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Scout Comes to Rescue During Two Emergencies on Sailing Adventure

When he set out with his family on a sailing adventure that would circumnavigate the globe, little did Scout Brian R. know that skills learned during Scouting would be crucial during two emergencies that would occur during the trip.

Brian and his family had joined 43 other sailing ships on a trip to travel around the globe, but after only a few weeks into their sailing trip, something happened that nearly put the whole trip in jeopardy. As the family was traveling through the Panama Canal, an incident with a wind generator resulted in a terrifying injury to Brian’s father Timothy.

Scout Comes to Rescue During Two Emergencies on Sailing Adventure
Scout Brian R. and the Eagle Scout project he completed (photo: Mainline Media News)

Suffering a large cut and several broken bones in his hand, Timothy was bleeding profusely when Brian sprang into action using fist-aid skills he had learned in Scouting.

Despite the extremely upsetting circumstances, Brian remained calm and kept his father stable until medics were able to arrive on the scene to assist.

Once medical professionals arrived, Brian was the one who communicated with them, using Spanish he had learned in school, to explain what had happened to his father.

The incident nearly ended the sailing trip, and it took several weeks for Timothy to heal. During that time, Brian took on all of his father’s responsibilities, which included changing oil, adjusting the boat’s alternator belts, and maintaining batteries and other systems.

As the family continued sailing on their trip, Brian had occasion to assist someone else when Martin Bevan, a man sailing one of the other boats on the trip, also suffered an accident when he hit his head on the boom of his boat.

“He was bleeding quite a bit,” said Brian.

The man’s wife, Elizabeth, radioed for help, and Brian once again sprang into action.

“Once we heard the radio call, I drove over to the boat, jumped on while it was moving and with the assistance of another dinghy in the marina and Elizabeth at the helm, we tied up the boat,” said Brian.

After Martin returned from having his wound treated at the hospital, Brian helped Martin and Elizabeth to move their boat to a nearby island.

To read more about how Brian used his Scouting skills on his family’s sailing adventure, and to see details on the Eagle Scout project he completed upon his return from the sailing trip, be sure to check out the whole story in the Mainline Media News.

To learn more about the positive impact that Scouting can have on young people like Brian, be sure to check out this article on the recent Tufts study, and watch this video:

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