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Community Corner

Laguna Beach Girl Keeps Her Head Above Water

Liz Fletcher is one of three local girls who've achieved the Quartermaster rank in the Mariners Sea Scouting program.

Liz Fletcher of Laguna Beach is hard at work planning a memorial regatta in honor of her friend and fellow sailor , who died unexpectedly last June.

Meanwhile, Sarah Wyman of San Clemente recently completed construction of new cello racks for the music department at San Clemente High School. And Laguna Niguel resident Jackie Wetzel is preparing to build rolling storage units to better organize the costume room at Dana Hills High School.

All three projects are the final step in achieving the prestigious rank of Quartermaster in the Mariners Sea Scouting program. 

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Sea Scouting is affiliated with Boy Scouts Venturing Division and Mariners is the local Sea Scout group or “Ship” based in Dana Point.  Mariners is a co-ed group for high school aged youth where sailing, racing and other maritime activities have been taught by Jim “Skip” Wehan and a team of adult and youth advisors for over 35 years.  The Quartermaster rank is comparable to the Eagle rank in Boy Scouting and requires a great depth of knowledge about maritime activities. Achieving this rank is so challenging that, on average, only 10 Quartermaster ranks are earned per year throughout the entire country.  

Wehan said, “A Quartermaster is not only a very qualified seaman, but is also a leader amongst their peers.  Very few attain this rank and having three local young women achieve this designation in one year is quite remarkable.” 

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Completing the community service project is the last step in a process that typically takes 3-4 years to complete and involves mastering a number of maritime skills, assuming leadership roles within the organization, and safely skippering a cruise at sea for a minimum of two nights including all navigation, safety drills and meal preparation.  Achievement of the Quartermaster rank offers an automatic pay grade increase of two levels for Scouts wishing to enter the Navy or Coast Guard after completing high school.  

Wehan had this to say about the three girls, “Liz, Jackie and Sarah are such a tremendous example to their peers.  They all excel academically at school, they are leaders within their Sea Scout family, they are all accomplished sailors and they’ve gone the extra mile in striving for their Quartermaster rank.” 

He went on to say, “Students at Dana Hills and San Clemente High Schools will benefit for years to come from the projects built by Jackie and Sarah. And the upcoming regatta being planned by Liz will offer local kids and adults who knew and an annual event in which they can come together and enjoy what he loved most; sailing and having fun.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the Mariners Sea Scouts is invited to attend an informational meeting on Feb. 22 for interested youth and their parents. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the OC Sailing and Youth Facility. No prior sailing experience is needed. More information can be found at mariners936.com or by emailing info@mariners936.com

The first Annual Jeff Adam Memorial Regatta will take place in Dana Point Harbor on Sunday, March 4, in conjunction with the Dana Point Festival of Whales.

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