Anchors Aweigh Skipper

Long ago and far away I was a Sea Scout.

Sea Scouts were part of the Explorer program

of the Boy Scouts of America.  Our boat was the

SES Seahorse 243.  

Much of the person I have become I owe to my

sailing days.  It was here that a young, reserved

girl said goodbye to her protective family, worked

hard and gained her independence.  

Being a Sea Scout on a successful ship took a lot

of commitment.  We worked all year round to 

keep our boat in ship shape.  In the winters we 

would sell movie tickets to movie night fundraisers, 

deliver telephone books and sell candy ~ all to raise

money to keep ourselves afloat.  Many weekends we

would have work parties to prepare the ship for sailing

season.  From April through October we spent each 

weekend taking scout troops on trips to West Point,

 Mystic Seaport or Greenport, Long Island.  

When we would go to Mystic Seaport, which is a living

history museum showing a seafaring village, I always

slept on the deck so that when I woke up we would be

docked next to the whaling ship The Charles W. Morgan

and the village was coming alive with all of the costumed

interpreters moving around the village before the museum

opened.  I always felt as if I had gone back in time.  Fall was

my favorite time to visit West Point, seeing the Fall color of 

the trees as we sailed along the Hudson was spectacular.

Now all of this sounds like fun and excitement but the 

reality for the crew of this ship was we were working.

We had to do helm watch, log watch, engine room watch,

cook meals for 40 people in a very small galley and clean

everything up and keep the ship clean.  And then there

were the overnight watches, someone was on duty 24

hours a day to make sure everything was safe and secure.

Being woken up for the 4am to 6am watch wasn't fun but

it was part of the deal.

All of this work was for an ultimate goal, The Long Cruise.

The Long Cruise was our time, two weeks in the summer

where we got to go on a grand adventure.  The most 

exciting long cruises I went on were the two international

cruises where we sailed up to Montreal Canada from our 

home base near New York harbor.  One year we went 

through the Erie Canal and all the locks along the way.

That's me in this photo, the one who looks like she is

about to strangle herself.  We are in our work uniforms

which were blue work shirts and jeans.  We also had dress

uniforms, a blue wool for winter and white for summer.

It is hard to describe to people the magic of these days.

We were able to travel with our best friends and see

new places and meet new people.  This is probably the

root of my wanderlust, the starting point that has made

me a world traveler.

The man behind all of this was our Skipper Rudy Giess.

None of this would have happened without him.  He was 

a man who devoted his life to countless Sea Scouts through

the years.  He had a gruff, cantankerous exterior with a 

heart of gold.  The sad news came in the middle of the 

night that Skip had passed away.  I'm sure there are 

scores of people who will be reliving many happy memories

of this wonderful man today and for years to come.

I know I will,  Fare thee well Skip, may you find calm seas

and a safe harbor.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the tradewinds in your sails,

Explore, Dream, Discover