Boat Owners Association of The United States awarded Sea Scout Ship 41, Indomitable, of Bay Village, OH, its 2008 Sea Scout Flagship Award at the annual meeting of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) held today in San Diego, CA. The award honors the top performing Sea Scout unit in the nation, recognizing excellence in program quality, youth achievement and adult commitment.

Like all Sea Scout units, Ship 41 uses boats, seamanship and nautical skills to develop character and leadership qualities in young people, both male and female. Their fleet includes a 35-foot ketch, Mariner, home ported at Spitzer Lakeside Marina in Lorain, OH, and a 27-foot powerboat, Irish Wake. The Scouts also sail a fleet of Laser and FJ sailboats provided by the Bay Boat Club.

In 2007 the Ship and its crew of 17 Sea Scouts helped with the formation of three other new Sea Scout Ships in Ohio, bringing the total to eight in the Cleveland area. It also logged 36 days of on-water activities and a weeklong Lake Erie cruise. The scouts performed the flag ceremony and played the national anthems of the U.S. as well as Canada and Russia during the 2006 Cleveland Tall Ships Festival. With help from a grant from a local VFW post, the Ship also designed a "Combat Veteran" pin for returning troops.

Now in its seventh year, the BoatU.S. Flagship Award was launched by BoatU.S. in 2002 to mark the 90th anniversary of Sea Scouting - a co-ed program for young adults age 14-20 with over 7,000 youth participating in 550 Ships nationwide. A perpetual trophy bearing the names of the annual winning ship resides at the BSA National Scouting Museum in Irving, TX. For more information, contact: SeaScouts@BoatUS.com