Looking for Minsi Trails Sea Scout Ship 940? Click here.

Page last updated: October 26, 2022

Sea Scout & Venturing Academy at Camp Minsi

2023  -  Sunday July 30th through Thursday, August 3rd

The Sea Scout & Venturing Academy is a regional BSA summer camp experience focusing on youth leadership skills and advancement through the Sea Scout, ranks, Venturing ranks and the Venturing Ranger Award. This Sunday through Thursday event will feature both shore-based and water-based sessions at Camp Minsi’s Aquatics Center on Stillwater Lake, located in the heart of the Pocono Mountains in east-central Pennsylvania. There will also be several fun activities designed to build camaraderie between Ships and Crews, including Thursday's "Tall Ship Experience" featuring climbing riggings and zipping between ships (aka high ropes course and dual racing zip line) and bouncing over "ocean waves" (aka whitewater rafting. Older Scouts BSA members interested in water-based adventures are also welcomed to participate. The Sea Scout & Venturing Academy is hosted by Minsi Trails Council at Camp Minsi, Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania, in cooperation with the National Service Territory 13 Venturing and Sea Scout youth leadership teams.

Participation:

• YOUTH (14-20): Sea Scout Ships, Venturing Crews and Older Scouts from Scouts BSA Troops interested in awesome adventures!
• ADULT (over 21): Adults are welcome to participate in all open programs and sessions, with preference to youth participants (such as marksmanship programs). Additionally, adults are welcome to attend Thursday's "Tall Ship Experience" !

2023 Cost:

• YOUTH PARTICIPANTS (14-20): $385 all-inclusive fee (all sessions & Thursday trip)
• ADULT (over 21):
  • $135 basic fee (includes all sessions not limited by participation caps, such as SCUBA, Coast Guard Rescue Raft, Shooting, etc.)
  • $210 with the "Tall Ship Experience" (all sessions and Thursday trip)
• LATE FEE of $50 begins June 1st
• Standard Minsi Trails Council cancellation policy applies.

2023 Important Dates:

• Due Now      Registration open with initial payment of a $100 deposit.
• April 15th      YOUTH - Additional $200 per participant
• April 15th      ADULT - Final payment for balance of total fees due.
• June 1rth      YOUTH - Balance payment of $85 (for the total fee of $385)
• June 15th     A late fee of $50 begins
• June 1st       Final courses and schedule published
• July 15th      Registration closes. All payments and late fees due.

2023 Registration

• INDIVIDUAL SIGN-UP HERE.
• If multiple individuals from the same Crew or Ship are registering, we ask that adult leaders from those units also attend for YPT coverage. Thank you.

2023 Course Interest Selections:

• 2023 Session offerings can be found here.
• Select the 5 sessions you want to definitely attend
• This will allow us to offer those sessions of most interest to the most people, while minimizing session scheduling conflicts
• Anticipated are over 80 requirements to be offered in single, multiple and some all-day sessions.
• NEW for 2023 are:
  • Expanded open aquatics opportunities
  • Introduction to SCUBA sessions (limited availability) will now include snorkeling
  • Small Boat Sailing (the merit badge requirements)
  • Coast Guard Rescue Raft experience
  • Venturing Officers Orientation training will be incorporated into the Academy session offerings.

What is Thursday's "Tall Ship" Experience? And, does it cost extra? 

While we can sail a USCG Barque Eagle type tall sailing ship, we can do the next best thing:

• Kalahari Gorrilla Grove Tree Top Adventures (over 50 high ropes elements and 2 parallel racing zip lines) is the next best thing to climbing a tall ship's rigging and "zipping" between ships!?
• Pocono Whitewater's raft trip down the Lehigh River is an awesome substitute for bouncing over the ocean waves ... with of course, an opportunity for boater-overboard.

The group hops a bus after breakfast and travel over to Kalahari for the morning session. Then, back on the bus to eat a box lunch as we travel over to Pocono Whitewater for an afternoon of whitewater.

There is no additional fee for youth participants. The Thursday activities are included in the YOUTH fee. For adults who optionally wish to join the crew on the two Thursday activities, a special ADULT WITH TRIP registration option is available.

Additional Resources: 

• 2023 Boarding Manual: CLICK HERE for the Skipper's / Parent's / Leader's guide.
• Camp Minsi Maps: CLICK HERE for maps of Camp maps and campsite layout maps.
• Email: Contact WWITUCKI@GMAIL.COM , Walt Witucki, Sea Scout Academy Coordinator, with additional questions

Academy Location:

The Academy will be conducted at Camp Minsi, which is located in Pocono Summit, PA, approximately 90 miles west of New York City and 90 miles north of Philadelphia. It is near the intersection of I-80 and I-380 on PA 940 west, across from the Pocono Mountain Regional Police station. The camp address is: 106 Camp Minsi Rd., Pocono Summit, PA 18346. CLICK HERE for Google Maps.

About Camp Minsi:

Camp Minsi is located on the shores of Stillwater Lake in the heart of the beautiful Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Donated to the scouts in 1949, Camp Minsi encompasses more than 1,200 acres of relatively flat Pennsylvania woodlands. The camp's 314-acre lake provides sailing, swimming, fishing and other aquatic activities to the thousands of Scouts and Scouters who visit throughout the year.

Camp Minsi Aquatics includes a "flotilla" of sunfish sailboats, kayaks, paddle boards, a 15-person Voyageur Canoe, a Hobie Cat as well as the traditional canoes and rowboats.

Camp Minsi features a centrally-located and spacious dining hall that serves three delicious meals a day. Within a short walk from the dining hall are 11 troop campsites with capacities that range from 20 to 90 campers. Further away are a number of backwoods outpost sites for a more rustic camping experience. There are over 20 miles of hiking trails throughout the camp that give Scouts an opportunity to experience a variety of flora, fauna and the intriguing geology of a glacial moraine. The varied wildlife that makes the camp their home grants both youth and adults the opportunity of experiencing and interacting with nature first-hand.

2023 Schedule Highlights:

• Sunday Afternoon, July 30th
  • Check-in
  • Safety and Orientation Sessions
  • “Welcome!” Beach Part

• Monday - Wednesday, July 31st - August 2nd
  • Requirement / Skill Sessions
  • Informational / Discussion Sessions
  • Swimming and Lifesaving MBs
  • Sea Scout / Venturing Marksmanship Awards
  • BSA paddlecraft awards
  • Open Aquatics

• Thursday, August 3rd, the “Tall Ship Experience”
  • We can't sail a tall ship into Camp Minsi's Stillwater Lake, but we can do the next best thing !
    • Climbing the “riggings” (aka high ropes at Tree Top Adventure)
    • Zipping between “ships” (aka dual racing zip lines at Tree Top Adventure)
    • Bouncing over “ocean waves” (aka rafting the Lehigh River)

•  Optional Friday morning, August 4th departure