Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-12-12
TO INSTRUCT BOYS
IN SEAMANSH|P
New Activity for Boy Scouts
Growing Out of U. S. Needs
After the War.

Ever feel the lure of the ocean and sea-
faring life? 1t is encouraged, IN small
way, but the land locked waterways and
the vessels that are used to navigate
them-the creeks, ponds, canals, lakes.
rivers. bays and even reservoirs and mill
ponds-the canoes, catamarans. rats,
boats, sloops. 1t is a grand adventure, sail
ing n boat and knowing how, and 1t Is
very important The history OF the
United States has been intimately con-
nected with successful navigation. Now
that the United States Is entering upon
new phase of world activity, our COM
merce developing with all the continents
and the islands of the seas, seamanship
offers a widening field of activity for
work-for the work which the boys of
today will be doing tomorrow.
4 new plan of training for boys IN sea-
manship is being developed by the Boy
Scouts of America plan eflat Will open
the iovs and benefits of water activities
TO bows everywhere, island as we'll as on
the sea shore Here is the plan in a nut
shell. Sea scouts are part and parcel OF
the Bov Scouts of America Any boy over
Il can be enrolled, after a physical ex-
animation and letter from his parent or
guardian. giving him permission to study
seawavs a la scout The grades OF sea-
scouting correspond with candidate, ten
derfoot. second-class, tlrst-clasS and star.
1t wont do to have to many ignorant
would-bc sailors. or land lubbcrs IN
boat. so each crew OF nine Is to keep to-
syether in the training. They must train
as a unit, organized to carry out the work
reuuired by these progressive grades, and
must qualify all, even before they arc
allowed to 90 on with the work OF the
next highest grade. In order to give these
gseascouts grades a name, like sophomore
or freshmen at college, the candidate class
,is called landsmcn. When these lands
tmen have all learned to swim, rescue and
do Schafer prone pressure method for
.xesuscitating, the apparently drowned,
and when they have also qualified rs
.frst-class scouts and are II years old,
they NAV 60 on to the next grades which
,are water grades and have 10 do with the
handling OF boats under oars, boats under
leail. work on ship at anchor IA housebOat
eor somebody's yacht or fishing schooner,
If they can borrow onc). The last grade IS
q real cruise in a sail boat, big enough to
,carrv the whole bunch
Here Is a sort Of nautical school, with
classes, and when the scaScout has COM
pIeted the full course, he Is allowed 10
wear a cap with a white band on it and
the north point, f1eur-dc-lls, or luce, in
red on the front Of IL BY now, for the
work Of learning these requirements will
take at least two summers and perhaps
longer, the scaScout will have 4 very
practical knowledge of plain seamanshIp,
IT Is hoped. and will hc a regular Jack-tar,
with a roll in his gait and good steady
manners
Boats and landsmcn are commanded
,.4 hA hoo p
master The boat or boats there may be
four OF these are considered as in the
shipvard building. and are not to be
launched until the crews have qualified
for the schooner This schooner Is
merely the name for an advanced kind Of
seasoouting and may be taken TO mean
fotilla of boats which belong 10 an lmag-
mary schooner, which is the next most
important ship IN use by sailors. These
schooner boats crews" study sea etl-
quctte and drill with hoists and davits.
After bit Of this sort OF thing they are
passed to the barkentine f1otilla class.
which is the boat sailing grade, and the
boats and their crews are considered as
pertaining 10 8 larger ship, barkentne
This Is 10 distinguish the work they are
ready to undertake, and at this stage the
whole crew, All four boats wear i blue
band on the cap. Where bigger boats
than a skiff are wanting, the scouts are
taught heavy seamanship, BY means Of
drill mast. (which Is very interesting
Among many things to be taught the
seascouts are those splendid old sea
gong games against time, that sailors
OF the old ships were wont to enjoy
Then, too, racing, pilotage and rules Of
the road. Ships, as they will be called,
meaning ships companies, are forming all
over the country. Everything TO make
the work simple and enjoyable, but never
theless valuable, viii be done, and real
boats used. See that your troop gets a
start by having formed boats crew of
6oat renliren,ents from the scout Office
and qualify for the first step in seascout-
anc