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No life jackets are needed in dry dock, just elbow grease. Five members of a new Sea Scout ship (unit) from Occoquan check out a donated sailboat that will need lots of work before it's ready for the water. But they look up to the task.
No life jackets are needed in dry dock, just elbow grease. Five members of a new Sea Scout ship (unit) from Occoquan check out a donated sailboat that will need lots of work before it's ready for the water. But they look up to the task. (Photos (Above And Below) By Ann Cameron Siegal For The Washington Post)
Plotting their course are, from left front, Meghan Gleason, Patrick Haurie, Lindsey Belian and Steven Truelove of Arlington Sea Scout ship 1942.
Plotting their course are, from left front, Meghan Gleason, Patrick Haurie, Lindsey Belian and Steven Truelove of Arlington Sea Scout ship 1942. (Ann Cameron Siegal)
Scouts from Ashton, Maryland, learn teamwork. Only one person, the coxswain, is allowed to talk during this exercise.
Scouts from Ashton, Maryland, learn teamwork. Only one person, the coxswain, is allowed to talk during this exercise. (Ann Cameron Siegal)
Arlington's Mollie and Megan Hebda, scouts since age 14, receive their Quartermaster awards.
Arlington's Mollie and Megan Hebda, scouts since age 14, receive their Quartermaster awards. (Ann Cameron Siegal)

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¿ How do you cook on a boat being tossed by wind and waves?

The scouts practiced using cooking utensils with one hand, because you often have to hold onto the boat with the other. They learned terms such as "crash bar," "gimbaling" and "galley belt" -- all designed to help those working in the boat's kitchen (the galley) keep themselves and the cooking equipment upright.

The scouts also practiced team-building. On the water, everyone's safety depends on working together. And they worked on boating safety and first aid, of course.

Fourteen-year-old Patrick Haurie knows firsthand how useful that training is. In 2006 he fell from a sailboat, badly cutting his leg and becoming tangled in the rigging. By chance, John Fronzaglia of Arlington's Sea Scout ship 1942 was nearby. He sprang into action, pulling Patrick to safety and controlling the bleeding until more help arrived.

"Sea Scouts gave me the confidence to handle emergencies," said Fronzaglia, now 20, who received a lifesaving award. His calmness during the crisis inspired Patrick, who recently joined the same Sea Scout unit.

The Catoctin weekend ended with a Bridge of Honor ceremony. By mastering certain skills, Sea Scouts can earn four ranks: Apprentice, Ordinary, Able and Quartermaster, the highest rank and thus the most difficult to earn. It's the nautical equivalent of Eagle Scout rank for boys and the Girl Scout Gold Award.

Twins Mollie and Megan Hebda of Arlington's ship 1942 earned the Quartermaster Award this year. Now seniors in high school, they joined Sea Scouts when they were 14. After graduation, Mollie will attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, joining her older sister, also a Sea Scout. Megan plans to become a doctor.

-- Ann Cameron Siegal


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