Album: Farallone View Cub Scouts spend the night on a WWII sub

Thirty excited Cub Scouts from Farallone View’s pack 255 and 20 equally excited chaparones departed Montara last Friday night for a overnight trip to WWII submarine USS Pompanito. Docked at Pier 45 at Fishermans Warf, the USS Pampanito is a World War II submarine museum and memorial open for visitors daily. Each year the Pompanito hosts over 15,000 kids, but not everyone gets to spend the night on a real submarine.

The leaders of this pack do a remarkable job all year of teaching these kids about the world around them, while keeping it fun.  But an overnight on a submarine poses special challenges. As a mother, I have a hard time coordinating the pandemonium that ensues when my three children are in the same room. So I was impressed with how organized this event was.  The scouts, ranging in age from 6 to 10, worked with the parents to load 10 carloads of supplies onto the sub and unpack and settle the goup into tiny sleeping quarters. 

When den leader Gary Smith told me this was an overnight, I had visions of a nice tour, followed by pizza and lights out at 11.  I had no idea that he meant a full 12 hours straight of activities supervised by rotating teams of adults that ran the gamut from videos in the torpedo bay to fire drills, to challenges of "who can stay awake all night?", and "look how many cupcakes I can eat at one time!". What an eye opener!

The staff of the Pompanito kicked off the event with a guided tour of the sub, including a special foray in the conning tower, which houses the fully-functioning periscope and (unloaded) main deck gun. Popanito staff members were exceptional with the scouts, driling them on submarine safety (don’t touch that), tour ettiquite (don’t touch that either) and World War II history.

The next morning, the boys had the privilege of conducting a flag-raising ceremony on the deck of the Pompanito, followed by a group picture with the original ship’s flag on the deck. 

The boys had a great time, and exemplified the values that their Scout leaders have been teaching them all year.  The boys were trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, curteous, kind, obedient, and most of all brave and reverent.  Thank you to all the scouting leaders and volunteers who dedicate so much time and energy to making this an unforgettable experience for our boys.