Founded in 1930, Sea Scout Ship 16 is one of the oldest continuously registered Sea Scout ships in the United States. Ship 16 was formed by about twenty members of the Camp Emerald Bay Staff that year, many of them from the Santa Monica area. Ship 16 took the name “Islander”, possibly from Harry Pidgeon’s sailboat, (Mr. Pidgeon was the second person to single hand a boat around the world, and spent a lot of time at Emerald Bay), or possibly because the members of the ship were so closely associated with Catalina Island. Ship 16 was sponsored by the members of Ship 87 who were on the first Emerald Bay camp staff in 1925, including Al Miller, who became Ship 16’s first Skipper.

          The ship met at the “Castle” at the end of Bay Street in Santa Monica. They acquired a 24 foot Navy personnel boat called the Islander, which was powered by a single cylinder gasoline engine. It is told that this boat made many crossings between the mainland and Emerald Bay.

          During World War II many of the members joined the service. Some of those men died and have their names on a bronze plaque at the base of the flagpole at Camp Josepho. It should be noted that members of Ship 16 have served their country in Korea, Vietnam, and most recently, Operation Iraqi Freedom.

          In 1946 the Crescent Bay Council of the Boy Scouts of America acquired a 63′ A.V.R. from the Navy after the war and assigned it to Ship 16. It was built by Fellows and Stewart in San Pedro, California. It came with Hall-Scott v-12 gasoline engines which were removed and replaced with two 671 Grey Marine diesels. The boat was named the Manta, and began running scouts, supplies and staff to the reopened Camp Emerald Bay (camp was closed during war years) sometime in 1946. At ten or twelve knots the Manta took about 3 hours to make the one-way trip from Santa Monica pier to the camp.

          The members of Ship 16, under the direction of Al “Skip” Miller, crewed and maintained the Manta. It was their pride and joy, and the centerpiece of the ship’s program. In exchange for all the work done by the crew, the Crescent Bay Council allowed Ship 16 to make several cruises to destinations other than Emerald Bay each year. The Manta carried members of Ship 16 to Newport Beach, San Diego, Ensenada, the Channel Islands, and even San Francisco.

          While Skip Miller was the skipper of the Manta, he was not always skipper of Ship 16. Bob Hawkins, Paul Munro, Dave Wells, and Gary Seidner each took their turn as skipper of Ship 16. Later Skippers included Richard Kamola, Paul Renner, John Meyers, Alex Lencioni and Justin Howland. Al Miller passed away in 1976, and in that year, the Ship 16 family was stunned when the Great Western Council sold the Manta to a private party. The ship carried on, but its membership declined. It wasn’t long before Ship 16 existed only on paper, its registration kept up by Dave Wells and Gary Seidner, who were waiting for the right moment to reactivate the ship.

          In early 1982, Dave Wells reformed Ship 16 out of the leadership corps of Troop 400. Ship 16 was then sponsored by Ship 87 Incorporated, in honor of Sea Scout Ship 87 that sponsored Ship 16 in its earliest days. Gary Seidner came on as First Mate, then Became Skipper in 1983. The ship had no boat, but the members of Ship 16 were very motivated, and it wasn’t long before Ship 16 was taking first place at such competitions as the Southwestern Rendezvous and the Ancient Mariner Regatta. Soon the ship adopted a small Owens power boat from the Pardee Sea Scout Base, then a year or two later the Ship was allowed use of a 30 foot sailboat owned by John Meyers, a long-time Emerald Bay staffman. However, the ship began to outgrow this boat, and the search was on for something bigger and faster. In 1991 John Meyers purchased the Bagarre, a 53′ Huckins powerboat, for the use of Ship 16. It was powered by two 671 Detroit Diesels, the Bagarre (renamed Emerald Star) cruised at 17 knots. She was built in 1948. The Emerald Star was used heavily by Ship 16 and in 2002 Mr. Meyers donated the boat to Ship 87 Incorporated. Like the Manta in the ’40’s, ’50’s, ’60’s, and ’70’s, the Emerald Star became the centerpiece of Ship 16’s program in the ’90’s and into the new century.

          A major turn in Ship 16’s history took place in late 2003. The Manta, renamed Music Man II, came up for sale. Her owner, Mr. Richard Loderhose, had invested over $800,000 in her restoration since he purchased the boat in 1996. Representatives from Ship 16 approached Mr. Loderhose, and he agreed to give the boat back to the Ship. The sadness of seeing the Emerald Star sold to a new owner was offset by the excitement of owning such an important piece of Ship 16 history.

          Ship 16 has come a long way since its creation in 1930. As we approach our eightieth birthday, we look back at all those young men and the leaders who helped them learn so much on the Islander, the Manta, and the Emerald Star. Many of our members have gone on to distinguish themselves in the military, in government and in industry. Many have given their time and money to help the members of today have as great an experience as they had years ago. Several of the members’ fathers were themselves members of Ship 16. There are few units in Scouting that have contributed to the growth of character, citizenship, and fitness in America’s youth as Sea Scout Ship 16.