Boy Scout Troop  122 Gains Sailing Skills, Earns Merit Badges

On July 11, 2009 members of the Whiskeytown Sailing Club joined with  leadership of Boy Scout Troop 122 to help the young men finish requirements for their BSA Small Boat Sailing merit badges.

Nine boys, mostly from Troop 122, received training and practice in sailing techniques.  These included rigging, launching, all points of sailing, tacking, and jibing.  They also practiced recovering from a capsize, rescuing a man overboard, and docking or beaching their boats. The boys spent several hours in the previous days in “ground school” learning sailing terms, knots, boating safety, sailing dynamics, right-of-way rules, sailing history, as well as taking swimming tests and first aid training.
WSC members Ron Hanford (Snipe), Mike Kelly (Day Sailer), and Ken Berryman, along with John Waldrop (Merit 22) are now Small Boat Sailing Merit Badge counselors, and are authorized to sign off on the boys’ requirements.
John Denton, a former Boy Scout, brought his Laser sailboat out to help with the training. Isaac Spooner, a current older Scout with Troop 122 also helped with the training and later that evening entered his first sailboat “pursuit” race with the WSC. Dave Denton from Troop 122 manned the safety boat for the day and also took many photos that are posted on the Whiskeytown Sailing Club web site.
Several of the boys passed all  requirements for the merit badge and left with much enthusiasm for the sport. In previous years, many of the boys (and their parents) introduced to sailing through this venue have continued with the sport and purchased their own sailboats.
I’m certain that the continued involvement of the WSC with this program, as well as a possible youth ride-along program would bolster the Sailing Club’s membership.
I would like to thank the Whiskeytown Sailing Club for their help with this event for yet another  year. I think the number of Scouts that may sign up for this in the future may require even more involvement from club members.  by Ken Berryman§