COUNTYWIDE : Cruising the High Seas at a Low Cost

Mike Stewart likes to call the Orange County Sea Scouts program a private yacht club at a bargain price. For about $10 a year, young people ages 14 to 21 can learn basic boating skills, go on boat trips and participate in races and competitions.

In a county blessed with an excellent climate and miles of coastline, Stewart and some of his fellow Sea Scout skippers figure that there ought to be hundreds of young people interested in the program, which is an offshoot of the Boy Scouts of America.

But the 11 boats that make up the local Sea Scouts flotilla have only 150 members.

That number represents a decline from a high of 300 sailors 10 years ago. As membership drops, “ships”--the Sea Scouts’ equivalent of troops or packs--are disbanded. Recently, an Irvine ship was down to one member before it was decided to disband the “group.”

“I’ve been skipper of this ship for nearly 30 years,” Stewart, who heads a group from the Newport Beach area, said. “Recently, it’s been real tough getting kids into the program.”

Despite being one of the only county programs allowing youths to learn basic boating skills, several factors have hurt the program’s ability to attract new members.

Stewart and shipmate Gary Lage blame increased competition for youths’ time, coupled with the program’s low profile. Boat ownership has also increased over the years, so young people have access to boats elsewhere if they want it, Stewart said.

The Boy Scouts of America, which operates Sea Scouts as a separate organization, has maintained a sea base in Newport Beach since the 1920s, but the program is still not widely known. That may reflect an image problem, officials with the group concede.

Several skippers and Sea Scouts acknowledge that there is a certain stigma attached to Scouting.

“It’s not totally cool (to be a Scout),” said mate Barry Baxter, who, along with Stewart, Lage and Ned Stewart, started Ship 711 in Newport Beach in 1962.

Orange County’s Sea Scouts boats are docked in Newport Beach and Dana Point. Mickey Hunter, director of the Newport Beach sea base, said that despite its lackluster image, the program provides a rare, low-cost opportunity for youths to sail.

“Nowhere else can you sail without paying big money,” Hunter said.

Unlike other Scout troops that offer a mixture of activities such as camping, service projects and sports, Sea Scouts concentrates on teaching and practicing nautical skills.

Knot-tying, navigation, piloting, first aid and other seamanship skills are the focus of weekly meetings and frequent boat trips. Scouts also practice emergency preparedness in the event of fire, someone falling overboard or a ship sinking.

The importance of these drills was illustrated when the Scouts of Ship 711 rescued the crew of a capsized boat a few years ago. Scouts can also test their skills in competitions which grade a ship’s performance.

Hunter, whose daughter was a Sea Scout, said the program’s success in teaching nautical skills is evident by what Scouts accomplish as adults.

“Gino Morrelli, who designed the catamaran that won the America’s Cup for Dennis Conner, was one of our Scouts,” Hunter said.

And more important, Stewart believes that the program offers some invaluable life lessons. “When you go to sea,” he said, “you have to know what your responsibilities are. Your shipmates are depending on you.”