the ship, the ultimate goal is to have a scout-driven program in which the teens are in control, he said.
But first, Ship 23 has to build up its ranks.
“The problem here is that everyone's new. The adults are new, the kids are new. We're all trying to get that critical mass together of the youth,” Paddock said, noting that in future years, the current members can serve as mentors to incoming scouts and that organizers would like to see the ship grow to around 12 participants. “This is a little-known program and little understood program.”
So what exactly is Sea Scouts, which the national organization's Web site calls scouting's “best-kept secret?”
It's a year-round organization in which members learn about - and take a hands-on approach with - a variety of maritime-related topics, from how to sail and scuba to first aid to water sports. Sea Scouts, which is one of the Boy Scouts' coed Venturing programs, also incorporates aspects of team-building and the development of leadership skills.
And like Boy Scouts, there are badges to attain and ranks to achieve.
The ship and its members have received support from various players in the community. The Skaneateles Sunrise Rotary Club serves as its charter organization, giving the scouts seed money for necessary items, said Paddock, head of Ship 23's chartering committee. The Sea Scouts themselves have also contributed through fundraising projects.
“Several people have stepped up willing to volunteer time, lending their resources in one way or another,” Paddock said.
One of those individuals is chartering committee member Rev. Dr. Robert de Wetter, who offered up St. James' Episcopal Church as the meeting location for the scouts when they're not conducting activities on the water.
And Town Supervisor Phil Tierney recently donated a Pennant sailboat to the program. The scouts did some restoration on the boat and first took it sailing last month. They have subsequently been sailing several times, Paddock said, noting that the Pennant has been a helpful hands-on training for the scouts.
“It was fun. We did a lot of work on it,” said Mike Drake, 15, whose father Dale, retired from the Navy, is another adult adviser.
Drake said that in the future, he would like to attend the State University of New York Maritime College in the Bronx.
Drake and his fellow scouts have had their hands in a number of other projects and events. Over the last 12 months, they've set up booths on water safety both at the Skaneateles WinterFest and Scout-a-Palooza at Shoppingtown Mall in DeWitt.
They've learned simple first aid and tool safety and completed a New York state safe boating course presented free of charge by Skaneateles Town Constable Bruce Silvers.
Members also helped to put in the community docks off of the pier in Clift Park, and they will be volunteering at the Skaneateles Antique and Classic Boat Show later this month.
Plans to expand the types of programs the scouts participate in and increase its “fleet” are forthcoming, but before the scouts acquire any more boats, they need to find a facility to store everything, Paddock said.
“There's a number of things standing in the wings, so to speak,” he added, noting that the ship is also looking to expand the list of experts/consultants in the area who come in to train the scouts in certain areas.
Now Skaneateles Sea Scouts Ship 23 is sailing full steam ahead into its first full summer of activities.
The unit meets several times a month on Tuesday evenings. There are six members - three boys and three girls - ranging in age from 14 to 17, and more are expected to join soon.
Adult mate, or co-advisor, Christopher Legg, who served 22 years as a commissioned officer in the Navy, said that he enjoys watching the scouts interact with one another and take on leadership roles. Though Legg and the other adults are involved in the daily and organizational efforts of the ship, the ultimate goal is to have a scout-driven program in which the teens are in control, he said.
But first, Ship 23 has to build up its ranks.
“The problem here is that everyone's new. The adults are new, the kids are new. We're all trying to get that critical mass together of the youth,” Paddock said, noting that in future years, the current members can serve as mentors to incoming scouts and that organizers would like to see the ship grow to around 12 participants. “This is a little-known program and little understood program.”
So what exactly is Sea Scouts, which the national organization's Web site calls scouting's “best-kept secret?”
It's a year-round organization in which members learn about - and take a hands-on approach with - a variety of maritime-related topics, from how to sail and scuba to first aid to water sports. Sea Scouts, which is one of the Boy Scouts' coed Venturing programs, also incorporates aspects of team-building and the development of leadership skills.
And like Boy Scouts, there are badges to attain and ranks to achieve.
The ship and its members have received support from various players in the community. The Skaneateles Sunrise Rotary Club serves as its charter organization, giving the scouts seed money for necessary items, said Paddock, head of Ship 23's chartering committee. The Sea Scouts themselves have also contributed through fundraising projects.
“Several people have stepped up willing to volunteer time, lending their resources in one way or another,” Paddock said.
One of those individuals is chartering committee member Rev. Dr. Robert de Wetter, who offered up St. James' Episcopal Church as the meeting location for the scouts when they're not conducting activities on the water.
And Town Supervisor Phil Tierney recently donated a Pennant sailboat to the program. The scouts did some restoration on the boat and first took it sailing last month. They have subsequently been sailing several times, Paddock said, noting that the Pennant has been a helpful hands-on training for the scouts.
“It was fun. We did a lot of work on it,” said Mike Drake, 15, whose father Dale, retired from the Navy, is another adult adviser.
Drake said that in the future, he would like to attend the State University of New York Maritime College in the Bronx.
Drake and his fellow scouts have had their hands in a number of other projects and events. Over the last 12 months, they've set up booths on water safety both at the Skaneateles WinterFest and Scout-a-Palooza at Shoppingtown Mall in DeWitt.
They've learned simple first aid and tool safety and completed a New York state safe boating course presented free of charge by Skaneateles Town Constable Bruce Silvers.
Members also helped to put in the community docks off of the pier in Clift Park, and they will be volunteering at the Skaneateles Antique and Classic Boat Show later this month.
Plans to expand the types of programs the scouts participate in and increase its “fleet” are forthcoming, but before the scouts acquire any more boats, they need to find a facility to store everything, Paddock said.
“There's a number of things standing in the wings, so to speak,” he added, noting that the ship is also looking to expand the list of experts/consultants in the area who come in to train the scouts in certain areas.
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