Over 60 Sea Scouts from all over the Bay Area gathered at South Beach Marina in San Francisco near Oracle Park on March 1 to train to row on whaleboats. For those who do not know, whaleboats are historic open boats, pointed at both sides, which were originally fashioned to hunt whales. Scouts in the Bay Area compete yearly in these boats, racing against each other, as well as performing flotilla drill, a synchronized rowing event. However, it is often a challenge for many groups to get practice on these boats, since not every Sea Scout Ship has one.
Rowers from the Bay Area Whaleboat Rowing Association (BAWRA), a local historic racing league, taught the scouts proper rowing form and helped them prepare for a successful regatta season of rowing. The scouts went out in shifts to learn BAWRA-style rowing form, while land-based groups learned flotilla commands. Adults and scouts from each Bay Area Sea Scout Ship were able to get certified as coxwains to steer the boats, while the rest of their groups learned to row.
Thanks to Skipper Tamara Sokolov from SSS Viking, Sea Scouts and leaders from SSS Viking and SSS Corsair, the BAWRA trainers from Iron Oars Rowing Club, the Embarcadero Rowing Club, and the Straits of Mare Island Rowing Club for putting on this great event. Hopefully it can become a yearly occurrence to help prep scouts for competition season and get more scouts access to whaleboats!
Groups that attended: Sea Scout Ship Nautilus, Petaluma Sea Scouts – The Compass Rose, SSS Corsair, MSS Tradewind, SSS Gryphon, Albatross Sea Scouts, SF Sea Scout Base, SSS Pearls, and SSS Point Weber.
Councils that participated: Golden Gate Area Council, Pacific Skyline Council, Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council, Greater Yosemite Council, Redwood Empire Council