San Francisco Sea Scouts — Teamwork Afloat
When it comes to accessing the waterfront in San Francisco, your first thought might be to join a yacht club or sailing school. But with rising costs of living, the typical avenues for learning to sail can be costly and out of reach for families with kids hoping to learn to sail.
San Francisco Bay is one of the most challenging yet rewarding, rugged yet beautiful places to sail, but finding ways into the world of sailing in San Francisco can be tricky. That’s where the San Francisco Sea Scouts come in. For more than 50 years, the San Francisco Sailing Whaleboat Association (SFSWA) has supported the San Francisco Sea Scouts.
Tamara Sokolov, who runs the San Francisco Sea Scouts programs, says it’s not always easy for kids to find their way onto a sailboat. “You kind of have to seek it out and say, ‘I want to find a friend with a boat and go with them.’ But very few kids come to us because they decided they want to try sailing, and found a program.”
When Sokolov started with SSS Viking 18 years ago, there were just two volunteers running the program. Right now, there are more than 100 kids total, up from just 12 originally. The Sea Scouts are experiencing exponential growth — mostly by word of mouth.
A lot of sailing magic takes place at the Sea Scouts base, but you have to know where to look or else you might miss it. The base is tucked away near Aquatic Park, next to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and Hyde Street Pier. Although you can see the tall-ship masts across the Aquatic Park Cove, you feel San Francisco’s hustle and bustle start to fade once you’re on the base. It truly is like walking into another world.
The base is rustic, but cozy and functional; good luck to you if you dare use the electric incinerator toilet. Despite their humble abode, the Sea Scouts get more done in one afternoon than many a Bay Area boat owner does in an entire season.
Who are the Sea Scouts? First, you have to ask, “Where are the Sea Scouts?” Along with the San Francisco group, the bases dot the Bay Area — to the north in Petaluma and to the south in Redwood City. Some of the key organizers and skippers from the Redwood City base recently visited the S.F. base for a trip on SSS Viking, and to share their thoughts on Sea Scouts.
Continue reading in the August issue of Latitude 38.