Florida Sea Base News

STAFF

Today will be our second day of summer staff training at the Florida Sea Base.  Yesterday went well.  It was a very long day and we did not get one of the scheduled topics covered, but we have time later to catch up.  I sincerely appreciate the contributions by Food Service Manager Captain Rae Murphy, Director of Conferences and Food Service Tim Stanfill, Sailing Director Captain Like Knuttel, Sailing Commissioner Phillip Ferrier, Scuba Commissioner Captain Alex Bergstedt, Office Manager Susan Mahoney, Marine Superintendent Captain Christy Clemenson and the other staff members who contributed to the discussions.  Today will be another long day, 07:30 until 8 or 9 pm.

Retail Sales Manager Cheryl “CK” Kuras spent most of the day at the Brinton Environmental Center for their first day of staff training but then hustled back to the Florida Sea Base, tired, hungry and perspiring (I almost said sweating but then remembered ladies don’t sweat) but cheerful and bearing gifts.

Administrative Assistant Cheryl Ferreri (our ENTIRE Human Resources Department) deserves a special thank you for giving up her weekend and working both Saturday and Sunday to process in the staff members so they could be placed on payroll.

We also appreciate the Sea Base Alumni and Friends Association for donating Nalgenes® to the Florida Sea Base staff members for a second year.  If you are not a member of SBAFA, please consider joining and or making a donation.

JULIET

Gibsland, Louisiana (just north of Shreveport) holds an annual Bonnie and Clyde Festival.  My elder granddaughter, Juliet, has competed in the Bonnie Parker look-alike contest for the past three years.  She won 1st place in 2011 and again this year.

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Juliet is in the foreground.  Congratulations!  I’m sure you had a great time.

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
Aboard S/V Escape

STAFF

Most of the staff members have checked in.  Staff training officially begins at 07:30, ready or not.  Today will be a long one.  We will likely be going beyond dinner.  Captain Luke and I will be relying heavily on Sailing Commissioner Phillip Ferrier and Scuba Commissioner Captain Alex Bergstedt this week and for the remainder of the summer.

I was VERY disappointed to receive a call yesterday morning from a Divemaster who decided to not fulfill his promise to be on our staff.  It will put us in a bit of a bind, but it’s probably for the best in the long haul.  Captain Luke has a few folks back out on him relatively last minute.  Its part of the reality of dealing with so many applicants.

The good news is we feel we have an excellent staff for the summer.  There are always a few hiccups; its good to get those out of the way as early as possible.

WEATHER

The forecast for the coming week has not improved.  We have a 30% chance of rain daily, highs around 87 and lows around 77.  We will make the best of it!

CAPTAINS

Saturday was the first of two Captains Training session presented by Captain Luke Knuttel.  The next round is this coming Friday.  Most of the captains are returners with a little new blood thrown in to help keep the energy high.

JUST IN CASE

My potential apologies are offered in advance (if there is such a thing). With the long days and evening training sessions of the coming week I might miss a day or two of posting.  I will try hard to post daily, but I really am getting too old for this.

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
Aboard S/V Escape

WEATHER

When I first poked my head out of the boat yesterday morning I was expecting a day of rain and yucky weather.  But the wind clocked around to the east and blew the threatening clouds away.  We had a breezy but warm and sunny day.  It was quite pleasant.  While still a week away, the weather during staff training week may be a little dicey.  We may find out early who has a propensity towards gastroenpukeulitis.

The tropical weather season is cranking up.  There is a tropical storm of the coast of India and Invest 90E is on the Pacific side of Mexico moving west.  Please consider trip insurance.  You probably won’t need it, just like most other insurance policies.  But if you do……

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STAFF

The seasonal staff members continue to work on converting the Thomas Building from a conference center hotel into summer staff housing.  This is a monumental task and everyone has been working hard.  Summer staff has started trickling in, its like the reinforcements arriving to save the day.

The full time staff has been summonsed to a 09:00 – noon meeting today.  Yeah!

Captain Christy Clemenson was successful in securing a Certificate of Inspection from the US Coast Guard for the newly christened BSA Sea Scout yesterday.  Today she will bring the recently repaired (rudder shaft leak) BSA Explorer back to the Florida Sea Base.  In her spare time, Captain Christy has prepared the room assignments for our arriving seasonal staff.

Captain Alex Bergstedt is pulling double duty, helping with the Thomas Building flip AND assuming the duties of Scuba Commissioner.

HELP

I asked for help finding a prop a few days ago.  Brenda Stolzenberger was quick to respond.  She provided information for a prop shop that had the prop I needed in stock.  Thanks Brenda.  However, due to the price of the new prop, that has become plan B.  Captain Giuseppe Passanisi has found a used prop that I can try with no obligation to buy.  I can afford that!

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
Aboard S/V Escape

CLEMENTINE

A crocodile formally known as Crocodile #9 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and informally known as Clementine by the Florida Sea Base staff has met her demise.  Crocodile #9 was found dead by the FWC Sunday.  She had likely been dead for a couple of days or longer.  She was towed to the Florida Sea Base and autopsied.  It was determined that she had been shot (at least twice) in the head.

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It is extremely rare to see crocodiles in the Keys and losing Crocodile #9 is a disappointment.

HELP

If you know a guy who has a cousin who knows a guy who knows somebody who can locate a 3 bladed 20 x 14 prop for a 1¼” shaft please call me at 305-393-7373.  Any assistance is GREATLY appreciated.  Captain Brian, I called Admiral/B&C props and they thought I was NUTS.  Bob said he had never heard of such a thing but he MIGHT be able to order one to be delivered in 6 to 8 weeks.  I also struck out with Prop Tech in Marathon, Mastery, Mavex and Transmissions Marine.

 STAFF

The staff will be putting in a long day of resetting the conference participant rooms into summer staff rooms.  One of my concerns is that the Florida Sea Base forklift has been in need of serious repairs for several months.  The forklift is a near mandatory piece of equipment in flipping the rooms.  Without it, every mattress, box springs, headboard, bed frame, table, etc will have to be carried down and all of the bunk beds, mattresses and other furnishings will have to be carried up to the 2nd and 3rd floors.  That will be a slow, painful endeavor.

WEATHER

The Weather Channel had Storm Specialist Dr. Greg Postel talking on this morning talking about tropical weather development for the 2013 season. He said that the first tropical storm might occur in May, before the official beginning of hurricane season on 01 June.  I HAVE COMMENTED INNUMERABLE TIMES THAT CREWS ATTENDING THE FLORIDA SEA BASE SHOULD PURCHASE TRIP CANCELLATION INSURANCE.  Neither the Florida Sea Base nor the Boy Scouts of America sell trip insurance.  The only company that I am personally aware of who offers trip insurance is the Divers Alert Network.  Otherwise, you need to look online or contact a travel agent.

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
Aboard S/V Escape

MOTHERS DAY

Today is the special day that we express thanks to Mom.  I hope everyone has a very enjoyable day.

STAFF

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know that a weekend off is very rare at the Florida Sea Base.  The staff certainly deserves a couple of days to recover from the madness of our recent tarpon tournament so everyone had the weekend off.  [I am the official Florida Sea Base workaholic.  I have been reprimanded for "self-inflicting" work.  Regardless of how much work I "self-inflict", there is always more that needs to be done.  In my former career people were rewarded for going above and beyond the call of duty.]  Sorry, I got way off track there.  The staff is enjoying the weekend off, but some are a little restless.  Scuba Commissioner Captain Alex Bergstedt has offered to assist me with a personal project today.  Divemaster Tyler Giblin is always looking for something to do; he does not sit well.  I wonder if he has ever been fishing.  I did not see or hear from Assistant Ranger (and soon to return to the Divemaster staff) Will Morris yesterday but I suspect he too is looking for something to do.

I worked on our pending camp inspection policies for about 3 hours Saturday.  Today my priority is to install a pre-owned window type air conditioner in the aft companionway of S/V Escape.  The marine air conditioner that serves the aft cabin (where I sleep) has been struggling for a couple of years.  This installation is a temporary fix.  But with a tiny marine air conditioner costing over $1,000 my checkbook prefers the temporary, free fix.  (I think the installation will cost less than $10.)

Tomorrow (and probably Tuesday & Wednesday) will likely be a long, hot physical day of removing all of the conference furnishings from the rooms in the three story Thomas Building and setting up the rooms for staff housing.  Summer seasonal staff members will start trickling in over the next few days with the majority arriving Friday and Saturday.  Staff training starts at 07:30 Sunday, 19 May 2013.  Captain Alex and I have a lot to do this week.

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
Aboard S/V Escape

BSA SEA SCOUT

The Florida Sea Base was scheduled to take delivery of our fifth Newton Dive Special, BSA Sea Scout, on 15 March 2013.  After countless delays, I am relieved to report that BSA Sea Scout is underway from Slidell, LA.  Captain Dennis Wyatt, Captain Christy Clemenson and Captain John Strydom will deliver the boat in two or three days assuming no issues.  The weather looks favorable.

TARPON TOURNAMENT

Participants of the 2013 Florida Sea Base Annual Invitation Tarpon Tournament arrive today.  The staff will spend the day making final preparations.  Thirteen guides and 26 anglers will arrive EARLY tomorrow morning to begin the competition.  Our usual 0730 morning staff meetings have been moved up to 0630 each morning for Wednesday thru Friday.  Thursday has a morning and evening round of fishing followed by a HUGE luau event; the staff will do well to be in bed by 0100 Friday morning and will then meet at 0630 for the final day of fishing and festivities.  This is a high energy gig; tough but a lot of fun with great staff camaraderie.

ESCAPE

S/V Escape has returned to Florida Sea Base slip 14, her home for the remaining 18 months or so.  She has new bottom paint, two new thru-hull fittings, a new Yanmar engine/gearbox and a remodeled engine room.  A lot of people contributed to this accomplishment, but none more so than Captain Mike Lucivero.  Captain Kelley Stickney Lucivero donated a day and a half,  Others that were directly involved include repeat staff members Steven Raymond, Captain Sargon Smith, Tyler Giblin, Will Morris and soon to be staff members Colton Ellison and Nick Weise.

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
Aboard S/V Escape

STAFF

Jennifer Walk graduated from Class 8 of the Florida Sea Base Academy.  Jenny emailed yesterday with great news; she has received a PADI/Venturing scholarship to pay for her PADI Instructor training.  With a little luck, she will be able to rejoin our scuba staff at the end of this summer’s season.

SCUBA

The dives crews tried to brave the fury of the winds and sea of the Atlantic yesterday, but Mother Nature prevailed.  The Scuba Adventure and Scuba Certifications crews retreated to Port Antigua on the bay side of the islands.  Scuba Instructor David Ball wrote from the Scuba Liveaboard Conch Pearl, “Just a quick update from Key West Harbor.  We’re diving like fools, regardless of the high winds, the fair visibility and the occasional puke break.”  It has been a challenging weather week.  We have experienced a lot of stomach distress on the scuba certification boat but it is unclear if it is seasickness, a stomach bug being shared by the crew, other causes or a combination of all of these.

SAILING

Two Coral Reef Sailing crews were on the water yesterday.  No crews were on base for shore leave.

WEATHER

We had spotty rain yesterday and a brief shower again just after midnight.  The wind should digress a little bit today, mostly later in the afternoon.  This may be of little relief for the divers today, but Saturday’s dive should be a good one.  We will continue to be very warm today with light showers now-and-again.

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
Aboard S/V Escape

Weather – perfect.

Divers – diving in near flat seas with excellent visibility.

Sailors – sailing, snorkeling and fishing.

Sunset – near perfect for the last two nights.

The staff is busy making the magic happen (well, not the sunset part).

Perfection?  Almost, but not quite.  We have taken one staff member and two participants to the doctor in the past two days; one sinus infection, one stomach flu, and I did not see the report on the third victim.

So why have I been up sine 02:20?  It takes more than you might expect to create memories of a lifetime, to make the magic happen.  I think I can get in an hour nap.  If you have a son or daughter attending the Florida Sea Base this week, they should be returning home with a little sunburn, big smiles, and hopefully very happy to be Scouts.

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
Aboard S/V Escape

STAND-UP PADDLEBOARDING

Here are some of the photos I took with my cheap camera during Wednesday’s SUP photo shoot at the Florida Sea Base.  If you click on a photo it should open to full size in a new window.  [By the way, paddleboarding is one word despite spell check's failure to recognize it.  Someone living in the iCloud or cyberspace or electron nirvana needs to update their list.]

The first day of spring 2013 at the Florida Sea Base.

Captain Steve Harrison and photographer Ronnie Fye.

Phillip Ferrier

Robbie Foard

Robbie Foard from the other end.

Richard Fallon and Zane Frey, new staff members.

Divemaster Tyler Giblin.

2 Florida Sea Base lifeguards observing the photo shoot.

World Champion Paddle Sports Instructor Jessica “Jess” Skipa.

 SCUBA

Some of the Scuba Certification crew members stayed on base Thursday morning to refine their skills in the pool.  The remainder of the Scuba Certification crew joined up with the Scuba Adventure crews on BSA Centennial Eagle.  Dives were completed at a patch reef named Captain Grumpy and at Davis Reef, a ledge type reef.  The crews enjoyed lunch and play time at Hens and Chickens, a patch reef closer to shore and conducive to snorkeling. In the afternoon the other Scuba Certification crew members went to Alligator Reef and caught up on their training dives.  The Scuba Certification crew will complete their final training dive and a fun dive today.

 WEATHER

Thursday was another gorgeous day.  We have a 10% chance of showers today with a forecasted high of 81°F.  We are expecting southeast winds at 10 to 15 knots.

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
Aboard S/V Escape

STAFF

I failed to mention that Richard Fallon joined our sailing staff about a week ago.  One of Richard’s other jobs is wrestling coach; he’s a big guy.  Zane Frey joined the sailing staff early this week.  Today is a big arrival day for extra scuba staff.  PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Richard Goldman is returning, but not just for the weekend; this time he will spend a couple of weeks helping us out.  PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Mark Gilbert will also join us for a couple of weeks.  In addition, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer / Captain Alex Bergstedt is returning.  He is going to stay on for the remainder of the spring and the summer.

About half of the Florida Sea Base staff members this spring are named Richard or David.  Emily and Jennifer are usually most common.  This spring the most common names award goes to the guys.  Congratulations to David, Richard, David, David, Richard, David, Richard, Richard and David.  It has gotten so bad that one of the David’s changed his name to Chris.

It reminds me of one of my summers in Little League Baseball.  We did not have a coach for our team.  Someone finally, and very reluctantly, volunteered.  He was so disinterested that he refused to learn our names.  He called everyone Willie or Sam (like in the “Henry the VIII” song).  But he was indiscriminate so if he called you Sam, you might be calling you Willie 5 minutes later.  Sometimes he would holler towards the bench, “Willie, go relieve Sam in center field”.  The players on the bench would look at each other and whomever was in the mood to play center field would get up, grab his glove and trot out to center field.    Needless to say that was not our best season.

WEATHER

Yesterday was officially the first day of spring.  Big whoop-de-do; the Florida Sea Base has been celebrating the spring season since 16 February.  It’s about time everyone else caught up.  And that giant rat, Pocahontas Phil, or whatever his name is, is even catching flack from The Weather Channel for predicting an early spring.  Our spring has been cooler than normal, not to mention windy.  If we had wind turbines down here and an adequate storage system we could have generated enough electricity to power the USA for a decade.  But don’t take that as a complaint.  Compared to those of you living north of the Mason-Dixon Line we are doing GREAT.

Yesterday the weather was gorgeous: no wind, mostly sunny skies, and 80°F.  The Scuba Adventure crews returned to the base around 14:20 (2:20pm) and went paddle boarding so Ronnie Fye could take photos for inclusion in the upcoming BSA Stand-up Paddleboarding Award brochure.  The weather was threatening to rain out the night dive.  But the frontal boundary brought us a little wind but the rain died out northwest of us.

SCUBA

The Florida Sea Base was the Regional Nominee for the 2012 Project AWARE Marine Environmental Award.

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The Scuba Certification crew completed PADI Open Water Training Dive #1 at Alligator Reef yesterday afternoon with Scuba Instructors David Ball and David Kirkenir.  The Scuba Adventure crews completed two dives and returned to base for the SUP photo shoot.  i will post some more photos tomorrow if possible.

Click to enlarge.

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
Aboard S/V Escape