Newport Sea Base on Pacific Coast Highway celebrated its Opening Day to a packed house of more than 400 guests, who enjoyed a sunny afternoon of fun, games, sailing and pontoon boats, even a few dolphin and sea lions sightings.
Sea Base Director Shana Aguirre officiated as emcee and declared the facility open for the season as the Newport Beach Firefighters Association hosted a BBQ for the gathering.
Sea Scouts from local Sea Scout Ships Triton, Del Mar and Renegade conducted the color guard in crisp dress whites. Girl Scout Madison Logan sang the National Anthem as the harbor patrol sprayed water cannons in celebration, and Harbormaster Lt. Tom Slayton spoke about the positive effects the Newport Sea Base and the Boy Scouts have on the harbor community.
The Newport Sea Base is directed by the Orange County Council, Boy Scouts of America, and has offered maritime-based programming since 1937. Today, it offers a variety of year-round maritime activities for girls and boys ages 6-18, including on-the-water activities, such as sailing, rowing, kayaking, motor boating and canoeing, as well as leadership development and nautical safety skills.
The Newport Sea Base is available year-round for girls and boys, scouts and non- scouts who learn oceanography, marine biology, environmental science, boating safety, dinghy and keelboat sailing, canoeing, kayaking, motor boating, and other aquatic-related subjects.
Visit www.newportseabase.org for more information.
The facility also supports Sea Scouting, which is a co-ed program for ages 14-21 that uses boats, seamanship and nautical skills to develop character and leadership qualities in young people.
For more information about Sea Scouting or how to get involved, visit www.SeaScout.org.
