Local Sea Scout troop tests its skills in Florida
MUDDY CREEK TWP — A local Sea Scouts troop spent an action-packed week in June sailing the Florida Keys where they had the opportunity to operate two ships, catch fish and snorkel.
The troop was first chartered in 2024 by the Coast Guard Auxiliary on Lake Arthur after Mitchel Ray, Skipper of Sea Scout Ship 5168, decided he wanted to bring one to his hometown of Butler after starting one in Erie in 2020.
Sea Scouts was founded in 1912 and is one of the five programs that Scouting America offers. The group in Butler meets the second and fourth Monday of each month at Moraine State Park’s Watts Bay Marina. Its members also have sailing days twice a month.
The program is for youths ages 14 to 20, and is meant to teach Scouts maritime skills, like piloting a boat, navigation, sailing, stand-up paddleboarding and scuba diving. Most of the children who join are interested in going into the Coast Guard or the Navy.
The trip was led by Ray, along with Dan Lonchena, Janel Rowley and Christina Oniboni. In total, the troop has 17 Scouts, with 12 of them going on the trip. The 12 troop members who went were Leo Markowitz, Gus Mossor, Aaron Ladd, Travis Luchkiw, Dylan Thurber, Bradley White, Dean Lonchena, Darius Oniboni, Xavier Oniboni, Sarah Bupp, Seth Kimball and Ardan Oniboni.
“We went to the Florida Sea Base for a week, where we did coral reef sailing and had two groups of eight, with six youth and two adults on each boat. The name of the ship is the SSS Penndragon, and as part of the trip, they were able to go fishing, snorkeling and saw six reefs,” Ray said. “During the trip, we also had the chance to see a big Jesus statue that was underwater and a shipwreck.”
Ray added that the Scouts basically ran the whole show and were directed by the captain on each boat. He said that he felt confident in their skills because they had been practicing on land and on the water.
“The trip was pretty fun, and it started with us flying to Miami, then driving to the Florida Keys, and on the way, we stopped at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, which was really neat as we saw a big Jesus statue and caught a giant Barracuda,” Leo said. “We also caught a puffer fish and a salmon, which we cooked up and ate.”
Leo also detailed one of his favorite parts of the trip, where the crew on his boat had the chance to dive at an old lighthouse, where they got to swim with a sea turtle and a reef shark.
“My personal favorite moment was when our captain told us he knew a great fishing spot called the ‘Blue Hole,’ and so he put it in his GPS, but when we arrived, we couldn’t see it at first glance,” Gus said, “so I put on my snorkeling gear and started to look for it, which led to one of the other Scouts throwing a line out and dragging me behind the boat.”
Ray explained how the Scouts’ vessel got its name.
“We have 13 original Sea Scouts, there's 13 Knights of the Round Table. King Arthur’s dad’s name is Pendragon,” Ray said. “So it’s ‘Penndragon’ since we’re in Pennsylvania.”
The planning for the trip took a year because the Scouts had to reserve a few things in advance. And since the ship is fairly new, the youths had access to a boat called the Flying Scot, which is owned by the Moraine Sailing Club, to learn how to operate as a crew.
Planning also included practicing tying knots. Some of the most common knots they used on the trip were the bowline, the stevedore and the sheet bend. The main use of these knots was to tie off the boat when the Scouts were snorkeling in different locations.
“Typically, the most knots you are going to tie are for keeping the boats at the dock, because most of the knots you want to have pre-tied on the boat to keep the lines secure, which will rarely be untied,” Gus said. “It was more of a relaxing trip, and, generally, the only thing we had to do was loosen the jib.”
Beyond just the use of knots, a lot of time and preparation went into making sure all the Scouts were strong swimmers, as they used those skills not only to help themselves be safe, but they also were able to help their fellow Scouts. Leo recounted how he was the swimming prep they did helped throughout the trip.
