Caption: On September 12, Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA members and Girl Scouts in second grade and older can spend two 2½-hour sessions doing maritime activities that connect naturally with Scouting’s emphasis on learning through experience. Photos courtesy of the Kalmar Nyckel and edited with AI on 8/19.

Kalmar Nyckel event on September 12 will challenge Scouts with boat racing, knot tying, cannon drills, sea chanteys and an outdoor adventure course

By George D. Rotsch, Editor and Publisher of Delaware LIVE

WILMINGTON — Long before young people learned leadership around a campfire, sailors learned many of the same lessons aboard ships: Work together, master practical skills, accept responsibility and be prepared when conditions change.

Those shared traditions will come together Sept. 12 when the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation hosts its annual Scout Day at the Copeland Maritime Center campus and nearby Fort Christina Park.

The event is designed for Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA members and Girl Scouts in second grade and older. Two 2½-hour sessions will offer maritime activities that connect naturally with Scouting’s emphasis on learning through experience.

Participants will be assigned to groups and rotate through five hands-on stations: a Rain Gutter Regatta, an outdoor adventure course, knot tying, sea chanteys and cannon drills.

Each activity introduces a different part of maritime life while reinforcing teamwork, communication, problem-solving and personal confidence.

Small boats create a big challenge

The Rain Gutter Regatta brings one of Scouting’s familiar traditions to the maritime campus.

Scouts will race small boats through narrow channels, discovering how a boat’s design, balance and movement can affect its performance. The activity combines friendly competition with basic lessons about buoyancy, propulsion and the challenges of moving a vessel through water.

It also encourages Scouts to observe what works, make adjustments and try again — the same problem-solving process used by sailors, engineers and shipbuilders.

The regatta may be on a much smaller scale than the Kalmar Nyckel, but the challenge reflects a much larger maritime principle: A successful voyage begins with a vessel designed to move efficiently through the water.

Knots with a purpose

At the knot-tying station, Scouts will practice one of the most fundamental skills in both Scouting and sailing.

Knots aboard a ship are not decorative. Sailors depend on them to secure equipment, manage lines and keep people and cargo safe. Each knot must be appropriate for the job and tied correctly.

Scouting teaches the same combination of knowledge, practice and responsibility. Learning a knot requires concentration and repetition, but it also gives a young person a skill that can be used while camping, boating or responding to an emergency.

The station will help Scouts understand why sailors had to know not only how to tie a knot, but also when and why to use it.

Cannon drills demand coordination

The cannon drill will introduce Scouts to the highly organized teamwork required aboard a historic vessel.

Operating a ship’s cannon required crew members to perform different tasks in a precise order. Each person had to understand an assigned role, listen for commands and work safely with the rest of the team.

The activity turns history into a group exercise. Instead of simply hearing how a tall ship’s crew worked, Scouts will experience how communication, timing and shared responsibility allowed sailors to complete a complicated assignment.

Those lessons closely match Scouting’s patrol system, in which young people learn that a team succeeds when every member understands the plan and carries out a responsibility.

Singing that helped sailors work

Sea chanteys will bring music into the Scout Day experience, but the songs historically served a practical purpose.

Sailors used chanteys to establish a rhythm when performing demanding group tasks, such as hauling a line or raising a sail. The song helped crew members coordinate their movements and apply their effort at the same time.

For Scouts, the station will demonstrate how music could become a tool for teamwork. It also provides a window into the culture of sailors who spent long periods living and working together at sea.

The activity connects history, performance and cooperation while giving Scouts an opportunity to participate together.

An outdoor test of confidence

The outdoor adventure course will draw on another strong connection between the Kalmar Nyckel and Scouting: the belief that young people build confidence by confronting manageable challenges.

The course will require Scouts to listen, move, think and work with others. Like many Scouting activities, the objective is not simply to finish. Participants must determine how to approach a challenge and support the other members of their group.

The station brings maritime adventure onto land while reinforcing the qualities needed aboard a ship: awareness, preparation, perseverance and trust.

Learning by doing

Together, the five stations create a progression of experiences rather than a traditional classroom lesson.

Scouts will race, tie, sing, drill and navigate physical challenges. Each station approaches maritime education differently, but all are built around active participation.

That approach reflects a central value shared by Scouting and the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation: Young people often understand a lesson more deeply when they have an opportunity to put it into practice.

The activities also demonstrate that leadership is not limited to the person giving directions. Leadership can mean completing an assigned task, communicating clearly, helping a teammate or remaining focused when a challenge becomes difficult.

Adventure tied to Delaware history

The event’s setting adds another layer to the experience.

The original Kalmar Nyckel carried Swedish settlers to the Delaware Valley in 1638. They established New Sweden at The Rocks, near present-day Fort Christina Park.

The modern Kalmar Nyckel serves as Delaware’s tall ship and a floating classroom, helping visitors understand the maritime skills, risks and decisions that shaped the region’s early history.

Scout Day allows young people to encounter that history near the place where Delaware’s colonial story began. It supports another value shared by Scouting and the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation: Citizenship begins with understanding the community and history people inherit.

Before or after their assigned session, Scouts may also participate in the Junior Ranger Program at Fort Christina Park, part of First State National Historical Park. Scouts who complete that program will receive a wooden Junior Ranger pin.

Every Scout who completes the five-station Scout Day rotation will also receive an exclusive Kalmar Nyckel Scout patch.

Registration is limited and open to troops as well as individual Scouts.

To Go Box

• What: Annual Kalmar Nyckel Scout Day
• When: Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026
• Morning session: Check-in at 8:30 a.m.; activities from 9 to 11:30 a.m.
• Afternoon session: Check-in at 12:30 p.m.; activities from 1 to 3:30 p.m.
• Where: Copeland Maritime Center at the Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard, 1124 E. Seventh St., Wilmington. Sessions conclude at Fort Christina Park.
• Activities: Rain Gutter Regatta, outdoor adventure course, knot tying, sea chanteys and cannon drills
• Who: Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA members and Girl Scouts in second grade or higher. The program is recommended for Wolf Scouts, Brownies and older Scouts.
• Cost: $13 per Scout; adult chaperones attend free
• Included: A 2½-hour activity rotation and an exclusive Kalmar Nyckel Scout patch
• Bonus activity: Scouts may complete the Fort Christina Junior Ranger Program before or after their session and earn a wooden pin.
• Registration: KNFScoutDay2026.eventbrite.com
• More information: Kalmar Nyckel Scouting Programs

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