NCAC Wardroom Dinner and Award Ceremony

by Sarah

Last Saturday, February 28th, was the National Capital Area Council Dinner and award ceremony. Ship 1942 very kindly invited us to take part in the ceremony as practice for the Regional Bridge of Honor we are performing in New Jersey later this month. Five of our scouts, Rebecca, Caitlín, Jared, Gus, and I made the port crew, and Ship 1942 had seven scouts as the starboard crew, boatswain, and boatswain’s mate. Also, our very own skipper was the mate. She looked great in her new dress uniform.

When we all got there, we started by rolling our new neckerchiefs. The Sea Cadets had showed us how to roll them when they came to teach us military drill, and thanks to their help, we were able to roll five neckerchiefs very quickly.

Skipper Ballew of Ship 1942 ran us and his scouts through the ceremony twice. The first time he explained every person’s jobs for their position. For example, the mate and boatswain board at opposite sides of the vessel at the same time, the crew leader requests permission for his/her crew to board, etc. Then we went through it for a second time as if it was the real ceremony and not just a practice round.

Next, Skipper Ballew introduced the guest speaker Alex Smith and his daughter Francis. Mr. Smith said he would be talking about submarines and some people who make submarines by themselves. He then invited us outside to look at his submarine made for only one person. It seemed very small with no room to lie down inside of it, but he later explained that he does not use it for longer than a short day trip with some other submariners.

Dinner consisted of the choice between roast beef, baked chicken, or vegetarian lasagna and green beans, boiled potatoes, and a bread roll. After we ate, the landship ceremony began, and the awards were handed out. We were hoping to receive ship of the year, but that reward was given to Ship 1942. The surprise was the Skipper of the Year award that was presented to Skipper Shay. It was a pleasant surprise for the skipper; she was hoping for the ship of the year and was shocked to hear her name announced as Skipper of the Year.

The ceremony concluded, and the guest speaker began to set up for his slide show he was going to use as part of his speech. While he set up his projector, Skipper Shay grabbed us five scouts, and we stepped back onto the landship. She had surprise certificates for a couple people who have helped our ship get off the ground. The first one was for Commodore Yeckley who received the “Amanda Grace award” because he kept the Amanda Grace at his house until we were able to get a slip for her close by. He also chased her down when she slipped her anchor. The other certificate went to Commodore Alexander for his help with our ship and his generosity with the use of his ship the der PeliKan.

Lastly, Alex Smith began his speech. He first showed us a short video of him in his submarine going underwater along with a convention of other submariners. His picture slideshow showed several different people who build submarines on their own. Two of them had, at one point, taken place as the smallest submarine in the Guinness World Records. Another man was making a huge submarine from scratch, a submarine that he could live up to three weeks in. Also in his slideshow was Sea Scout Ship 188th in Montreal that had previously restored old boats and sold them, but they were now restoring an old submarine. They had taken it apart and started to clean it though there was still a lot left. Mr. Smith said he is interested in seeing how it turns out when they finally finish it.

It was a very enjoyable event, and we will most likely attend next year.