Galveston Bay Safety at Sea
A joint U.S. Coast Guard/Sea Scout event at
U.S. Coast Guard Station Galveston, Texas
Saturday, October 20, 2007
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Sea Scouts and Venturers from the Southern Region of the Boy Scouts of America will be attending a safety at sea training event with the United States Coast Guard at U.S. Coast Guard Group, Galveston, Texas located at the east end of the Island on October 20, 2007. This day event will replicate a similar Coast Guard-Sea Scout event that has been successfully held in the San Francisco Bay area for the last decade. The activity will involve Ships and Venturing Crews from Sam Houston Area Council and Bay Area Council, BSA, and USCG Group Galveston. In addition, Sea Scout and Venturing units from outside these two councils are welcome.
Background
The Western Region Area III Sea Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America and the United States Coast Guard have conducted a joint annual Safety At Sea Weekend for the last ten years, generally in October, and generally at Coast Guard Station Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco. The event was created out of a desire to improve vessel safety instruction throughout the Sea Scout Fleet. It has grown from small beginnings into the largest Sea Scout maritime safety instruction event in the United
States. Past events drew over 340 Sea Scouts and volunteers from 27 participating Sea Scout Ships. The National Sea Scout Committee desires that ALL coasts put on similar events. The East Coast has held their events, and now it is time for the Third Coast to hold another one of ours. Besides being an exceptionally fun day for the youth, the learning experience is unmatched.
Scheduled Youth Activities
During the day, participants will be divided into crews to do a "round robin" through various stations. We currently expect the following stations to be in operation, however the needs of the service, the effects of 9/11, etc. may require some changes, additions, or deletions to this list.
Dewatering Pumps -Crews fill one of two 30 gallon drum buckets halfway. The pump is then engaged to empty the half-full bucket into the empty bucket. The crews then try to stay ahead of the pump by continuing to fill the half-full bucket with smaller buckets. The crews should be using seawater right off the dock to fill the drum. This will demonstrate the speed of the pump, the effectiveness of buckets, and build teamwork.
Fire Hose Training - Instructors go over basics of hose handling. A pulley system is set with a fender hanging off a pulley. Sea Scouts aim a fire hose and push the fender to the opposite side.
Pyrotechnics Instruction - Crews see demos of flares and in some cases may use them as well.
Law Enforcement Explanation - Youth attend a lecture with USCG personnel and local marine police to discuss how Federal and local laws are enforced. USCG may show a training video for boarding's. USCG usually sets up equipment used in law enforcement.
Damage Control Training - A special USCG Mobile Damage Control Trainer will be utilized for this event. Crews will have a hands-on opportunity to learn and test their new skills in a wide range of damage control situations.
Search and Rescue Demonstration using a HH-65 Helo and a 41' Utility Boat - The Man Overboard Recovery exercise will allow crews to see a live demonstration of lifesaving procedures under controlled conditions.
Consideration is being given to taking a select group of Sea Scouts for a brief ride on one of the cutters stationed in Galveston. Thoughts are that this event will be offered to those Sea Scouts that have advanced the farthest in rank. Should this criteria produce too large a group, some sort of random selection will be utilized. This event, of course, can not be guaranteed, as unexpected search and rescue needs and/or the other operational needs of the service take precedence.
This event is being organized by Sea Scout Ship 468 and subsidized in part by Friends of Texas Sea Scouting (FOTSS).