Florida Sea Base News

The Eco Adventure (EA) is a new program for the Florida Sea Base for 2010 and it is a hit!!!  This program is based on our Coral Reef Sailing (CR) program with many twists.  The CR crew size is 6 to 8 on a 40′ – 45′ vessel; EA is a crew of 10 – 12 on two 41′ vessels.  The emphasis on EA is learning by seeing, and doing.  The EA crews visit each of the five major marine habitats of the Florida Keys and receive instruction from their Sea Base Mate and Captains Harold and Margie Ochstein.  Please visit the Ochstein’s blog for a great explanation of the program.  This is a wonderful couple and they are very knowledgeable about the history of the Florida Keys and marine biology.

I want to express my appreciation to Coral Reef Mate John Gilbert.  John is one of the hardest working, quickest to volunteer, tireless, and least complaining staff members we have had in my 10 plus years at the Florida Sea Base.  I’m not sure what his job assignment was yesterday, but when Coral Reef Mate Sophie couldn’t find anyone else to help her with swim reviews John was there.  Yesterday evening Sea Exploring Mate Kyle Moran was having a shortage of certain sizes of snorkeling fins and John was there to help.  It may not sound like a big deal, but these are just two examples.  John volunteers for everything and complains about nothing.  There were others who also helped out last night with the room to room search for snorkel fins.  Coral Reef Mates Bob Der and James Dreger and Scuba Mate Aaron Phoebe, and possibly others were critical in our efforts to make sure the customers were well served.  And I don’t want any of the rest of the staff to feel unappreciated.  They are a great team this summer.  Overall, this is probably the best staff we have ever assembled.  The small example sited above is just one example of their cohesiveness.

There is more wind and rain in the forecast for today and the next several days.  A tropical wave that was off Puerto Rico yesterday was  designated as Invest 97.  This means their is potential for the system to intensify.  We will be watching it closely.  It COULD attain hurricane strength and approach south Florida on Saturday.

From Weather Underground

I am in a hurry this morning because I get to drive a scuba boat.  It will be a bumpy ride.  Take care.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

I have made previous posts about the progress of S/V Chanticleer on her quest sailing from the Florida Sea Base to the National Jamboree.  The last two emails ended up in my junk mail and I missed them.  I apologize for the lateness, but here they are.

Sent 09 July 2010

We dropped anchor next to the Yorktown at 4:15AM this morning.  The trip from Ft. Pierce took 60 hours and we traveled 360 nautical miles.  We went off shore about 20 to 30 miles from the Georgia/Florida state line and remained off until we came into the Charleston Harbor.  Sailed for about half of this segment, motor sailed the rest, until we got into thunderstorms around Charleston.  It was a pretty rough entry into the Harbor, lots of lightning, rain, and wind.

Jan and Dutch have toured Charleston today, picked up their rental car and plan on leaving here early tomorrow morning for Sea base.  Gail and I are leaving tomorrow, day tripping for the next 4 days to Oriental, NC.  Expecting a stalled cold front tomorrow with rain so we will see whether we go out or the Inter coastal waterway.  Everyone hit the dock with all their fingers and toes.  It was a great trip.

Scott, Gail, Jan & Dutch

Sent 16 July 2010

After saying goodbye to Jan and Dutch, Gail and I headed back out the Charleston harbor and headed for Georgetown SC.  We had a great motor sail until late afternoon for the daily thunderstorm drill.  As we headed in to go up the Wacamaw River for a great anchorage at Butler Island the winds piped up into the 20 plus range.  The tide was with us and we traveled along at about 8 knots.  Got the anchor down just before the squalls started – although again they mostly skirted around us and then all settled down for the night.  The next day we motored to Southport and took a dock for the night.  Next morning we headed up the Cape Fear River cutting across to Carolina Beach and then on up the ICW to Camp Lejuene SC to anchor for the night.  Again afternoon thunder storms skirted around us but we remain dry.  The marines were conducting an excercise in the bay we anchored and so all night transport boats were moving in and out making for a less than restful night.  The next day we headed on up the ICW to Oriental NC for a dock.  Next morning it was raining and it didn’t let up until 11 AM. We left and anchored off the ICW near Bell Haven NC at the entrance to the Alligator – Pungo canal.  This time the thunderstorms actually caught us and we dropped anchor just before it hit.  Started off at 6 the next morning and made it to Coinjock NC near Curituck Sound. This morning we head on up the ICW and made it to Norfolk about 4 this afternoon.  Lots of big Navy ships and lots of bridges to go through and our first lock – The Great Bridge Lock.  We sailed out of Norfolk and into the Chesapeake Bay with the outgoing tide at about 9 knots and crossed over to Ft. Monroe to a military marina for the night.  We have traveled 947 nautical miles since leaving Sea Base on July 4th.  Tomorrow we sail up the Bay to Reedsville and the next day on to Colonial Beach our final destination for National Jamboree.

Gail and Scott

Thanks Gail & Scott.  I am looking forward to your final report.

Locally, Capt. Dennis Wyatt (who gave up his day off) and First Mate / Commissioner Matt McClure took most of the Galley, Commissary and Ships Store staff out in the morning for a boat ride /snorkel / swim excursion.  Chrystene Matthews gave up her morning off to run the Ships Store while Angela and Katie manned the Galley.  The staff members on the boat included Dustin, John G., April, Toben, Jacob, Ian, Sara, Sarah, Sean, Heather, Wes, Ellen, Maria, Maya, Lenka, Ashley, Jan, Noah, Bob, Whitney, Valy, Mike and Aaron F.  They tried to make it out to the reef but decided the conditions were too harsh.  So they went to White Marlin Beach on the bay side instead.

Check-ins, including the seven scuba crews, went smoothly.  Only one Coral Reef Sailing crew was in for the mid-week fun day.  Capt. Rich and Capt. Carol enjoyed their day off bike riding in the Everglades.  Biting horseflies provided motivation but Capt. Rich reported that at 18 miles per hours the flies were still catching up and taking removing chunks of human flesh.

I checked the long range scientific forecast at about 06:00 this morning and the wet, windy weather is likel to stay with us for at least another week.  El Niño is essentially gone and we are trapped between three strong pressure gradients that won’t move on.  I will have to check a few more details but a strong tropical wave (less than a tropical storm) may be upon us this weekend.  MAYBE we will get a break after that.

Sorry to run.  Make the best of your day.  We will make as much magic happen here as possible.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

I have written of S/V Chanticleer in posts about our spring trip to the Bahamas.  The boat has been in the summer Coral Reef Sailing program at the Florida Sea Base but is taking some time off.  The owners, Capt. Scott and Gail Penfield, and two guests, Capt. Dutch and Jan Van der Laan, are enroute from the Florida Sea Base to the National Jamboree.  Here are two brief emails I have received regarding their journey.

Hi everyone,
We left the docks of Sea Base at 1PM on the 4th. We ran into our first storm off of Ocean Reef just before sunset and altered our course, heading in shore around Northern Dry Rocks.  We managed to get around the storm, which head South West re-built and then headed north up the
coast back towards at about 20 knots, eventually catching us off of Ft. Lauderdale.  There was no avoiding it this time, but by the time it caught us, around 3:00 AM, it didn’t have much left, although we had to drop all our sails, etc.  Out in the Gulf Stream, we had found ourselves in a confused sea rocketing along between 8 to almost 10 knots from Carysfort to North of West Palm.  No one slept much because of the seas.  We got out of the stream in mid afternoon, after our 3rd storm, yesterday and arrived at Ft. Pierce at 5:30PM. Chanticleer covered 200 Kn Miles in 27 hours, mostly motor sailing. Everyone is fine and nothing broke on the boat.

We do a crew change today and hope to be off the dock around noon.  We will not be going back into the Gulf Stream – it was way to rough.  We
are about 18 hours ahead of schedule and should be in Charleston by Friday.  We will be closer to shore and should be in cell phone range
most of the trip.

Scott, Gail, Dutch and Jan

We finally left Ft. Pierce at 4:30 last evening.  We have traveled 98 miles since then and are North of Cape Canveral motor sailing at 6+ plus knots on a course of almost due North about 12 -15 miles off shore.  Winds are light out of ENE with a swell of about 3 feet from the SE making a rather uncomfortable trip.  No one is sea sick and all is well.  We should be off of St. Simon Island in Georgia by tomorrow morning.  Cell coverage is sparse.

Scott & Gail, Dutch & Jan

There is no forecast of significant tropical weather development within the next 48 hours.  Invest 96 should make landfall in southern Texas around 16:00 (4:00 p.m.) this afternoon as “tropical depression 2″. It is not likely to become a named storm.   The heat wave will continue in the northeast.  We will have a significant chance of rain today, a fair amount of sun, 10 knots of wind from the east, and a high around 90º.  Locally, a series of thunderstorms started about 05:00 and is still pushing through with more spotty rain heading our way from the Bahamas.  There is no oil to report at this time.

I get to drive a dive boat this afternoon.  The BSA Explorer will be host to three Scuba Adventure crews, three Florida Sea Base Divemasters, 1st Mate Nathaniel Erwin, and me.  We will be going to Alligator Reef for the crews’ first dive of the week.  Everyday is opening day at the Florida Sea Base.

More later.  It’s time to pull out the foul weather jacket and make way to the morning staff meeting.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Here’s a nice view of Category 2 Hurricane Alex before it went ashore in Mexico.  Only one computer model is forecasting any tropical weather formation during the next seven days so we should have a quiet week.  The winds here are calming down quickly.

From Weather Underground

Capt. Rich Beliveau, Program Director, and Matt McClure, Sailing Commissioner, were successful in returning Spare Time from Fort Lauderdale to the Florida Sea Base yesterday.  There was one small glitch.  Dusky Marine in Dania, Florida did the repowering.  During the installation the broke one of the thru-hull fittings.  So as soon as the boat was splashed (taken off the trailer) it began to sink.  Capt. Rich and Matt managed to plug the hole temporarily and we will get a permanent fix in place today.

Yesterday’s scuba check-ins went well under the superb direction of Ellen Wyatt. The Coral Reef Sailing staff did an excellent job under the management of Capt. Dutch Van der Laan and Dom Alesandrini.  Dom also prepared 225 new snorkel bags for use by the sailing and scuba participants.  Some of the existing bags were VERY well worn and should have been tossed last year.

Captain Mike Lucivero and Capt. Kelly Stickney-Lucivero has committed to another year of Scuba Liveaboard programming.  We will have three scuba liveaboard crews each week next year (up from two this year).  Next summer is a 13 week schedule as I recall.  We have full bookings for the three rotations (39 crews) with 32 of the 39 “confirmed”.  That means seven of the crews have not actually made a down payment and may cancel.  If you are interested in participating in Scuba Liveaboard in 2011, check the Florida Sea Base website frequently for openings.  They will go very fast.

I am running late.  More later.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Today’s weather at the Florida Sea Base calls for 90º, mostly clear skies and ESE winds at 15knots.  It should be a warm but pleasant day.  Invest 94L continues to move away from us.

Invest 94L - Weather Underground

Tropical Storm Alex made landfall on the Yucatan Peninsula at about 04:30.  It will move into the Gulf of Mexico and is currently forecasted to make another landfall near Tampico, Mexico as a Category 1 hurricane.

T/S Alex - Weather Underground

I’m running a little late this morning so I have to dash off to the 07:30 staff meeting.  I will update this post later in the day if warranted.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

I was about to go lay down (see the previous blog) when I realized today is Capt. Mike Lucivero’s birthday.  Here’s a recent photo of Capt. Mike on the deck of S/V Ciao Bella playing with Bun (the cat) in the pre-dawn light.  We were at anchor on the Grand Bahamas Bank near the Northwest Channel while making our way from Alice Town, Bimini to Morgan’s Bluff, Andros Island.

Capt. Mike playing with Bun (the cat) aboard S/V Ciao Bella

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Monday was spent clearing the vessel, my wife and I back into the United States.  We traveled 384 nautical miles from the Florida Sea Base to Pumpkin Key (far north end of the Keys – near Miami) to Bimini, Bahamas then to Morgan’s Bluff, Andros Island, Bahamas and working our way back via Gun Cay, Bahamas back to Pumpkin Key and finally back to the Florida Sea Base.  I’ll slip in some details and a few photos later.

While we were gone the T-Dock got a face lift and some structural remodeling.

T-Dock facelift

a ground level view

The 26th Annual Tarpon Tournament participants arrived today with the opening ceremonies being held at dinner tonight at the Islamorada Fishing Club.  This is a fund raising event with each angler paying a $3,000 entrance fee plus their transportation and lodging to compete in the 3 day fishing event.  The event concludes Friday with a meeting of the Florida Sea Base Advisory Committee.  I’ll try to post some pictures during the week.

I appreciate Capt. Rich keeping the blog rolling while I was away.  I hope he will continue to contribute whenever he can make time.

Capt. Steve Willis
Aboard S/V Escape

Greetings Florida Sea Base peoples, Captain Rich here. I’m not the literary genius that Captain Steve is, but I will try to keep things moving as he readies himself and his boat for the Bahamas.

Capt’s Carol and I wish we could make the trip as well, but we had our fun last November heading to the Sea Of Abacco and it’s our turn to hold the fort down.

The Coral Reef crew came in on the S/V Excalibur with Captain Michele. Captain Hans crew decided to skip the ashore day here at Sea Base and stayed out on the water. Captain Steve Harrison (Tube Boat extraordinaire) took them out in the bay around the corner. The scouts and dads had a blast. Next was the small boat sailing with CR Mate Judy & Nate. Judy is an all around great sailor, but is as quiet as a mouse. Nate AKA pastor, reverend, father or eminence for the Sea Base knows his way around a sailboat as well. Winds were 15-20 kts out of the east so sailing the little boats was exciting to say the least.

Summer hire is completed for the sailing staff. I’m looking forward to a great summer season. We found another schooner for our 2011 season (Grande Nellie) so we should be full of big boats unless someone sells or has a major breakdown.

That’s all for now, I’ll let everyone know how this is working out. Please excuse all grammar and spelling errors. I can sail well, typing is not so hot.

Fair Winds,
Capt Rich

No new crews arrived at the Florida Sea Base today and no crews were in for their mid-week fun day.  But two Coral Reef Sailing crews and one Sea Exploring crew returned for their luau night and go home tomorrow.  The scuba crews did three dives today to make up for a missed dive (due to weather) earlier in the week.

Rob Kolb (Director of Programs), Capt. Rich Beliveau (Sailing Director) and I drove from the Florida Sea Base to Key West this morning to meet with Lt. Moore, USN.  It appears the Sea Exploring vessels will be allowed to once again dock at the US Navy mole in Key West.  This are formerly serve as a submarine basin.  I want to thank Dan McCarty, Admiral, USN, Retired, and Rob Kolb for making this happen.  We used to dock there years ago.  The area has been greatly improved and will be a great facility for the Scouts.  Within two blocks of the Navy facility are two ships that have been transformed into museums and the Key West Eco Discovery Center.  Another two blocks and you are in the historic “old town” of Key West.

Ship Museum

Both ships to be maritime museums.

This morning started out windy, cool and with some light rain.  At 1230 it is a glorious day; still a little cool but clear skies with a lot of warm sunshine and just enough breeze to make the Hunter’s fly!  The first four Coral Reef Sailing crews arrived back at base this morning for their “fun day” at base.  They all appear to be having a BLAST!!!  They are rotating through today’s activities which include small boat sailing on our Hunter 170s, ocean kayaking, playing volleyball and tubing.  I watched part of a volleyball game and then watched some of the small boat sailing from the T-dock.  I will probably get to catch some of the other two activities after lunch.

Capt. Dennis and his wife Ellen are in Tennessee watching the snow fall and trying to stay warm.  Milly McCoy, Scuba Instructor.  is on her way to Cancun to dive the cenotes.  Capt. Rich is out on the water giving Capt. Alex (Bergstedt) guidance on how to operate the tubing boat, and the rest of the program staff are with their crews participating in whichever activity the crew is engaged in.  There are no conference groups on base today.  Chrystene Matthews, Food Service & Conference Director, is taking a deserved week off.  Seasonal staff continue to trickle in.

I can’t recall if i told you,  Gwen Douglass resigned a week or so ago as our Ship’s Store manager.  Maria Donovan is now in charge of the Ship’s Store.  Feel free to visit the Ship’s Store on-line and Maria will fill your order with all due haste.