On Saturday evening, 21 May, Cassidy Christian, our 2021-2022 National Boatswain and her National Quarterdeck, hosted our annual nationwide virtual Bridge of Honor where we recognized the 2021-2022 recipients of the National Sea Scout Leadership Award, the 2022-2023 National Flagship and National Flagship Fleet.
We also conducted a Change of Watch, a time-honored nautical tradition of the transfer of responsibility, where Jewell Norris accepted the role as our 2022-2023 National Boatswain from Cassidy Christian, our 2021-2022 National Boatswain; and where Ben Feril assumed responsibilities as National Commodore from TW Cook.
All of us have been blessed with the selfless servant leadership exhibited by TW Cook during his 3-year tenure as National Commodore, and Cassidy Christian during her term as National Boatswain. Under their superb mentorship, TW and Cassidy effectively led us through the many challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the BSA reorganization/restructuring, and they empowered us to provide much needed feedback to the Churchill Plan. Both are tireless advocates and they have left us with a legacy that we will carry forward. Our heartfelt thanks and admiration for their time dedication!
We also want to congratulate all the recipients of the 2021-2022 National Sea Scout Leadership Award for their outstanding contributions to the Sea Scout program and to their selfless dedication to their communities:
Cassidy Christian, Baden-Powell Council
Max Rothschild, Northern New Jersey Council
Beatrix Bisceglia, Greater New York Council
Savannah Letson, Denver Area Council
Evan Nazareth, Occoneechee Council
Tim Reiss, Pathway to Adventure
Ben Bratton, Simon Kenton Council
Wayne Hastings, Michigan Crossroads
Peter Sargent, Capitol Area Council
Adam Tunks, Circle Ten Council
Jim Dieker, Prairielands Council
Tom Trefny, Capitol Area Council
Robin Pope, Daniel Boone Council
Walt Witucki, Minsi Trails Council
We also congratulate members of Sea Scout Ship Ranger, Ship 8009, selected as our 2022-2023 National Flagship from Belleville, Illinois, in the Greater St. Louis Area Council.
The following Sea Scouts Ships were chosen to be part of the 2022-2023 National Flagship Fleet: Sea Scout Ship Aeolus, Ship 1899 from Dallas, Texas in Circle Ten Council; Sea Scout Ship Corsair, Ship 22, from San Francisco, California in the Golden Gate Council, and Sea Scout Ship Dragon Lady, Ship 1942, National Capital Area Council in Arlington, Virginia.
Congratulations to all and BRAVO ZULU!
Congratulations also to members of our incoming National Quarterdeck, Matthew Irsfeld and Tyler Clendenning, National Boatswain Mates for Program and Communication, respectively. Also, congratulations to the incoming National Service Territory Boatswains as well as returning and newly appointed NST Commodores. We look forward to working with you:
| NST | Boatswain | Commodore |
| 1 | Vacant | Neal Smith |
| 2 | Aida Hughes | Mark Ports |
| 3 | Vacant | Jordyn Alexis |
| 4 | Vacant | George Battis |
| 5 | John Rongish | Paul McDonald |
| 6 | Vacant | Curt Ware |
| 7 | Elena Menasco | Tom Trefney |
| 8 | Chuck HaythornLogan Woosley | Brian Ehrler |
| 9 | Keegan Aerts | Wayne Hastings |
| 10 | Richard Ballard | Sal Ciampo |
| 11 | Rachel Tagen | Jose Leperanche |
| 12 | Willilam Kennedy | Stan Kwok |
| 13 | Daphne Kunukcu | Walt Witicki |
| 14 | Lyra Robbrecht | Meredith MaGuirk |
| 15 | Matthew Simonson | Mel Johnson |
| 16 | Brendan Young | Chuck Haythorn |
We are still looking for qualified candidates for NST Boatswains for NST 1, 3, 4 and 6. Interested youth members are encouraged and strongly invited to apply to Jewell. Please pass the word!
As we move forward, the National Quarterdeck (NQD) will be focusing on inspiring Sea Scouts to do more and to improve our program in the areas of Program, Communication, Fellowship, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Unit Focus, and Territory Boatswain Support. Each of these areas represents a group of goals we plan to complete within the term. Some of our goals for each area are organizing national events like the National Virtual Sea Scout Academy (NVSSA) and Weekend on the Water (WoW), updating the website and encouraging Territory-Council Boatswain relationships in Communications, providing opportunities for Fellowship, promoting all cultures on social media in DEI, providing ship support in Unit Focus, and providing Territory Boatswain with the support they need to support you in Territory Boatswain Support. This is just a taste of what the NQD and NQD Committees have planned for this year.
This year we’ll also plan to focus on fundraising, friends, and fun. If you have been keeping up with the latest events and publications, you won’t get tired hearing Jewell talk about these three areas. We genuinely believe to increase the knowledge and visibility of our program we need to provide opportunities, bring in new people, and show them we can have a lot of fun!
Sea Scouting enables our youth members to grow and to further develop their leadership skills and to enhance resiliency while having fun afloat and ashore. At the same time, as a nationwide youth leadership and character development program, we’ll be standing alongside our friends in our fellow BSA youth programs as we all face many challenges ahead. In the Sea Scout program, let’s all view these challenges as opportunities, and so let’s all of us get ready to “get use to different” as out of the box thinking and action will enable us to further promote what we do to many others, especially those in underserved area. And don’t forget to have fun on the water.
Finally, our heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation to Cassidy Christian, our 2021-2022 National Boatswain and members of her National Quarterdeck, and Josh Gilliland, for planning and hosting an amazing National Bridge of Honor and Change of Watch! Your impressive work made for a truly memorable event for all!
We have the watch!