Ship 1942 “Dragonlady” Honored With
2014 Boat US and the Sea Scouts, BSA National Flagship Award
BoatUS and Sea Scouts, BSA recognize Sea Scout Ship 1942 “Dragonlady” of Arlington, Virginia of the
National Capital Area Council as the recipient of the 2014 Boats and the Sea Scouts, BSA “National Flagship” Award. The award was created by BoatUS in 2002 to mark the 90th anniversary of Sea Scouting. It is presented in recognition of excellence in program quality, youth achievement, and adult commitment. It is because of these attributes, as reflected by “Dragonlady’s” exemplary program of seamanship and youth development, that we honor them with this award.
Heartfelt congratulations go to Ship 1942 Boatswain Philip Whittlesey, their Skipper Tom Ballew, and the dedicated crew and the many adult volunteers of “Dragonlady.” Sea Scout Ship 1942 “Dragonlady’s” name will be inscribed on a perpetual trophy at the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas. An identical trophy will be presented to the Ship at an appropriate public gathering in the National Capital Area Council.
The “2014 National Flagship” award is the third time Ship 1942 is in the BSA national spotlight, as Ship 1942 was also the “2007 National Flagship” and was one of the ships named to the “2012 Flagship Fleet.” Ship 1942 annually meets the Journey to Excellence (JTE) “Gold” level and has been a Northeast Regional Standard Ship since 2002.
Ship 1942 is a large, co-ed unit with a historic average of 40 youth members. At the 2014 rechartering, Ship 1942 had 27 youth members but recruiting is always strongest during the spring months and the goal is to bring the membership back to 40 youth members. Ship 1942 has 15 sailboats, twelve of which are named after the Scout Law: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, etc. They range in size from the training fleet of six 19-foot Flying Scot vessels to the 30-40-foot cruiser-size sloops in Solomon’s, Maryland. Ship 1942 sails the Flying Scots out of their home port at the Washington Sailing Marina just north of Old Town Alexandria, VA in sight of the Washington Monument.
Ship 1942 is blessed with 35 very passionate registered adult volunteers – Skipper, Mates, and Committee Members, 33 of whom are fully trained for their positions of responsibility, with a combined total of hundreds of years of experience and thousands of miles of off-shore sailing.
In 2013, Ship 1942 youth spent 68 days on the water with 36 of those days involving an overnight activity. The Quarterdeck Officers met a total of 17 times to plan their activities which included an additional 26 nights of tent camping and 14 nights of cabin camping. The annual 9-day Long Cruise was planned out by the Quarterdeck for a roundtrip voyage of 350 miles from Solomon’s, MD to the northern-most reaches of the Chesapeake Bay and back.
In 2013, Ship 1942 promoted its 19th Quartermaster since 2004, sent its 30th teen off to successfully navigate through the rigorous Sea Scout SEAL leadership training, and gave its 11thyouth member the opportunity to sail aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Braque Eagle. Ship 1942 conducted a “teentaught” ILSS training for the entire unit. Also, youth members attended as students or served on staff for both NYLT and NAYLE. In 2014, Ship 1942 is sending its 9th Sea Scout off to a military service academy. This latest one is going to West Point but 3 of their past Sea Scouts have gone to the U.S. Naval Academy, 3 to the U.S. Air Force Academy, 1 to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and 1 to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
Through the “Wounded Warrior” program and the Northern Virginia Sail and Power Squadron, in fall 2013, Ship 1942 hosted many U.S. veterans from Afghanistan undergoing treatment at the Walter Reed Military Hospital and their families for a day of sailing on the Chesapeake Bay and a sunset Bar-B-Q picnic.
Ship 1942 participated in the annual Northeast Regional Bridge of Honor and Sea Scout Ball; took 1st place in the eastern seaboard’s Henry Nygard Regatta; hosted Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers for introductory sails; provided merit badge instruction in small boat sailing, oceanography, and weather to over 80 Boy Scouts in the semi-annual recruiting Open House called “Merit Badges Afloat,” and provided assistance to other ships throughout the region in their annual advanced nautical training weeks of “Camp Able” and “Life Guard Certification.” Youth members received their Quartermaster, Eagle Scout, and Venturing Silver awards, conducted hundreds of hours of community service projects, and completed several U.S. Power Squadron seamanship and navigation training courses.
Bravo Zulu to Ship 1942 Boatswain Philip Whittlesey, Skipper Tom Ballew, their Charter Organization St. George’s Episcopal Church (Arlington, Virginia), Executive Officer the Most Reverend Shearon Williams, and Charter Organization Representative Davis Jones for their outstanding support of the teen youth on the water program. For more details about their program, go to http://www.seascout1942.com.
The 2014 National Flagship Fleet was also selected and wishes to recognize the following Sea Scout Ships for their outstanding programs for this past year:
- Ship378 ‘The Dawn Treader’, Flint River Council, Newnan American Legion Post 57, Georgia
- Ship 450 ‘Heatwave’, Las Vegas Area Council, Lake Havasu City Outrigger Canoe Club, Arizona
- Ship 601 ‘City of Roses’, Cascade Pacific Council, Fleet Reserve Association, Branch #55, Oregon
- Ship 678 ‘Tsunami’, Cascade Pacific Council, Battle Ground Elks, Oregon
Congratulations to each of these ships for their great programs in the past. We look forward to their continued involvement with the Sea Scout program around the country.