Evening star., 1938-05-01
PATROL DEVELOPS
SK|[[FUL SAILORS
Abandoned Boats Dug From
Anacostia Flats Gave
Organization Start.
By MALCOLM LAMBORNE, Jr.

Organization Start.
BY MALCOLM LAMBORNE, Jr.
Sea Scouts of Corinthian Yacht
Club virtually dug their way to be-
ginning in the mud fats OF the Ana
costa River.
1t all came about in 1880 when two
23-foot cat-rigged sailboatS were
brought to Washington from the
Naval Academy by private interests.
The depression caused them to be
abandoned and they sank. neglected,
on the shoals off Buzzard Point.
The following year. under the di-
rection Of Frederick Tilp, group of
youngsters met at the yacht club for
the sole purpose Of doing some anna
teur salvaging. They were optimists,
those boys. Undaunted by river CRIME
and mud on water-logged hulls that
then were IL years old. they dug and
pumped until the boats were afioat
and ready to go on the railway.
Before the summer was over the
catboats were shining with fresh
pdulI, new SpdTS anu SAILS.
With this flotilla Sea Scout patrol
or ship" was formed and Tip Sc
lected as its skipper. After several
Chesapeake Bay cruises in the cats,
the Scouts entered the then new sport
of racing, and In October OF 1894
their first boats were the first to get
the starting gun for the initial race
sponsored by a group later known as
the Potomac River Sailing Associa-
ton.
These two boats have not missed a
single event since the origin of small
boat competition on the Potomac.
Nine Hold Highest Rank.
This Sea Scout program is a COM
bination Of Navy, Coast Guard, mer-
chant marine and Boy Scout training
with all the fun of everyday yacht
ing. There are four ranks OF ad-
acknowledgement ordinary sea-
man. able seaman and quartermaster.
When a Scout reaches the highest
rank. there is little he doesn't know
about life saving, signalling, plotting,
dead reckoning, celestial navigation
and sextant work, sea history, canvas
sewing, yacht etiquette and weather
lore.
Corinthian Scouts hold another rec
ord in that they have the largest num-
Der Of active quartermasters of any
ship in this area. In addition to
Skipper Tip and Mate Harry Piper
who incidentally. cruised the West
Indies to South America in a motor
sailer when only l9 years old there
are seven other quartermasters: Daniel
Rabenhorst, Charles Krey, Dick VIM
field, Waller Lawson. Tom Cargill,
Granville Brumbaugh and Ernest
Broadbent. The rank was awarded
after four-houc examination by the
Coast Guard
You won't find any port or creek
between Georgetown and the Coan
River at the mouth of the Potomac
that the Scouts haven't explored on
their summer cruises. The conspicuous
black ball on the boats sails are
known to all the natives of Tide
water Maryland and Virginia. The
majority of the boys have sailed over
1000 miles each, as long-cruise badges
on uniforms will attest:
All Cruising Under Sail.
Scorning any power, Scouts do all
their cruising under SAIL Should wind
give out near an anchorage, hearty
backs get behind large sweeps and
they come to port by sheer man power
addition tn In do
of historical landmarks through the
river country, short cruises have been
made aboard professional sailing craft
that work the bay.
New recruits are put right to work
learning to reef, tack, use the spin
maker pole and helm. It's a rule OF
the Corinthians that every Scout shall
know how to handle properly one OF
the cats alone in all types of weather.
That means the boy must hoist sail,
take the boat out Of harbor, maneuver
on all points of the wind, bring her
back to mooring and give the sail a
harbor furl.
And, like their brother Boy Scouts,
the lads still do their good turn. For
several years they have staked off
Gunston Cove Channel and placed
markers off BuZzard Point Shoal.
Serving as Course Committee for the
sailing association, they locate turning
buoys each Sunday during the racing
season. For the Corinthian Club they
assist in improvement of wharves and
club grounds.
The fleet is growing, too Besides
the two cats, equipment includes an
18-foot whaleboat for rowing practice,
two skiffs used as cruising tenders, a
frostbite dinghy and two homemade
kayaks. All the work on the craft
Is done by the young skippers-you
wouldn't find them sitting back while
professional ship carpenter makes
repairs.
Only Ice Keeps Them Idle.
Boys over IS years are eligible to
Join. Those aged IA are known as
bilge spongers and are not full-f1edged
Sea Scouts until their 18th birthday
When racing is over in June, a full
program of long distance cruises are
planned. They return in September
for the Presidents Cup Regatta and
the fall series. Not until ice in the
harbor forces them to shut down do
they call it a season.
On the ship" Committee are ].
Edwin Lawton, former national COM
mander of the power squadron; John
w. Marsh, ex-commodore of the P.
r. S. A; levin w. Walker, secretary
treasurer of Corinthian, and DR..
Harry Smith, a member Of the Amer
ican Power Boat Association.