Sea Scout Ship Dolphin -- Baltimore,
Maryland
last
updated 12-29-02
Thanks to Skipper Jack Durish
of the SSS Buccaneer
Ship 935, of Orange County, California for a brief history of his SSS
Dolphin.
SSS Dolphin, Baltimore Area Council Ship 365 (?) was chartered by the community
of Stoneleigh (near Towson, Maryland) by Emerson K. Patton. He was its only
skipper from about 1950 to 1970. His son, Jack, was among the original members
and was long gone before I joined in 1957. We kept our vessels at the Baltimore
Yacht Club (where Emerson was a member). When I joined, we had a 42' triple
cabin "Chase Boat" built in the early 1940's to rescue downed pilots in the
English Channel during WWII. Just prior to our getting it, it was doing duty
as a picket boat for the US Army Proving Grounds, Aberdeen, MD. We also had
a 35' Navy Captain's gig, a 24' seaplane tender and a 27' training sloop
from the Naval Academy.
Terry Feelemeyer was the bos'n when I joined. I was the bos'n in 1959 and
1960.
We were a rowdy crew; however, we were pretty well known for several rescues
of vessels in distress. Our "chase boat" could handle any weather and so
could it's crew. I even remember rescuing a small Chris Craft that became
disabled while attempting to make it's way to a safe harbor on the Choptank
River ahead of a hurricane. They didn't make it and we went out in the storm
to bring them home.