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‘I can still do it’: Local teens taking on new challenge as Sea Scouts

Sea Scouts are an extension of Scouts for America

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A new ship is coming to Jacksonville.

The only difference is that this “ship” is a group of kids coming together to learn basic water safety skills and gaining experiences they say will help them in life.

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The Sea Scouts are getting a new chapter based in the Fort Caroline Community Center.

Sea Scouts showing a prospective member what they learn in the program. (News4Jax)

That group is called a “Ship.”

And while the age range is supposed to be 14 to 20 years old, two 13-year-olds are leading the charge.

In just over two years of being a scout, Emma Custis and her friend Vanessa Reep have accomplished so much.

“I learned that even though something can be really hard,” Custis said. “I can still do it.”

The two friends are now setting sail on a new adventure with the Sea Scouts.

“There’s a ship that you go on and you get to experience the role of being on that ship,” Reep said. “Being with other people and working together as a team and managing the boat. Going on the water and learning how to do a bunch of different things that you probably wouldn’t do in [Boy Scouts of America.]”

The group is known as Ship 886 but is just days old.

There are also just three members.

To help recruit, the girls took part in an “Open House” at Fort Caroline Community Center on Saturday.

With the help of the USS Orleck and Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Sea Scouts showed off some of the skills members will learn as a part of the group.

Some equipment on display at the Sea Scout "Open House" (News4Jax)

“I just hope to see a lot of happy and willing faces,” Custis said. “So people willing to come in and be ready to be a part of this cool adventure that we’re going through.”

The girls demonstrated proper CPR and rope-tying skills.

Organizers said it’s a time commitment of about two hours a week. Each month, scouts will do a service project and one adventure.

If a scout sees the Sea Scout program to the end, they will be able to fully operate a boat as the captain. That includes running a crew, navigating and charting a course for a week.

And while this charter of Sea Scouts of America will teach a number of survival skills, the girls said it provides them with skills they use in life.

“It’s a really good opportunity so you kind of go at your own pace,” Custis said. “You don’t have to go super fast. You don’t have to go super slow. You just kind of stay at your pace and there’s a lot of stuff that you can learn and that you will learn.”

Anyone interested in participating with the Sea Scouts can visit this website for more information.


About the Author
Chris Will headshot

Chris Will has joined the News4JAX team as a weekend morning reporter, after graduating from the University of Florida in spring 2024. During his time in Gainesville, he covered a wide range of stories across the Sunshine State. His coverage of Hurricane Ian in southwest Florida earned a National Edward R. Murrow Award.

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