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US Naval Sea Scouts

The Sea Scouts were established in the United States in 1912, two years after the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated following the form of the original British program. The original concept of Sea Scouting was to prepare young men for service in the Navy. In 1949, the name Sea Scouts was changed to Sea Explorers to help attract older members and provide the opportunity for junior Sea Scouts to continue to participate.

In 2001, recognizing a need to reconnect with the Boys Scouts of America, the name Sea Scouts was restored. Sea Scout units are called "ships," even though they might not actually meet and train aboard their own vessels. There are active Sea Scout ships throughout the nation, though most are concentrated in metropolitan areas near the coastline. The Coast Guard has had a long history of facilitating and sponsoring Sea Scout ships, as has the Navy.

Sea Scout Ship City of Roses, #601, is based in Portland, Ore. The unit, originally named Viking, has been continuously active since 1929. The name was changed to City of Roses on the eve of World War II. The Ship has two training vessels. One, a 29-foot ketch rigged sailboat appropriately named City of Roses, was built from a kit by unit members in 1973. It has no auxiliary power and must be sailed, or rowed by pulling four 13-foot oars. The other boat is the former 44-foot motor lifeboat (MLB) 44372 which the unit acquired in 1998.

Though in need of major mechanical repairs, the boat was made operational by unit members in 1999 and has been used constantly ever since for underway training. The vessels are moored at the R.A. Rasmusen Sea Scout Base in Portland, near the Portland International Airport.

The base is also home to eight other local Sea Scout ships, including the Voyager, which is also a former 44-foot MLB and has an all women crew. In addition to serving as a home port for Portland area ships, the base is also a cruise destination and supply point for three other ships in outlying areas.

The annual Safety at Sea weekend hosted by Station Yerba Buena in San Francisco Bay has been a joint Coast Guard-Sea Scout project since 1993, and has proven to be one of the most successful Sea Scouting events on the West Coast. The weekend provides extensive hands-on vessel safety training. Scouts are trained by Coast Guard personnel in shipboard fire fighting, man overboard response and recovery, damage control techniques, cold water survival, pyrotechnic use, and the use of portable pumps to dewater small craft. Boat US magazine ran a feature article on the 2001 event.

Until 2001, Coast Guard Island in Alameda hosted the annual Ancient Mariners Regatta, which in the past has attracted as many as 1,500 Sea Scouts. The site of the regatta was moved as a result of increased security on the Island following the events of 9/11.