Able Academy at Rancho Los Mochos

Able Academy Advancement Weekend – January 20-22, 2023

Sea Scout Ships Corsair (22) & Viking (100) carried out an advancement weekend at GGAC’s Rancho Los Mochos camp in Livermore, CA along with a guest from Santa Cruz Sea Scouts SSS Pearls (669) .

The Sea Scouts from ships Corsair, Viking, and Pearls learned and completed Able rank requirements for Able Piloting & Navigation, Ground Tackle (Anchors), Navigation Rules, and Safety at a successful advancement academy this past weekend. Able is the rank before Quartermaster, which is the Eagle Scout equivalent in Sea Scouts. Many of the Able rank requirements include a combination of boating rules and regulations, as well as a practical portion, such as anchoring a vessel. This weekend was a great chance for many of our scouts to complete some of the more difficult requirements for the rank.

In addition, the classes were taught by Able scouts working on their Quartermaster rank, as many of the requirements for that rank involve teaching the prior ranks’ (Apprentice, Ordinary, and Able) requirements to less experienced scouts. This is a great chance for leadership and honing the Quartermaster candidates’ teaching and planning skills. Scouts helped plan and execute the weekend and it was a successful and fun weekend for all!

Advancement is an important part of the Sea Scout experience. These experiences help Sea Scouts to set realistic goals to achieve rank, accomplish projects, and gain knowledge and understanding of the world around them.There are many opportunities for advancement in Sea Scouts. Included are the trails to Eagle and Quartermaster. Each of these trails is a highlight experience, but each requires the Sea Scout to set their own goals and follow through to achievement. The requirements for advancement were designed by Sea Scout youth to establish standards of performance for all Sea Scouts.

Ranks leading to Quartermaster include: Apprentice, Ordinary, and Able.