The Texas raised sailors did a great job at the High School Nationals held right here in Galveston Bay. Here is a “shout out” to four local stars and the amazing new facility, Sea Scout Base Galveston, that hosted the races:
The championships were held right here in Galveston Bay at the new Sea Scout facility ( http://ssbgalveston.org/). It is an amazing facility and many in our community do not know about it, yet (here is a link to high schools already using it: http://ssbgalveston.org/community.php#anchor1).
I recommend visiting this 200+ bed facility it and hope that it hosts many more regattas (Link to view facility: http://ssbgalveston.org/events.php AND http://ssbgalveston.org/events_contact.php). There were great views for watching the races… from shore! The downwind mark was only 20 yards away from the spectators.
The National Hospice Regatta Alliance held April 29 through May 1 st at Sea Scout Base Galveston was a big success. This annual championship helped raise much needed finds for hospice care throughout the United States. The Championship is an invitational regatta for sailors representing hospice regattas that are held in 25 U.S. communities and Toronto each year. This year’s event brought 12 teams to the island to compete in the Sonar class event. After 3 days of intense racing, a tie breaker decided the winner. The team from Haute de Grace, Yacht Club, Maryland, brought home the coveted “Virginia Brown Trophy”. The team from Nashville, Tennessee came in second, followed by Lake Norman, N.C. “We were delighted to bring the only national hospice charity sailing regatta to such a great facility in such a great sailing community,” said Tom Tomlinson, president of the National Hospice Regatta Alliance. That was surely evident as Galveston Community Sailing Center partnered up with HYC’s Jack Yoes and team who handled the R.C. and TCYC’s fleet captain, Pierce Owens who help arrange the loan of 6 additional Sonars.
“I am truly humbled by the amount of support we received from these two outstanding yacht clubs. They (HYC & TCYC) responded without hesitation to our every request. This speaks volumes to the spirit of these two clubs and makes us proud to be associated with them.” said Mike Janota, director of Galveston Community Sailing Center at SSBG.
Base brings a love of sailing to Galveston Island through unique maritime and educational programs
Photography by Al Ruscelli
Sea Scout Base Galveston (SSBG) has hoisted anchor on its high-adventure marine and maritime excursion, and it’s off to a fast start. The 10-acre facility on Offatts Bayou, has already hosted two major national sailing events, the Galveston Regatta, proudly sponsored by Pelican Rest Marina, and the 2014 U.S. Disabled Sailing Championship. Held at SSBG’s Galveston Community Sailing Center (GCSC), the only U.S. Sailing sanctioned community sailing center in Texas, these events reaffirmed the special emphasis SSBG has placed upon teaching youth and people with disabilities the art of sailing.
Adaptive sailing at the GCSC is just one of SSBG’s offerings. SSBG is the home of BaySmart, a youth program promoting the exploration of marine-related Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-based topics and also provides nautical high adventure programs for Scouts in partnership with the Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
The Galveston Community Sailing Center has applied for U.S. Sailing Adaptive Training Center accreditation and will soon become an official Paralympic training site.
With both individual and family memberships available, GCSC makes sailing available to all members of the community including veterans and those with special needs. Staffed by U.S. Sailing-certified instructors, GCSC accommodates sailors of every skill level with weekly sailing classes, Open Sail Saturdays and Schooner Sundays. GCSC also hopes to host more than a dozen high school sailing teams through the Interscholastic Sailing Association.
As the name suggests, Sea Scouting is a key component of the base’s mission. In partnership with the Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, SSBG has developed a unique high-adventure Scouting program including the Cub Scout Splash Adventure, the Sea Scout Academy, and the Sea Scout Adventure, along with Galveston nautical adventures, lifeguard certification, privateer adventures, scuba certification and swim rescue and paddle safety training in 2015.
The BaySmart initiative is based at the Sea Scout Base Galveston facility on Offatts Bayou, and while BaySmart offers educational opportunities for Scouts through its Nova program, it is a separate organization from the Boy Scout of America and is open to anyone interested in studying marine-related Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-based topics such as oceanography, meteorology, and more.
Several curricula are available under the BaySmart initiative. STEM 2 Stern, a four-hour field trip aboard the BaySmart Express, is open to all elementary-through-high school students. The Nova program was created to foster Scouts’ exploration of STEM fields and REACH is a U.S. Sailing-certified program to help students discover STEM-related careers. New programs are being created to expand these opportunities.
The educational initiative reaches into public, private and home schools as well. BaySmart will launch its first in-school field trip program in the spring. Working with school administrators, the organization will conduct four-hour excursions aboard the BaySmart Express for up to 84 students at a time supporting existing in-school STEM programs by giving students an insight into nautical STEM topics.
For maritime students in vocational programs, the BaySmart Express, SSBG’s 110-foot floating classroom, offers internships that include working alongside the vessel crew accumulating sea time toward Merchant Mariner credentials and gaining valuable on-the-job training.Keep up with BaySmart on Facebook at facebook.com/baysmart.galveston.
Founded on the belief that water is a pathway to independence, SSBG’s programs are designed to introduce a new generation of sailors to maritime activities and build confidence in their abilities both on and off the water. For more information about SSBG and any of its varied programs, please visit www.ssbgalveston.org.
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Adaptive sailing at the GCSC is just one of SSBG’s offerings. SSBG is the home of BaySmart, a youth program promoting the exploration of marine-related Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-based topics and also provides nautical high adventure programs for Scouts in partnership with the Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
