Florida Sea Base News

I mentioned several times that it is very rare to get an all-day, soaking rain at the Florida Sea Base.  Well, yesterday was one of those days.  It started raining around 09:00 and was still raining when I went to bed.

The radar is clear this morning but the wind is brisk at 22 knots from the east.  In the meantime, Hurricane Earl has turned into a Cat 4 beast.  I am relieved he is not visiting here.  Tropical Storm Fiona is on his heals and catching up.  Two scenarios are being suggested by the pros.  (1) Fiona will catch up with Earl and be torn apart.  (2) Fiona will slow down so as to not over take Earl and has a 25% chance of making landfall somewhere on the US east coast.  It is too early to tell.  And a new tropical wave, Invest 98, is following Fiona.

If there are any staff members reading this who have a Face Book account, would you please spread the word that Wednesday (tomorrow) is Capt. Rich’s birthday?  I am sure he would enjoy hearing from as many face book buddies as possible.  Or you can email him at Rich.Beliveau@scouting.org.

I received a VERY short email message from former Florida Sea Base staff member Seth Little yesterday.  Those of you who worked spring 2010 may remember that Seth was on his way to Alaska to be a bush pilot.  Seth did not say where he is or what he’s doing, but apparently he is still alive.  Teri Wells has taken possession of her Pearson 35 sailboat and is docked at Smuggler’s Cove Marina adjacent to the Snake Creek Drawbridge in Islamorada.  She is in the market for a used marine head (toilet) if anyone has a spare.  (I actually gave my spare to S/V Conchy back in the spring.)  Brittany Haury is easing through the PADI Instructor Development Course at the Florida Keys Dive Center in Tavernier.  Her Instructor Exams (the scary part) is this weekend.  Best of luck Brittany!!!

The number one medical complaint at the Florida Sea Base is ear discomfort.  Scuba divers, sailors, staff, all complain of ear pain.  I was given permission today to purchase a real-live, wall mounted otoscope.  I am working with our medical advisor to find the right unit at the best cost.  While we do not employ a nurse or MD on premises, we frequently have medical professionals among our participants.  Being able to make a quick assessment of whether a sore ear is just a troublesome outer ear infection or a serious internal barotrauma will help reduce the number of people needlessly sent to the ER.  This piece of equipment will be of great benefit to our participants and staff.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

I’m still not feeling great but it’s time to get back to work.  The Florida Sea Base was visited yesterday by the Islamorada Fire Department.  One of the pull-down alarms in the Galley went haywire and activated repeatedly.  There was no activity in the Galley yesterday and no signs of deliberate activation.  I am sure Capt. Keith will have someone from our alarm company out today to fix the problem.

I had a fairly productive day yesterday.  I was successful in replacing the idle pulley and belt tensioner pulley on my truck.  That took care of the grinding noise being generated by failed bushings.  I also replaced the throttle position sensor but that did not fix the issue I was having with the engine.  The problem almost has to be with the distributor.  Not the rotor or cap – I have already replaced them.  I will have to call Divemaster Kevin Wilson so he can remind me of what he thought needed to be done next.

Earl is now a hurricane.  If the forecast holds, we should get some rain and wind but not much more.  Hope for the best….

Capt. Alex Bergstedt has today and tomorrow to wrap up all things scuba.  He and Maya are heading for Valparaiso, Indiana to spend some time with Alex’s parents and then they are on to Slovakia.  Capt. Alex has done a great job for me for the last four or five years.  (I’m not very good with dates.  That explains my history grades.)  Alex plans to find a job in Slovakia so he can be with Maya.  Maya is working on her Master’s Degree in Business.  She does not seem to be enthused with returning to class.  I sincerely wish them the best of everything.

One of my chores for today is to spend more money.  I need to order air testing kits for the scuba liveaboard boats.  It was decided that the Florida Sea Base would continue to pay for quarterly testing of the compressed air on the boats, but we are going to have the vessel owners submit their own samples to the lab.  I also need to work on winter staff hiring and reviewing applications for the 2010 Divemaster Academy.

Capt. Dave Muenzel on S/V New Horizon was really stoked yesterday.  He is going camping for a week or so with his grandson.  You could see the excitement and pride in his face.  I have never seen him this happy about anything.  I hope you have as good of a day as Capt. Dave is having.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Good early morning from the Florida Sea Base.  It’s about 04:00 and I decided to get up and drain some of the congestion from my head.  I hate being sick and I am NOT a good patient.

I have nothing to talk about except the weather.  The local weather is still typical for summer; high of 90, low of 85, east wind at 15 and some chance of rain.  Hurricane Danielle is no threat.  The winds from Tropical Storm Earl are 9 mph short of hurricane status.  Earl will clip the northern most Lesser Antilles and will hope fully stay east of the Bahamas and only be a rain event for us.  Invest 97 is forecasted to follow the same course as Earl.  There is wave after wave easing across Africa and this chain of invest to tropical depression to tropical storm to hurricane to where will the hurricane hit is going to be a daily event for a while.  The African storms are the ones that have the most time to build into major hurricanes (category 3 or higher).  In a few more weeks, we will see hurricanes being born in the Caribbean.  They like to visit Florida.

A day rarely goes as planned at the Florida Sea Base but here are my plans for today.  First, go back to bed for a while.  Then see how I’m feeling.  If I feel up to it and it doesn’t rain, I have some mechanic work to do on my truck.  Plan B is to work on winter staff hiring and Divemaster Academy applications in the office.

Divemaster Joe Schreiner forwarded this link to me (from one of his participants I believe).  It’s an interesting article about water temperatures affecting fish behavior. http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/60940/title/Ocean_acidification_may_make_fish_foolhardy_

Make it a good day.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

It’s very quiet at the Florida Sea Base.  The staff are sleeping in.  I’m still struggling with a major head cold.  The weather is typical for this time of year.  Danielle is no threat to us.  Earl will come quite a bit closer but should miss us too.  The computer models on Invest 97 still show it turning north before getting to the Bahamas.  I hope they’re right, but I have an uneasy feeling about 97.  Maybe it’s just the NyQuil® and Alka Seltzer Plus® cocktails.

Capt. Dennis saw yesterday’s blog and sent this reply:

Peep. Stop. No jail. Stop. Trip home ok. Stop. Working on Ghetto House. Stop. Slow and steady wins the race. Stop. Haste makes waste. Stop. We hope to have a home/house in November. Stop. 2011? 2012?
Dennis and Ellen

That was definitely authored by Capt. Dennis.  It cracks me up, even at 06:30 with a head cold.  But it also makes me wonder what Ellen’s version is.  I have some thoughts that I tried to put into words, but I deleted them.  [When I went to school we "erased" our mistakes or "corrected" them on a typewriter.  Now we "delete" them.  Which brings up another sign of old age.  The other day I had to refer a staff member to Wikipedia to look up "typewriter".  They were unfamiliar with the device.]

That’s it for now.  I may post a follow-up if I start feeling better or hear anything of interest.  Have a great weekend.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

We made it through the night at the Florida Sea Base without a thunderstorm.  I apologize for posting this late, but I have caught a cold and I slept in a bit this morning.  Please excuse any typos.  I am jacked up on NyQuil® and Alka Seltzer Plus®; plus the gallon of diluted hydrochloric acid (brand name Afrin®) I have squirted into my left nasal over night.

I am sitting on Escape, sipping on hot, black coffee and hoping my left sinus passages will drain soon.  Currently there is no rain within 100 miles of the Florida Sea Base.  At 08:00 it was 85º and we will get in the low 90s this afternoon.  The wind is 10 to 15 from the east and the skies are mostly clear.  In short, it is a gorgeous summer day.

The tropical weather is very busy.  Hurricane Danielle has made it to Category 4 status but is turning east and will only affect shipping interests.

Tropical Storm Earl is forecast to be a Cat 1 hurricane on Saturday night, Cat 2 on Tuesday and Cat 3 on Wednesday.  It is forecasted to turn north but will come closer than Danielle.

Then there is Invest 97L.  It’s too early for the computers and experts to make even an educated guess about the path of 97.  There is a high pressure system in place that has turned Danielle and should turn Earl to the north and then east.  97 may follow the same trajectory.  But there is a chance of Earl slipping south of the high pressure system and becoming an issue at the Florida Sea Base.

Stay tuned!!!

The first round of my budget did well.  We had a meeting on 04 August and used a crystal ball to predict the 2011 attendance figures.  Those are in turn used to set our projected income.  So we pitch our best guess and reasoning to the GM who ultimately decides the magic number.  He reduced my magic number yesterday which reduced my income projection by $175,000.  That stings a little but is not a huge obstacle.  The good news was that my preliminary spending figures were unscathed.

Since I haven’t gotten off the boat yet I’m not sure what the seasonal staff are doing but I have a good general idea.  Capt. Alex and Dave are probably working on scuba tank maintenance, Lindsay probably helping them or filling orders for used scuba gear, and Capt. Aaron is probably helping Capt. Carol with boat maintenance or working on sailing program equipment.  The facilities staff is working on the Thomas Building conversion from staff housing to conference housing.   The galley staff is working on lunch and dinner.

My understanding is we are scheduled to take two Newtons and maybe the Corinthian dive boat from the Brinton Center to the boat yard on Monday.  (I had an English teacher tell me a long time ago that you can’t have a one sentence paragraph.  So here are two more sentences.)

I haven’t heard a peep from the Wyatts.  I hope they aren’t in jail for killing the contract who was working on their house while they were working here this summer.  He seems to be VERY slow but does good work and charges by the job, not by the hour.

Again, I apologize for this being late.  I’m going to fix something to eat and then I will consider going into the office.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Good morning.  All is fine at the Florida Sea Base this morning.  Despite weather and electricity outage issues yesterday morning, I still managed to submit the first draft of my 2011 budget – a day ahead of schedule.  There will likely be revisions required.  MAYBE I can get those knocked out Friday, depending on when Paul Beal tells me which specific accounts need to be reduced.  I think I have submitted two annual budgets that were accepted without revisions.  Sometimes all it takes is better justification for the increases.

Hurricane Danielle was joined by Tropical Depression 7 at 11:00 yesterday.  TD 7 became Tropical Storm Earl yesterday afternoon and should be Hurricane Earl by Saturday.  Earl may curve north, but if it doesn’t, the Florida Sea Base could be in the “cone of death” projection by the weekend.  And we have a new wave that emerged off Africa yesterday.  This NASA image was posted yesterday before TD7 was upgraded to TS Earl.

I woke up around midnight night, used the head, checked the radar on my iPhone, all was clear, and went back to sleep.  At 03:08 I was awakened by the sounds of wind and waves.  We were on the edge (thank goodness) of a small but strong thunderstorm cell similar to Tuesday night.  The heart of this cell was just to our west but we still received an uncomfortable amount of wind.  The storm lasted for 30 minutes and was gone.

Some of you may know former all-star staff member Mariah Hall.  She and Capt. Tom Faralli (who drove BSA Adventure this summer) departed the Keys yesterday.  They are moving on with their lives.  It’s tough to earn a living down here.  I wish them success and happiness.

I think our on-payroll staff now consists of Maya and Lenka in the Galley, Noah in the Ship’s Store, Joe and Capt. Martin on the Facilities staff, and Capt. Alex, Lindsay, Dave and Aaron on the Program staff.  07:30 staff meetings have been suspended.  Capt. Rich or I will make staff assignments during breakfast (which now consists of cold cereal and bagels).

While seven of the full time staff are focused on 2011 budgeting and program, Nancy Wells, our Registrar, is already working on 2012 scheduling for council contingents.  Sometimes a single Troop or Venturing Crew cannot sign up enough participants to meet the minimum crew size for a Florida Sea Base adventure.  So Scouts from multiple Troops/Crews within a council come together.  That is referred to as a council contingent.

If Capt. Carl Olshenske or Capt. Alex Holoman are reading this, your checks are in.  Swing by the office at your convenience.

Back to the salt mine.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

It is sad seeing all of the staff departing the Florida Sea Base.  Capt. Dennis and Ellen Wyatt are departing this morning.  They have kept me sane for the past several years and it is difficult to see them go.  They are headed to Lady Lake, Florida to see all of the wonderful improvements their contractor, Hylan, has completed while they were gone for the summer.  I feel certain Capt. Dennis and/or Ellen will send me a full report as soon as they can.

We got smacked by a thunderstorm cell last night.  I woke up around 23:00.  I glanced at the radar on my iPhone while in the head.  I saw the cell approaching but it didn’t look as fierce as it was.  At 23:40 the wind speed was 2 knots.  Ten minutes later the wind was 16 knots.  Ten minutes after that, at midnight, the wind was 38 knots gusting to 41 knots – which is tropical storm strength.  Just as the system was hitting, I decided that I wasn’t going to be able to sleep through it so I would go to the office and work on the budget for an hour.  By the time I actually got onto the dock the wind was screaming.  I was surprised to see Capt. Rich on the dock and then I realized that Capt. Luke was trying to back S/V Lady Nell into a slip.  Capt. Luke was backing into the wind and it was requiring full throttle to make progress.  A gust hit so hard that it almost knocked Capt. Rich and me off the dock.  I asked Capt. Rich what was going on.  He said Capt. Harman (S/V Dutch Love) had called about an hour earlier from Key West saying the storm was headed our way.  Capt. Rich was aware that Capt. Luke and Capt. Michele (S/V Excalibur) were at anchor not far from the base.  Capt. Rich called them and they decided to head to the dock.  Of course they got here just as the most severe part of the storm arrived.  Suddenly the dock was a beehive.  It was dark and raining hard but I’m sure I saw Dominic Alesandrini, Capt. Martin Ivy, Capt. Carol, Richie Chapman, Capt. Dave (S/V New Horizon) and maybe some others (plus Capt. Rich and me) all on the dock assisting Captains Luke and Michele.

Once the two boats were secured, everyone scattered for shelter.  I decided to go to the office, change clothes and work on the budget.  I secured some dry clothes from my office and was headed to the bathroom to change when some palm fronds blew into the transformers next to our building and knocked out the power.  Joe Schreiner showed up to see if all was well.  Brittany Haury also showed up.  I called the Facilities Director, Capt. Keith Douglass, and he called the electric company.  An hour later there was still no electricity in the office  (therefore no access to the server and no working on the budget).  The wind let up a lot and the rain let up a little so I returned to S/V Escape.  There was power on the dock so I knocked out this much of today’s post and now I am going to go lay down for a while………

I’m back…..

The weather at the Florida Sea Base this morning is very characteristic of late summer.  NOAA’s forecast for today is “A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 93. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.”  Danielle dropped from hurricane status to a tropical storm yesterday but should re-intensify.  Invest 96L is also intensifying.

I went to bed early last night so I could get up early and finish my first draft of the 2011 budget.  Obviously that storm was nixed by the weather.  I am considering putting my spear gun on the desk and shooting the first person to interrupt me today.  Even closing the office door has been ineffective.  But today is the day.  I WILL finish my preliminary budget today.

Used scuba equipment sales are steady.  We have a guy scheduled to drive down from Miami today to buy five BC/regulator sets. At only $325 for a BC, regulator, alternate air source, pressure gauge and depth gauge how can you go wrong?

I received two applications for the Divemaster Academy yesterday.  If you haven’t sent yours in yet, there’s no huge rush but I would suggest trying to have those in around 15 September.  Go to my LINKS page for DMA information.

It’s time to see the Wyatt’s off and get to work on the budget (assuming the electricity and server conection have been restored).

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Good morning from the Florida Sea Base.  I tried writing the posts in the evenings for the past week or so and that is not working out very well.  So I am back to the early morning writings – at least for a while.

Prior to 17:00 yesterday Danielle became at Category 1 Hurricane.  During the evening she increased to Cat 2 and she is forecasted to be at Category 3 by 14:00 Wednesday.  Let’s hope she stays to the east of Bermuda.

5 pm Monday

5 am Tuesday

As promised, a new tropical wave has come off the coast of Africa and rapidly made it to Invest 96L designation.  This one is a long way off, but it looks like it may take a very similar course to that of  Hurricane Danielle.  It doesn’t show on this chart, but in the next few days the track lines should show the forecasted path turning more to the north and staying east of Bermuda.

Christy Clemenson and Lindsay Kuc spent most of yesterday cleaning the staff lounge.  My understanding is it may take another day or two to finish the job.  We may not have a staff lounge next year.  The staff members responsible for trashing it are never the ones who clean it.  And the ones who clean it won’t tell me who’s trashing it so I can’t break the cycle.  Capt. Alex and Dave Rumbaugh worked in the scuba area.  Captains Aaron Foster, Steve Harrison and Dutch Vanderlaan worked on securing boats and the sailing beach.  Dom Alesandrini and Teri Wells drove the Scuba Liveaboard crew to Bahia Honda State Park for the day.  The ranger staff worked on moving staff furniture out of the Thomas Building.  The Galley, Ships Store and Commissary staff members were also very busy.  Capt. Rich and I worked on the 2011 budget.  Paul Beal moved the budget due date up from Friday to Thursday.  I may be able to finish the first draft tomorrow if I can get the information I need from our Registrar, Nancy Wells.  ALL of the staff did their best yesterday to help Jan Vanderlaan with a HUGE problem in the snack bar.  Apparently we were overstocked with ice cream.  The staff rolled up their sleeves TWICE yesterday and forced down as much ice cream as possible.  I’m not sure what the final outcome was but I’m sure they will be up to the task again today if needed.

I suspect that most of you are used to linemen climbing the utility poles for servicing and repairs.  Most of the power lines in the Keys are over water.  I got this picture yesterday while on my way to Key West.  How much do you trust YOUR pilot?  PLEASE click on the photo to enlarge it.

Click on photo to enlarge.

Today’s weather should be very similar to yesterday; high in the low 90s, moderate winds and a 30% chance of thunderstorms.  It’s about 05:10. I got up around 04:00.  I think I’ll clean up and go to the office.  That will give me about an hour to work on the budget without interruption.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Good morning from the Florida Sea Base.  We are expecting a high of 91º this afternoon with a heat index of 105º.  The winds will be from the SSW at 12 knots with 2′ seas on the reef.  There is a 30% chance of a thunderstorm.  By 05:00 Tropical Depression 6 had been upgraded to Tropical Storm Danielle.  It is forecasted to be a Category 1 Hurricane by 02:00 tomorrow morning.  The good news is the forecasted track continues to be in our favor with the system turning more to the north.

The final crew of the 2010 summer season has elected to spend their final day at the Bahia Honda State Park.  They visited there two years ago on their first trip to the Florida Sea Base and requested to go back.  Since they are the only crew left at the Florida Sea Base it was easy to accommodate their request.

There are a few straggling staff members packing for the trip home, but the only season employees left on payroll includes Scuba Commissioner Capt. Alex Bergstedt, Marine Superintendent Capt. Carol Chapman, Scuba Instructor Christy Clemenson, Dockmaster Dominic Alesandrini, Galley Mates Maya Mikolova and Lenka Bollonova, Capt. Dennis Wyatt, Office Manager Ellen Wyatt, Assistant Ranger Capt. Martin Ivy, Assistant Ranger Joe Schreiner, Commissary Mate Sara Starr, Capt. Aaron Foster, Eco Adventure Mate Lindsay Kuc, Divemaster David Rumbaugh, Capt. Dutch Vanderlaan, Ships Store Clerks Jan Vanderlaan and Noah Sutter, Capt. Steve Harrison,and Ships Store Manager Maria Donovan.  (Maria is technically still a seasonal employee but will be promoted to the full time staff on 01 September.)  Divemaster Brittany Haury is still on base but off payroll.  She starts her Instructor Development Course tomorrow (I think) and will be a certified Scuba Instructor in less than two weeks if all goes well.

A friend from back home sent this this photo.  It was reportedly taken near Rising Star, Texas on Friday the 13th of August 2010.

I meant to post this earlier today but got caught up with the budget until noon and then I had to make a run to Key West.  I hope you had a good day.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

We have had off and on light rain today at the Florida Sea Base.  But we got a LOT of rain in a short burst yesterday at about 19:00.  I had a bucket that accumulated more than 8″ of rain in less than 40 minutes.  This afternoon I noticed that our Carolina Skiff was sunk to the point that the transom was underwater.  The 1 year old Evinrude motor sits very low on the boat and I am sure it got at least a little salt water in the cowling.  I rinsed the motor with fresh water and we will see if it survives.

I bailed the skiff out (using a kitty litter bucket I found in Paul Beal’s yard.  Our little staff sailboat, Kermit, was sitting low in the water.  Capt. Dennis climbed aboard and bailed the water out of it.  Prior to lunch I helped Capt. Dennis and Ellen recover their houseboat and secure it on the trailer.  They are leaving Wednesday.  Almost everyone else went diving on the wreck of the USS Vandenberg off Key West as the guests of Capt. Denny and Capt. Holley on the Schooner Conch Pearl.  To the best of my recollection, the only seasonal staff on base includes Teri Woods (who has a crew), Nathaniel Erwin, Aaron Phoebe, Christy Clemenson and Dominic Alesandrini.  I may be leaving someone out.  I apologize in advance.

Tropical Depression (TD) 6 continues moving west-northwest and should pose no threat to the Florida Sea Base or the Bahamas.  Another wave is expected to come off the African coast in three or four days.

That’s all I have for today.  The Galley is closed so I’m going to fix a sandwich or microwave something for dinner.  I think I’ll watch an episode of “Good Guys” on Hulu.com and call it a night.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape