Navigare Necesse Est – Vivere Non

Translation: an unnavigated life is not worth living. This is the motto of the Chornomortsi fraternity. We are a division of older scouts members of the Ukrainian scouting organization PLAST. Our name is Chornomortsi, or “Sailors of the Black Sea”. Our members all share an interest in maritime activities.

For seventy years now we have been organizing our annual Morsky Tabir sea scout camp. Every year, our counselors spend a week in the wilderness, teaching teenage campers the basics about sailing, water skiing, wake boarding , canoeing, kayaking, boating, swimming, lifeguarding and fishing. We also periodically run smaller weekend events for the scouts of PLAST, and a number of us are active scoutmasters in our respective cities.

Our emblem, which is worn by all full members of the fraternity, is rich with symbolic meaning about our origins. For example, the fraternity colors of black, white, and blue represent the waters of the Black Sea, our ship’s sails, and the sky above (respectively).

The constellation Orion helps us navigate the seas, and the gold admiral’s anchor is a symbol of everlasting hope. In our ranks we have presidents of companies, engineers, artists, lawyers, doctors, university students, a nuclear physicist and even a rocket scientist.

Our 50+ members span across the United States and Canada with pockets of activity in northern New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Cleveland, Chicago, and the Pacific Northwest. We invite you to explore this web site to learn more about the Chornomortsi.