Welcome Aboard TEEN Girl Scouts...
Two, fast and fun wooden 74-foot schooners,
Woodwind and Woodwind II, for a true and interactive sailing experience in Annapolis, Maryland.

2012 Sailing Season: April 21 - October 28

We have developed a 2-hour sailing cruise where we train the girls on
different aspects of sailing, as we cruise past the United States Naval Academy and then out onto the Chesapeake Bay.

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting! Learn about interesting events that happened in 1912 and how those events have shaped boating and the Navy today. (Work towards your "100 Ways to Celebrate the 100th Patch") Available on most of our 2012 cruises.

Brownies

Juniors

Mixed Age Group

Girl Scout Home

"Smooth Sailing - your relationship with the water" Goal: To educate the scouts using an interactive approach to complete Step 1 of the AMBASSADOR level "Water Legacy Naturalist Badge" by trying sailing, your new water skill. We have combined this "step" with the best aspects of the archived "Smooth Sailing Badge" curriculum to create a terrific, "hands on" sailing experience aboard the Schooner Woodwind for all TEENS. In 2012, the girls will also learn about interesting events that happened in 1912 and how those events have shaped boating and the Navy today so they can work toward their "100 Ways to Celebrate the 100th Patch".

Availablity: 7 Days a Week (Excluding sunset sails and Saturday afternoons - unless you can fill the entire boat with 48 passengers)

2 hour cruise includes soft drink or bottled water, snack & Schooner Woodwind Participation Patch

Smaller Groups? Check out our Pre-Set Dates! Minimum of 18 passengers (mix of scouts & adults) - All other tickets, up to 48 passengers, will be sold to the general public.

How We Teach: During your two hour cruise aboard the Schooner Woodwind, we take a very interactive approach to educate the girls about sailing. As with all of our girl scout programs, we have the girls break into smaller groups to work directly with our crew members after the scouts all help to raise the sails. (Around eight girls per crew member.) The crew educates by asking questions. This enables our crew to find out the level of interest and knowledge in a fun and interactive way while dispersing fun facts to the scouts. The girls will cycle through different learning topics, and then about half way through the trip, the girls are led back to the captain who quizzes them on their new found knowledge. The captain will ask a question about the information they just learned, and when a girl raises her hand and a correct answer is given, she will take a turn helming (steering) the boat. It is our intent to offer every girl a turn at the "helm".

Please come with the following information and knowledge: Please have the girls prepped on sailing terminology so they are familiar with some of the terms before stepping aboard. If they learn these terms, we can show them how we use these terms aboard. See Terms Used by Sailors. Teach your girls ahead of time the most important thing to know about sailing - where the wind is coming from. Have them practice looking for wind direction a couple of weeks before sailing. This will help them understand how a sailboat moves through the water with just wind. (Have them look at smoke stacks of steam, which way flags are blowing, which way the waves are going, etc. Hint: Licking your finger doesn't work so well and it's gross.) Lifejacket Safety Come prepared with sunscreen (non-greasy) already applied. What to do in an emergency, hypothermia, sunstroke, near drowning Bring the following items with you: Have the girls find the latitude and longitude of where they come aboard the boat. Have them use 80 Compromise Street, Annapolis, MD 21401. Prepare a weather briefing, marine forecast for the Chesapeake Bay (From Sandy Point To North Beach) using http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/AN/532.html High and Low Tide information for the specific date you are sailing. Curriculum aboard Schooner Woodwind Show you know how to be safe on the water. One of your girls will demonstrate how to put a life jacket on in front of the passengers during the captain's safety speech. This is where we explain what to do if someone falls overboard and if there is a fire aboard the boat. One of your girls will assist in helping the crew get a final headcount before we leave the dock, and give that count to the on-shore office. Prepare to get underway. The captain will talk briefly about where to sit and what to expect aboard. One of your girls, or a small group of girls, should present a weather briefing. This shall be read aloud to the captain and passengers to show how the weather may affect the captain's decision on how many sails to put up and the route to take. One of the girls or a very small group of girls will accompany a crew member to make a log entry of how many people are aboard, weather conditions, and check any systems before raising sails. Girls that have not helped in other areas will help raise the sails with the supervision of the crew. We will show them why it is so important for them to know where the wind is coming from and how a sailboat moves under wind power alone. Learn the communication signals and language used by sailors. The crew will go over sailing terminology and why we use it aboard. We will also teach them hand signals a lookout uses when on the bow of a boat. We will have them practice being a "look-out". Technology aboard a Sailing Vessel. One of your girls, or a small group of girls should prepare a briefing including a tide table of when high and low tide is for the day. We will be explaining why this information is necessary. We will quickly show them how to find out where they are by using latitude and longitude. We will be using their coordinates from where we are dockside and then figure out how far we have gone. Some chartwork may be taught, depending on the time frame and their knowledge base. 100 Years of Sailing, Boating and the Navy: The girls will learn about interesting events that happened in 1912 and how those events have shaped boating and the Navy today so they can work toward their "100 Ways to Celebrate the 100th Patch". There is so much to see as we sail past the United States Naval Academy into the Chesapeake Bay. Along the way, we point out the interesting sights to everyone aboard.

Great info to give to the girls before their arrival: Parts of the Boat, Terms Used by Sailors Check out our Schooner Woodwind Sailing Video!

What to Wear: Since we sail rain or shine, bring gear so you are prepared for the conditions that are predicted ON the water - layered clothing and soft soled shoes.

(Optional) Schooner Woodwind Geocaching Adventure Trail: We made up a Geocaching Adventure Trail through some sights of Annapolis. It is a Puzzle Cache where you will stop at different sites to retrieve information. Each site will point you to the next site where you will have to get clues to "open" your final geocache coordinates. Please bring trade items with you as there will be fun things to trade for. Drop off Travel Bugs or Trackable (and perhaps pick some up!) items to keep them moving in the geocaching way. Read more about requirements for geocaching. JUNIORS can earn their GEOCACHER badge after completing this trail.

Prices & Schedule: Summer, Late May - August, Seven Days a Week 11:00 am - 1:00 pm, 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Mid-April - Mid-May & October, Tuesday - Sunday September, Seven Days a Week 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, 12:30 - 2:30 pm, 3:00 - 5:00 pm Saturdays, Girl Scouts can only book earliest cruise time unless you have a group of 48 passengers (entire boat). Weekday Daytime: $41 Adults, $39 Students (12 years old +), $30 Children (under 12) Weekend trips: $45 Adults, $43 Students (12 years old +), $30 Children (under 12) - Rates include soda, snack, tax and gratuity. - Child & Student Tickets include Schooner Woodwind Participation Patch We sail rain or shine. There are no refunds or exchanges unless the captain cancels the cruise due to unsafe conditions.

According to the Girl Scout USA Safety Checkpoints, they want all girl scouts, adults, and other children aboard a "girl scout" cruise to be outfitted in life jackets. We have purchased Type III lifejackets which are more comfortable for non-emergency use.

Girl Scout Brochure

Frequently Asked Questions about our Girl Scout Cruises

Girl Scout Participation Patches