"one for all and all together... we're scouts of the sea"
HARWICH SEA SCOUT SHIP 76
SEA READINESS TRAINING
Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
As a Sea Scout I promise to do my best: To guard against water accidents To know the location and proper use of the lifesaving devices on every boat I board To be prepared to render aid to those in need To seek to preserve the motto of the sea: Women and Chidren First*
Our ranks are growing. Please consider this your invitation to join Us.
Contact our Skipper Tim Millar (508-432-3142) about your interest in joining '76'
Harwich Ship '76 members and Officers greet British Naval Lieutenant from the HMS Chatham at USCG Station Chatham in 2006
Welcome to the Harwich Sea Scout Ship 76 webpage. If you forgot how to find your way here just Google on "Harwich Sea Scout Ship". If you are visiting this site from a foreign land and prefer it to be reasonably translated, you may use our translation engine at the end of this booklet.
Dedicated to "Leadership through Seamanship", Sea Scouting was founded in the United States in 1912. It has now been almost a century that Sea Scouts have charted a course of leadership and adventure. The teamwork sea scouts learn, will keep them sailing through life.
We are located nearly at the elbow of the bended arm of Cape Cod. Nantucket Sound at our doorstep, below its upper arm, and the Atlantic ocean behind us, at the forearm.
As you can imagine, Cape Cod has an enormous maritime history reaching back to before the Pilgrims and touches nearly every facet of the sea. This history takes many forms, from native American lore, commerce, fishing and aquaculture, to the evolution of the U.S.Coast Guard which was once the U.S. Lighthouse Service and U.S.Life Savings Service (formerly the Massachusetts Humane Society) and the U.S.Merchant Marine. At the age of 13, Joshua Crosby, a Cape Codder, went to sea. He eventually served our Navy as quarterdeck gunnery officer and fired the first shot from "Old Ironsides" against the HMS Guerriere off the coast of Massachusetts in the War of 1812. There is certain irony, that nearly 200 years later, the teenage members of the Sea Scout Ship '76 were the first to greet landed English naval officers and extend a welcome hand during the visit of the British frigate HMS Chatham at USCG Station Chatham.
Our Sea Scout Ship '76 actually has a long history that followed this heritage. The Ship began about 1935 and was active for more than 30 years until 1968 when interest waned due to a counterculture revolution that was sweeping teenagers and young adults about that period to "make love, not war". It was not until 2005 that several ambitious local citizens saw the need to promote a non-sectarian youth group, with solid core values, based on a maritime theme. The decision was made to revive Harwich Sea Scout Ship '76 from its ashes and would serve all who were interested on what we refer to as the Lower Cape. We call ourselves the "Spirit of '76" in honor of this revival and long maritime history of Cape Cod. Come explore with us!
Our "ship" is a work in progress and this unit has made great strides since its inception under some terrific adult leadership and organizational skills of our Skipper Tim Millar, 1st Mate Ryan Mann, and Committee Chairman Dave Metzler.
Millar and Metzler are veterans of US Armed Forces having served our proud Nation in the Army, and Marine Corps. Ryan Mann and Skipper Millar share something big in common, they are both Eagle Scouts and love scouting. Mann is Outreach & Stewardship Coordinator
for the Harwich Conservation Trust whose
experiences cover a wide array of both hands-on and academic skills. He earned his BS from the University of Massachusetts in natural resources and wildlife and fisheries conservation.
Together they are molding our growing ship of young adults ages 14-21. Our membership is open to any able bodied person (male or female) from Cape Cod. Other true Sea Scout units on Cape Cod are Ship 72 Orleans and Ship 40 Falmouth (active).
If you are tired of playing computer games or wasting your valuable free time on skateboarding, or if you just want to experience the comradeship of joining other teens your age in a spirited adventure that will take you into the wilderness and beyond, then maybe, just maybe, you should consider getting involved in the 'Spirit of '76'.
Skipper Tim Millar and Harbormaster Tom Leach help display the old Harwich Ship flag that was found in the Council archives (May 2007)
Three time all-American basketball coach, John Wooden, once said "The worst thing we can do for our children are those things they can do for themselves".
Scouting fosters independant thinking and increases a persons ability to depend upon themselves. Those who have been sea scouts look back years later and often recognize how taking part in the program gave them the ability to carry on successfully as an adult. This all begins with basics. In order to communicate appropriately and operate efficiently at sea, Harwich Sea Scouts first learn a glossary of nautical terms often referred to as jargon.
As any team, club or organization where members "age-out" or graduate, the health and wellbeing of Ship '76 depends upon building its base through recruitment of new members. Therefore, one job of all members of the ship is an important responsibility to offer an open invitation to friends or acquaintances they feel might grow personally by joining Ship ’76. Our Ship’s annual calendar includes lots of exciting adventure activities, community service, vocational explorations, and nautical training opportunities. Therefore, it should not be long for any “firstnighter” or new recruit will quickly recognize whether Ship ’76 is right for them.
While our regular meetings are held every Thursday evening at the Latter Day Saints Meeting House, 94 Freemans Way, Brewster, Mass, our ship and its mooring is based at Harwich Port Boat Yard, 30 Harbor Road on Wychmere Harbor in Harwich Port.
Harwich Ship '76 members get to see the torpedo room of USS LIONFISH
This location provides our team with quick access to the water. Harwich Port Boat Yard began as the Lee Ship Building Company in 1932. The boatyard today is owned and operated by John Our of Harwich who has invested heavily in its rebuilding and has been a very positive and supportive force and sponsor in encouraging our Ship leaders to "carry-on" with the Sea Scout program. Without a waterfront base and access, all the Ship activity would cease, therefore, it is without reservation we thank our sponsors. Further, in March of 2007, the Town of Harwich Waterways Commission voted a special purpose mooring permit be made available for the 'S.S.S SPIRIT OF 76' in the Outer Harbor in the interest of encouraging this youth activity.
Sea Scouts are a specialized co-ed segment of the Venturing program, which was organized to address members' boating skills and promote knowledge of our maritime heritage.Sea Scout units, called "ships," focus on sailing and cruising either sailboats or power vessels. During the boating seasons, Sea Scouts learn to maintain and operate their vessel, with a focus on learning the safe and proper methods of handling boats. Sea Scouts also learn the meaning of buoys and lights, how to take advantage of wind and tide, and how to drop anchor or approach a dock.
If after Sea Scouting you wish to turn all this useful knowledge into a career, this training is of immeasureable value for advanced enlistment and higher starting pay grade in the Navy or Coast Guard.Both organizations utilize the Enlistment Incentive Program which represent an opportunity fast tracking.If you believe your career path is with the military, you may be entitled to enlist at a paygrade higher than the customary E-1 level if you meet certain criteria. This advanced paygrade – E-2 or E-3 – is effective the first day of active duty. Although you will be paid at a higher level, you wll not wear the rank (rating) until you have graduated from basic training.
There are several criteria for being eligible for Advance Enlistment, these include having college credit, vocational training, High School Military Academies, or referred another recruit for the extended Delayed Enlistment Program. In addition, membership in the Sea Scouts program will also qualify for advanced enlistment. Further, if you are a Sea Scout and a top tier student, you will have improved your chances for acceptance to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis or U.S. Coast Guard Academy at New London.
President John F. Kennedy, an adopted son of Cape Cod, cherished this bended elbow that we live upon, but relished the sea for its intrigue and learning value. JFK said "I can imagine no more rewarding career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: "I served in the United States Navy". He, no doubt, would have felt equally strong about Sea Scouting.
S.S.Spirit of '76 has made the decision to hold the ship formal meetings conducted in either full dress or work uniforms. Swimming, lifesaving, first aid, Coast Guard Auxiliary Sailing and Seamanship, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation courses are taught with the ship by our own officers. Occasionally movies are shown, contests between crews are held, or intership visits are arranged.Ceremonies, as the Landship held once each month, are a natural part of the Sea Scouting program. Carried out at ship meeting and as a part of some social activities they help develop habits of conduct essential to the salty atmosphere and discipline of a program based on nautical traditions and activities.
S.S.S SPIRIT OF '76
The Ceremonies of Harwich Sea Scout Ship '76 are colorful and carried out with promptness, smartness, and dash. This gives each crew the utmost pride and satisfaction that can come from membership in a first-rate Ship as ours. By far the most essential elements in our successful ceremonies are the dignified atmosphere and enthusiastic leadership provided by our Skipper and Petty Officers.
We currently have three vessels under command. Our sailing vessels are a 27' fiberglass Catalina sloop and a keel-centerboard Venture 21 sloop. We are most excited about our most recent acquisition donated by the George Spalt family of Harwich Port, a 19' Flying Scot sloop. This vessel will allow us to train and compete in the weekly club racing within a very healthy and active fleet here. The boat will be dry-sailed and kept at the Harbormasters Barn on Bank Street.
We are not unlike most sea scout ships as we always have projects going. We are currently restoring our safety launch or gig which is a 19' Grady White outboard and an O'Day Javelin as a nifty sailing trainer.
While sailing or participating in any activity on the water, everyone follows the prescripts of Sea Scouting including the entire command staff which includes wearing a life vest, all the time while on the water. This is not only good practice but great personal insurance. '76' is planning an aggressive cruise beyond Nantucket Sound this summer 2007 where we will hone our seamanship, navigation, dead reckoning, sailing skills and understanding of the sail racing rules.
Harwich Sea Scout Ship '76 member on scouting trip to USS MASSACHUSETTS
Sea Scouting History
Sea Scouting insignia was initially developed by Kimo Wilder, Chief Seascout from 1916-23. Kimo's vision was a Scouting program on the water, with nautical-style uniforms made of Boy Scout (actually U.S. Army) material and color. Adult and youth leadership positions and advancement systems were as a consequence, what appears to modern eyes to be an unusual combination of totally unrelated and incompatible program elements. While Mr. Wilder's dedication to Sea Scouting was boundless, his tenure as the top Sea Scouting official came to an end in 1923.
The following year, Thomas J. Keane, a World War I naval officer who had been serving as the Sea Scouting Director in the Chicago Council, was asked to temporarily take over as National Sea Scouting Director. That appointment was made permanent in 1925.
In 1931, Keane wrote the words to the 'Scouts of the Sea' anthem (at right) for the organization and music was set by V.E. Carroll, Jr..
If you click on the music score at the right you will hear this anthem as played and recorded by Tom Telesmanick (himself an Eagle Scout) at the Harwich Harbormasters Office. Harwich Ship '76' is the only Sea Scout website featuring this music audio.
T.J. Keane continued to serve Sea Scouting professionally, first as National Sea Scouting Director, and in 1935 being promoted to Director of the new Senior Scouting Department, until he was called back to active service in the U.S. Navy in 1941. After World War II, Commander Keane returned to serving Sea Scouting as a dedicated volunteer, remaining active until his death in 1984. In 1963, T.J. Keane became one of only two Sea Scouting officers to receive the Silver Buffalo Award for distinguished service to youth at the national level.
Harwich Scouts of the Sea
By the summer of 1940, life in the US was on edge, France and Britain had declared war on Germany, and in the back of every American's mind was how long would it be before we were drawn into fighting a war against the Hun. For Harwich Sea Scout Wayne Robinson, his after school and summer job at the Lee Ship Building Company, later called Harwich Port Boat Works, was working out nicely. Wayne was salting away his earnings from scraping and painting boats, and learning carpentry skills from Watson Small and owner Bill Lee who also was the Skipper of '76, an active ship of Harwich boys. He and his shipmates enjoyed cruising and sailing SSS Bug-a-Boo an aging Crosby catboat to Monomoy Island and attending their weekly Ship meetings.
Newspaper report of former Harwich Sea Scout '76 member, US Naval Seaman Roland Ryder, 19, of Harwich Port, and his father Chief Petty Officer Everett T. Ryder of Bank Street, Harwich after young Ryder survived the stranding of the USS WEEHAWKIN in a typhoon known as the Banzai Storm at Buckner Bay, Okinawa Oct 4th, 1945. By 1600, the typhoon reached its peak, with steady winds of 100 knots and frequent gusts of 120 knots with 50 foot seas. A total of 12 ships were sunk, 222 grounded, and 32 damaged beyond the ability of ships' companies to repair.
Wayne had learned from Bill Lee, a reliable Friendship sloop was for sale in Maine and with savings enough and good fortune, the owner of the lobsterboat took his offer. By July of 1941, Robinson, 18, Sea Scout (Able), with other Harwich Sea Scouts John Buckley (Ordinary), and Roland "Rocky" Ryder (Ordinary), both age 15, boarded the train at Harwich Depot for South West Harbor.Their return sail in the IRENE B. from Downeast to Wychmere Harbor was an epic voyage that tested their sea scout training and "dead reckoning" skills. Remember, navigation back then was limited to a compass and lead line. It is hard to imagine parents permiting such liberties today but things were very different back then. Kids could safely hitch on their own, walk or ride their bikes to Chaham or even Hyannis. Their personal safety at least on land was never an issue that it is today. In this case, parents even encouraged this character building sea adventure. We are fortunate to have these photos of the crew (the pipes were a joke) documenting the voyage.
Within one year the country was at war with Germany and Japan and all three eventually enlisted in the Navy and Coast Guard. Later, Rocky Ryder survived the near sinking of the USS WEEHAWKIN in the Banzai Storm Oct 4th, 1945.
Sea Scouts called to active duty as WWII Naval Officers In an historic moment, the Sea Scouts came to the aid of our country in World War II. The U.S. fleet was at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, and the Navy scrambled to mount a Pacific defense. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox had Patrol and Torpedo Boats mass produced as a Pacific defense until we could get the larger ship yards into full production.
In 1942, Knox put out a call for 5,000 experienced officer recruits to operate the new PT Boats and teach the inexperienced crews. Knox wrote a letter to the Chief Executive of the Boy Scouts of America Dr. James E. West. He asked West for his help in recruiting the Sea Scouts into the Navy. In his letter Knox wrote, "They have earned this good reputation, because those who are already in the Navy have shown that they have been trained in two of the most important essentials of the good sailor- character and seamanship." Knox went on to write, "The type of training the Sea Scouts have had peculiarly fits them for a new type of service for which the Navy is now in the process of procuring officers."
Dr. West responded to the Secretary's letter by writing his own letters. Dr. West wrote to all of his Sea Scout skippers asking for their best Scouts for a special Navy officer program. Over 8,000 Sea Scouts applied. Nearly all were accepted and put through a highly condensed officer training program, the emphisis was placed on Navy regulations rather than nautical training. The recruits were commissioned as Naval officers in a fraction of the time as the other officer training programs. They were then immediately assigned to the PT Boats and other various vessels.
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz later in 1947 said that Boy Scouts represented 40% of the one million men in his command, however they had won 60% of the decorations for valor. The Admiral said, "I am happy that Secretary Knox lived long enough to to see full justification of his faith in the Sea Scouts."
Landship Exercise
BOS'N: (Salutes OOD) "Sir, all crews present or accounted for."
This series of three photos below were taken at a recent Landship Ceremony held by Ship '76 once each month at its regular meeting at the Church of the Latter-Day-Saints on Freemans Way in Brewster, MA. The Ceremonies of Sea Scouting are colorful and carried out with promptness, smartness, and dash. This gives each member of Ship '76 the utmost pride and satisfaction that can come from membership in a first-rate Ship. By far the most essential elements in successful ceremonies are the dignified atmosphere and enthusiastic leadership provided by the Skipper and Petty Officers.
Special Events
Sea Scouts from around the world are heading to United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, the host for the Fifth Bi-Annual William I. Koch International Sea Scout Cup, August 1-7, 2010. This youth sailing regatta is open to young men and women between the ages of 14 and 21 who are actively registered in the Sea Scout program. The six-day event will be held at the US Coast Guard Academy Sailing Center. Teams from the United States and 20 countries can test their seamanship and leadership skills as they sail Vanguard 420’s. In addition to training in a Flying Scot, a Catalina Capri 16.5, members of Sea Scout Ship '76' will be training with the Harwich High School Sailing Team in Vanguard 420's, in preparation for this upcoming event.
Who May Join?
Membership in the S.S.S. Spirit of '76 is open to young men and women between the ages of 14 and 20 inclusive and, although some Sea Scouts evolve from the ranks, you do not have to have been either a Boy Scout or Girl Scout to join. However, we require that you attend meetings/activities with the ship as part of your admission.
The initiation fee is $70.00 (includes purchase a Sea Scout Manual) then $10.00 per year and the dues are $5.00 per month. You will be expected to purchase two uniforms. We get uniforms at bargain prices. Sea Scouts are the best kept secret in Scouting and these fees pale at the value of the fun and rewards you will receive from participating as a Sea Scout. When you talk to any adult who has been a Sea Scout they will more than not confidentally tell you it was life shaping experience that they would do over again in a minute.
Sea Scout Ship '76 being delivered back to Harwich Port
It is amazing how much we have been able to accomplish with our meager budget but it can be made more affordable with your help.
Spirit of '76 needs to raise $6,000 to cover the cost of purchasing new sets of sails, Digital Selective Calling marine radio and new GPS, foul weather gear, life jackets, etc. for the ship. Your donation to our cause is extremely welcome. Any help you can give us to reach our goal large or small is important. Please make your check payableto the Harwich Sea Scout Ship 76 Fund and send it to:
Tim Millar, Skipper PO Box 36 South Harwich, MA 02661
Our Sea Scout Ship as other ships may also consider donation of your boat or vessel to our worthy and tax deductible program.
Facts About Donations
If you are considering disposing of your yacht or other property, it may be more beneficial to you to donate it to Ship 76 than to go through the possibly long and costly process of selling it.The government allows charitable contributions for gifts of property, such as yachts, real estate, securities and cash donations to a qualified institution such as the Sea Scouts. Tax reforms enacted by Congress in 1986 provide for tax benefits of up to 38.5 percent of the value of the contribution for 1987, and up to 33 percent of the value of the contribution for 1988 and beyond. Part of this deduction may be able to be carried forward if it can not all be used in the year of the contribution. The amount of the deduction depends largely on your tax bracket and whether the gift is related to the function of the charitable organization. It is important that you discuss the various aspects of this tax deduction with your tax advisors.
The government, in recognition of our service to youth, qualifies Sea Scout Ship Spirit of '76' under IRS regulations and gives the donor the fullest benefits for such gifts. We will be delighted to meet with you or your advisors to arrange a mutually beneficial donation.
*Note that in modern times, this historical maritime phrase is not meant to be sexist, but is taken to mean that those who are trained and most capable should give special assistance to those who are not.In addition to the Sea Promise, Sea Scouts also learn and subscribe to the Scout Oath, Law and Venturing Code.
Sign '76' Guestbook
We are located nearly at the elbow of the bended arm of 
Our Sea Scout Ship '76 actually has a long history that followed this heritage. The Ship began about 1935 and was active for more than 30 years until 1968 when interest waned due to a 
We are not unlike most sea scout ships as we always have projects going. We are currently restoring our safety launch or gig which is a 19' Grady White outboard and an O'Day Javelin as a nifty sailing trainer.
