The 2024 Cat's Point Regatta will be held Nov 1st at 3pm - Nov 3rd at 3:00 pm at BCYC.
"Cat's Point" is annually commissioned as a national event for Venture and Sea Scouts. The two groups are scored separately and awarded separately. SS Ship #912 and Boca Ciega SS Ship 915 jointly hold and staff the event. The competition is broken into Land events and Water events.
Five-member crews from each competing Ship participate in five heat regattas using Club Collegiate 420 sloops and Sunfish. Later, on Saturday night each team will construct a sailing vessel out of a watermelon which they will race on Sunday after an interdenominational service.
On Sunday a highly competitive "Tug-of- Canoes is held between the teams with great cheering and excitement. The 10 to 15 land games are held on Saturday to fill time between time on the water. Each land game tests the nautical knowledge of the scouts. The events are new each year and demand that the teams compete demonstrating skills from the rank requirements of the scout manual on a round robin basis. they are scored by time used to complete the task and the equal participation if each crew member.
At Cat's Point the performance of each team on the water carries 50% of their score and the Land games success contributes 50%.
This event is the only Sea Scout event in the US where all scouts and their leaders are issued yachts to sleep on. The members of Boca Ciega Yacht Club have proudly lent the use of their boats to the Scouts for eleven years. When the kids check out the owners say the boats are always cleaner and more orderly than when they came aboard.
When the scouts head for home most of them have completed several rank requirements, all of them have eaten well and many have spent the first night sleeping on a yacht. Every other year the Gulfport Fire Dept. involves the kids in live fire control exercises and the supervised firing of distress rockets and flairs.
For more information, please contact Joel Heyne
