Florida Sea Base News

Mr. Tim Stanfill officially joined our staff yesterday morning as the Food and Conference Director.  Tim worked here as a seasonal staff member in 2000 or 2001.  He has been working as a Professional Scouter in Idaho for a few years.  He has a three week old son, Jack, and his wife and son will be joining him here soon.  Welcome aboard Tim.

Monday was a serious challenge for the sailing staff.  But, as always, Capt. Rich lead the charge and the day went off without a hitch.  Coral Reef Sailing crews arrived for Dutch Love, Juan Cadiz, Wandering Star and Siesta.  Silent Harmony, Excalibur, Sprindrift and Adventure came in for a day of shore leave. By the end of the day, Roberta Rowend, who provisions all of the boats from the Commissary and Capt. Rich were worn OUT!!!  But the kids received everything they needed and don’t have a clue as to how much it took to make their day a memory that will last a lifetime.

Seasonal staff members Sargon Smith, Teri Wells and Maggie Wells completed their tests for their US Coast Guard Captains Licenses Sunday.  Teri and Maggie seem to be interested in buying boats for the Coral Reef Sailing program at some point in the future.  I am not sure what Sargon is planning.

The PADI photo shoot team had a busy day.  In the morning they shot pictures of the Scuba Certification crew in the classroom and the Scuba Adventure kids doing scuba review.  In the afternoon they went on the dive boat to Alligator Reef for pictures on the boat and under the water.

I had a long, but easy day.  I spent the first half of the morning in the office working on administrative tasks and then drove to the mainland for a doctor’s appointment.  The trip killed about five hours so I returned to Sea Base around 16:00 and worked in the office until 19:00 (7:00pm).  Then I went to dinner with the kind folks from the PADI photo shoot.  I was back on base around 22:00, tended to a few piddly things in the office and then crashed.  Hurray for hands-free phones.  While driving to and from the doctor’s office I received over 45 phone calls.  Like the signature line on my iPhone email says, “Out of the office but on the ball”.  Of course I don’t text or email while driving; I’m too old to be that stupid.

I thought I might sleep in until 06:30 this morning but was up at 05:15 and here I am, drinking coffee and composing today’s post.  I forgot to mention that before dinner I saw that I have a flat tire on my personal car.  So I get to deal with that today.  The tire is under warranty.  The nearest Goodyear® dealer appears to be on the mainland.  I may be driving on a donut until next week.  Living in the Keys does have inconveniences.

That’s it.  Have a great day.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Poor Dr. Ellen.  She checked in six Scuba Adventure crews, one Scuba Certification crew, two Coral Reef Sailing crews and one Sea Exploring crew yesterday.  Justin Lewis, the PADI photo shoot photographer, got some great shoots of Divemaster Jessica Arms’ Scuba Adventure crew in the pool during their scuba review.  The crew is from Las Vegas and seems to be very high energy.  The other Scuba Adventure crews arrived too late to get in the pool yesterday and will complete their scuba reviews this morning.   Our base photographer, Clyde Clark, did and excellent job of keeping up with yesterday’s insanity but was really pooped by dinner time.  The PADI photo team stayed for a nice dinner of salad, pot roast, and au-gratin potatoes.  After dinner they were introduced to the scuba crews at the arrival night orientation.

The Coral Reef Sailing crews headed out on Island Rose and Conchy after dinner.  The Sea Explorers will board the Schooner Pirate’s Lady this morning.

The weather remains excellent.  This is going to be a great week.

I am on my way to the mainland today so I will miss being with the PADI photo team.  They will be in good hands with Captains Dennis, Scott and Alex B and Divemasters Jess and Justin.

I woke up about 01:00 with a mild, but nagging, sinus headache.  Then I couldn’t fall back asleep so TA-DA, I am posting early this morning.  I have taken some medicine for my head so I’m going to try to go back to sleep.  Make it a great day.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Yesterday was very busy at the Florida Sea Base with four Coral Reef Sailing crews, two Sea Exploring crews, one Scuba Liveaboard crew and the PADI photo shoot team arriving.

Coral Reef Sailing vessels Island Woman, Midnight Dragon, Jewel of Athena, Calypso Poet, Sea Exploring vessels Schooner Yankee, Schooner Jolly II Rover and the Scuba Liveaboard vessel Schooner Conch Pearl received the crews.

The PADI photo shoot team is comprised of Brad Smith, Niccole Sherman, Cambria McConnell and Justin Lewis.  They are an enthusiastic, focused, professional team.  It should be a lot of fun working with them this week.

Here’s our terrestrial forecast  from the National Weather Service:

And the NWS marine forecast:

Sunday…Variable winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas beyond the reef 1 to 2 feet. Seas inside the reef around 1 foot or a less. Nearshore waters smooth to a light chop. Isolated showers.
Sunday Night…Winds becoming east and increasing to 10 to 15 knots. Seas beyond the reef 2 to 4 feet. Seas inside the reef 1 to 2 feet. Nearshore waters a light to moderate chop. Isolated showers.
Monday And Monday Night…East to southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas beyond the reef 2 to 4 feet. Seas inside the reef 1 to 2 feet. Nearshore waters a light to moderate chop. Isolated showers.
Tuesday…East to southeast winds near 15 knots and gusty. Seas beyond the reef 3 to 5 feet. Seas inside the reef 2 to 3 feet. Nearshore waters a moderate chop to choppy. Isolated showers.
Wednesday…East to southeast winds near 15 knots and gusty. Seas beyond the reef 3 to 5 feet. Seas inside the reef 2 to 3 feet. Nearshore waters a moderate chop to choppy. Isolated showers.
Thursday…East winds near 15 knots. Seas beyond the reef 3 to 5 feet. Seas inside the reef around 2 feet. Nearshore waters a moderate chop. Isolated showers.

It should be a good week.

I would like to express my gratitude to Capt. George Clements and his lovely wife Tabby (S/V Silver Crow) for the gift of a mast boot cover for my mizzen mast.  Capt. George and Tabby remind me so much of my dad’s side of the family that it’s scary.  They are kind, down to earth, no nonsense, hard working, seldom complaining, “howdy neighbor”, country folks who are always willing to help and ready to tackle the next opportunity that comes their way.  They bring back pleasant memories of front porches, porch swings, sitting and talking with Aunt Maggie Mae or working in the garden with Uncle Ira.  They are the definition of “good people” and I feel privileged to know them.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Yesterday morning many of the staff went on a two tank dive.  The first dive was at the USS Spiegel Grove and I didn’t hear where they made the second dive. The Speigel Grove was intentionally sunk in 2002 off Key Largo and despite the best efforts of the engineers, she landed on her side.  In 2005, Hurricane Dennis picked up the 510′ ship in 130′ of water and placed her upright on the bottom.

After lunch, three Coral Reef Sailing and one Sea Exploring crew arrived.  The base filled with Scouts going through shake down, swim reviews and snorkel lessons.  The weather was picture perfect with water temperatures of 79º on the ocean side and 84º on the bay side.

When the dive staff returned from their dives, we had a brief meeting regarding the upcoming PADI photo shoot.  The PADI team will be on base sometime this afternoon.

For a variety of reasons, I may not be able to make a post every morning this week.  I will try to post something at some point in time each day if possible, but please don’t be dismayed if I miss a day.  I appreciate your understanding.  With an absolutely full house of divers and sailors, plus the PADI team’s logistical needs, plus a doctor’s appointment Monday and a Team Meeting Thursday, a yet unscheduled meeting with the swimming pool contractors sometime this week and my limited mobility due to a quite painful, rapidly worsening and enlarging hernia, it is going to be a hectic week.

I apologize for being brief.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Here we go – the final round for the 2011 Spring season at the Florida Sea Base.  We have enjoyed a few slow days but here’s a quick synopsis of the coming week:

Today – 3 Coral Reef Sailing crews and 1 Sea Exploring crew arrive
Saturday –  4 Coral Reef Sailing crews, 2 Sea Exploring crews and 1 Scuba Liveaboard crew arrive and 1 Coral Reef Sailing crew returns from their week at sea.
Sunday – 2 Coral Reef Sailing crews, 1 Sea Exploring crew, 6 Scuba Adventure crews, 1 Scuba Certification crew and the PADI photo shoot team arrive.
Monday – Saturday – Coral Reef crews will be returning for shore leave and Coral Reef Sailing, Sea Exploring crews, and the Scuba Liveaboard crew will return for luau with the Scuba Adventure and Scuba Certification crews.
Sunday – the spring 2011 season is almost completed.  Only 2 Scuba Adventure crews and 1 Sea Exploring crew remain.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a great week:

NWS Forecast for: Islamorada FL Issued by: National Weather Service Key West, FL Last Update: 4:15 am EDT Apr 15, 2011

Today the staff members who have the appropriate dive credentials and don’t have crews are being afforded the opportunity to complete two wreck dives.  The sites are still to be determined.

That’s it.  07:30 staff meeting this morning.  Yahooo!!!!!

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

My wife, Sue, and I had had lunch yesterday at Habanero’s Restaurant across US 1 from the Florida Sea Base.  Staff member Clyde Clark was also there.  While the weather was generally very nice, there was one cell over the Atlantic that we could see from the restaurant.  During our lunch it spun off several water spouts.  No one was hurt and none of the spouts was very big.  Still, they are impressive to watch.

The Long Key buoy reported bay side water temperature of 83.7º yesterday while Molasses Reef was reporting 79.3º on the ocean side of the island chain.  The weather is outstanding over all.  It’s a shame that this is an off week.  No new crews arrived, no crews returned to base to go home and no crews were on base for shore leave.  The Florida Sea Base staff went scuba diving.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

I received an email from Capt. Harold Ochstein, S/V Island Dreamer, Tuesday morning.  The Weather Underground “sticker” on my blog showed it was 36º in Islamorada.  So I called my massive IT support division (my son Aaron) and he was able to fix the problem.  It seems the link was to someone’s home weather station.  It is now linked to the nearest official weather station, the Marathon Airport.  I appreciate Capt. Harold reporting the problem and I appreciate the greatest son on Earth fixing it.

We had one Coral Reef Sailing crew on base yesterday for shore leave.  There are no scuba crews this week.  Some of the Scouts from the Islamorada Troop completed part of their PADI Open Water Diver certification yesterday afternoon.  Scuba Commissioner Laura Kuras and Kyle Beighle co-taught the class.

It is very quiet at the Florida Sea Base this week; kind of the calm before the storm.  Next week will be packed!!!  So the staff members are doing some fun things in addition to doing chores.  I believe yesterday was “tie-dye” day.  Today is a snorkel/scuba trip to the reef.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

The Scuba Adventure and Scuba Certification crews completed their last dive (of this adventure) Saturday morning and spent the afternoon processing out.  They depart this morning.  We have no Scuba Adventure, Scuba Certification or Scuba Liveaboard crews this week.

One Coral Reef Sailing crew (S/V Silent Harmony with Capt. Martin Ivey) returned today.  They opted out of the luau and instead hit the highway for a 13 hour drive back to Atlanta, Georgia.  One new Coral Reef Sailing crew arrived today and will spend the week aboard S/V Juan Cadiz with Capt. Tom Gaunt.  No crews arrive, depart or have shore leave today.

The weather remains gorgeous, as forecasted.  Here’s our National Weather Service forecast for the coming week.  (It’s a shame we don’t have any scuba crews here to take advantage of these conditions):

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. East wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. East wind between 10 and 15 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. East wind around 10 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.

Since we have such a slow week, Capt. Dennis and Dr. Ellen are going home for a few days, Scuba Commissioner Laura Kuras has organized some fun and special staff opportunities each day we are crewless, I am taking some down time to spend with my wife, and Capt. Rich may be going to Fort Lauderdale to take a Radar Endorsement class for his captain’s license.  The sailing captains are restless; they don’t make money when their boats are tied to the dock.

That’s all I have for today.  Business is going to be very slow this week so please don’t be surprised if I don’t post every day.  A week from today we will be SLAMMED again with sailing and scuba participants plus a cadre of four from PADI will be here for a week long photo shoot.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

That was the report from Capt. Dennis, “a good day on the water”.  The Scuba Adventure and Scuba Certification crews joined forces on the BSA Centennial Eagle yesterday with Captains Dennis and Scott.  The divers visited the patch reefs named Boink and Labyrinth for their two scheduled dives and then went to Alligator Reef for lunch and snorkeling.

Six Coral Reef Sailing crews, one Scuba Liveaboard crew and one Sea Exploring crew returned from their adventure yesterday.  No new crews arrived and no crews were in for shore leave.

The weather was gorgeous yesterday and should hold for the foreseeable future with lows in the mid 70s and highs in the mid 80s.

Divemaster Brian Sevald checked in late Thursday evening.  He is attending the PADI Instructor Development Course at Florida Keys Dive Center over the next two weeks.  I can’t remember if I mentioned that Captains Rich and Carol have increased their family by one.  They adopted a young male dog named Tuxedo, or Tux for short.

Here’s a bumper sticker I can agree with.  I took this photo with my iPhone in Miami a few days ago.  You will probably need to enlarge the photo by clicking on it to read it.  The truck is a “honey wagon”, a truck used to haul waste from Port-a-Pots.

Have a safe day.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

As many of you are aware, I don’t subscribe to Facebook®.  I could give you a list of reasons, but that doesn’t matter.  What does matter, is that I am at the mercy of others to keep me posted on what good things have happened to former Florida Sea Base Staff Members.  Mrs. Rachel Szostek was kind enough to provide the following updates.

(Former Divemaster/Scuba Instructor) Luke Stegall got married in December to a (now graduated?) med student from Cardiff, Wales.  I think he met her while he was working in Gizo (Solomon Islands), and now he is headed back across the pond for the long haul, I think.

And former staff members Rachel Metzger and Jason Szostek got married in October.  They met and fell in love at Sea Base, even though Paul Beal told summer staff 2009 that you don’t come to FSB to meet the love of your life. (pause to note that Jackie Richards and the love of her life Rich Moore–whom she met at Sea Base–got married some time ago as well).

Matt Standal (former Scuba Instructor) is a big bad news reporter for Fox 12 in Idaho.

Kelli Farmer (former Scuba Instructor) also got married in January I think.

As I mentioned a day or two ago, if you have any news on former staff members I will be happy to post it here.  I’m very happy that the Sea Base romances worked out for Rachel and Jason and Jackie and Rich, but overall, I have to agree with Captain Beal; many Sea Base romances don’t end well.  I can think of a few that have ended very tragically including one suicide, one attempted suicide and one staff member who spent years in a psychiatric hospital; each after failed relationships that started here.  There are other sad, but much less tragic, memories that come to mind as well.  It’s great to know that some have been so very successful.  Captains Mike and Kelly met at Sea Base and got married  as did Captain Brian and his wife, Brenda.  Captains Kate and Joey met here and now have a beautiful son, Kai.  There have been other success stories.

Our weather continues to be VERY warm and sunny.  We do not expect any rain for the next several days.  The wind will continue to blow from the East at 10 to 15 knots.

The Sea Exploring crew form S/V Calypso Gypsy returned to base yesterday with Coral Reef Sailing crews from S/Vs Midnight Dragon, Calypso Poet and Jewel of Athena.  The Coral Reef Sailing crew from S/V Silent Harmony was on base for shore leave.

The Scuba Certification crew completed Open Water Training Dives 3 and 4 today and should be very close to completing their PADI Open Water Diver certifications.  Instructors Megan Ware and Sargon Smith have been working with the crew, sometimes assisted by Divemaster Jim Funnel.  The Scuba Adventure crew (lead by Divemaster Mike Roesel) completed dives today at Independence (a spur and groove reef), Pillars of Atlantis (a series of patch reefs), and Caloosa Rocks (another patch reef).  Visibility was about 40′ and the seas were nearly flat.

I reserved a room yesterday for the 2011 DEMA Show.  The Diving Equipment Marketing Association show is an annual event.  It is a wholesale type show; not open to the general public.  It’s a great place to see what’s new, get bids, talk with training agencies, take equipment repair courses, stay abreast of PADI updates, and run into old friends.  The show is in Orlando, FL this year, 02 – 05 November.

I’m having another one of those mornings.  It’s 04:45 so I’m going to go take a nap.  Dave Ball is probably starting to wake up on the Conch Pearl.  He’s almost always an early riser.  Capt. Dennis Wyatt has probably been up for an hour or so; he is a VERY early riser.  Maybe he was a dairy farmer in a past life.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape