The Long Beach Sea Scout program has been going strong for 100 years, making it just a few years younger than the Boy Scout program that started in Long Beach in 1919 – but there are some changes coming to the program.
On May 7, Boy Scouts of America announced that the organization will change its name to Scouting America. While the name change will officially go into effect on Feb. 8 – its 115th anniversary – all are encouraged to use the name immediately.
Kids enjoy the water as part of the Long Beach Sea Scouts’ Sea Base Summer Program. (Photo courtesy of Scouting America — Long Beach)
Kids enjoy the water as part of the Long Beach Sea Scouts’ Sea Base Summer Program. (Photo courtesy of Scouting America — Long Beach)
Kids enjoy the water as part of the Long Beach Sea Scouts’ Sea Base Summer Program. (Photo courtesy of Scouting America — Long Beach)
Kids enjoy the water as part of the Long Beach Sea Scouts’ Sea Base Summer Program. (Photo courtesy of Scouting America — Long Beach)
Kids enjoy the water as part of the Long Beach Sea Scouts’ Sea Base Summer Program. (Photo courtesy of Scouting America — Long Beach)
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Locally,the Long Beach Sea Scout program seems ready to embrace the change.
Beyond that, it will be a busy summer for the group.
Mary Norco, who was recently named Sea Base program director after she started at the Long Beach Area Council in June 2023, has been busy planning the Sea Base Summer program, for which more than 500 kids have already signed up — five weeks before camp even starts. The day camp runs for eight weeks and starts on June 24.
The camp offers a variety of boating, sailing, paddle sports, robotics, games, arts and crafts. It is open to boys and girls going into second-grade through high school.
This year’s staffing will offer an “incredible skill set and enthusiasm” for the kids, Scout executive Marc Bonner texted as he relayed that he’d just interviewed 24 potential counselors on Saturday.
“Diversity is astounding,” he added. “Young men, young women, Hispanic, Indian, Black, Asian, White, middle school, high school, college, engineers, automotive, medical students, and more.”
Bonner also shared that Long Beach Scouting will be launching a new website in early Fall, branding the Sea Base as its own community-based entity with year-round programming.
They are clearly ready for the next 100 years.
Olympic waters
The RS Tera North American Championship runs June 8 and 9, with practice sailing and a race clinic happening on Friday, June 7. RS Tera is a single-hander dinghy.
“Alamitos Bay Yacht Club is one of the finest venues on the West Coast, known for its breeze, excellent regatta management and warm hospitality,” RS Tera International Class Chair Berkeley Green was quoted as saying in Sailing World. “This is a great opportunity for RS Tera sailors to experience racing in Alamitos Bay, Long Beach, the same area as the 2028 Summer Olympics!”
505 North American Championship
Long Beach sailors Howie Hamlin and Andrew Zinn have won yet another 505 North American Championship title. Alamitos Bay Yacht Club hosted the regatta, which ran on Saturday and Sunday, May 18-19.
For full scores, visit abyc.org/regatta/uCiAm9vOiE/results.
Catalina Island Series
Long Beach Yacht Club’s Catalina Island Series kicked off over the weekend, when 23 boats raced in four classes. Future races in the series are Isthmus Cove (June 14-16), Emerald Bay (July 13-14) and Fall Long Point (Sept. 14-15).
In January, my friend Peter Hogenson left us. Thankfully, I have some series history he shared with me awhile back.
Prior to 1965, LBYC hosted several races to various points on Catalina Island on an individual basis. Each spring, around Easter, there was the “Easter Island Race” that normally raced to Long Point. But all of them were fairly benign, family-type events.
With the emergence of the LBYC sailboat racing community during the mid-1960s (Congressional Cup, La Paz, etc.), the community thought it needed a local “race series,” similar to the Ahmanson Series of Newport Harbor Yacht Club.
The Catalina Island Series was born. To make it competitive, they had to include more challenging races. Therefore, in addition to Long Point and Ship Rock, they added races to Catalina Harbor, around Catalina and around Eagle Rock – the latter two without stopping overnight.
Eagle Rock was a little scary, since it is so close to the island and the sea is a bit unpredictable. Occasionally, it was a challenge for the committee boat to get to Catalina Harbor and set the finish mark off Pin Rock.Nonetheless, everyone seemed to enjoy the “quiet” harbor.
