Florida Sea Base News

Uneventful was the word of the day yesterday at the Florida Sea Base.  The divers spent the day aboard BSA Explorer with Captains Dennis and Scott.  They enjoyed less wind and diminished seas.  They made dives at Rocky Top and Aquarium.  Both sites are patch reefs in 30′ to 40′ of water.

Coral Reef crews from Silent Harmony and Jewel of Athena enjoyed shore leave at the Florida Sea Base.  It was a great day for small boat sailing, tubing, kayaking and volleyball.  I spoke with a few of the adult leaders who said they were having a great time.  One said this was the best week of his Scouting life.  (We do what we can.)

Capt. Rich drove to Key Largo to investigate dockage options for part of the summer Scuba Liveaboard and Eco Adventure fleets.  (We have used Smuggler’s Cove in the past but they have a major rebuild of their docks in progress.  It does not appear they will be available in time for our summer season.)  I stayed at base and mainly worked on the compressor procurement.  (I am VERY close to final resolution.)

Our temperatures should range between lows of 70 and highs of 80 for the next several days.  Winds will be VERY mild, maybe too mild for the Coral Reef and Sea Exploring vessels to get in much sail time.  But poor sailing means excellent snorkeling and enhanced possibilities of catching lobsters for dinner.  We have essentially no chance of rain for a while.  The sea water temperature on the ocean side of the Keys is 75º while the bay side is reporting 73.  The water temperature changes quicker on the shallow bay side where air temperature has a bigger influence.  The ocean side is affected by air temperature, but the water depth and Gulf Stream Current have significant impacts on the ocean side conditions.  The ocean side temperatures are more stable slower to change up or down.

I plan to post again tomorrow morning but I leave very early Friday morning and will be gone through Monday morning so I may not have an opportunity to post again until Tuesday morning.  I will post sooner if circumstances permit, but I expect to be very busy most of the time I’m away.  I will be attending the BSA National Aquatics Task Force meeting in Dallas Friday afternoon through late Sunday.

Make it a great day.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Yesterday I grounded the dive boats at the Florida Sea Base.  Winds had increased to 25 knots and waves were in the 8′ – 9′ range on the reefs.  We spoke with one captain on the reef with another company who confirmed this data and added that visibility was very poor.  These conditions are too severe for most of our divers.  The divers spent the day sailing, kayaking, playing volleyball and hanging out at the beach.  The was only one minor grumbling (from an adult) who wasn’t too crazy about the small boat sailing.  The divemasters reported that the kids had a great day and did not complain.  Many were particularly happy about getting to sail.  It’s still going to be bumpy today but I hope to get the divers back onto the reef.

Yesterday, Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground made these comments on his weather blog:

A tropical wave (Invest 97L) near the north coast of Hispaniola has been disrupted by interaction with the island, plus the effects of moderate wind shear of 10 – 20 knots. The storm is no longer a threat to develop into a tropical depression today, and the Hurricane Hunter flight that was scheduled for today has been postponed until Thursday. The disturbance has brought heavy rains of 8+ inches to Culebra, Vieques, the Virgin Islands, and some of the northern Lesser Antilles Islands. Wunderblogger Weather456 reported that the power was knocked out on the island of St. Kitts for about 24 hours, due to the intense lightning associated with 97L. All of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are under flash flood watches today.

Satellite images of 97L show a relatively meager number of heavy thunderstorms that are not well-organized. The curved bands to the north and east of the center have disappeared, and there is no evidence of low-level spiral banding or of a surface circulation. Surface observations over the northern Dominican Republic show only light winds, with no westerly winds indicating that a surface circulation is forming. Long-range radar loops from San Juan show a much reduced amount of thunderstorm activity.

Here is the 02:00 track for Invest 97.  The system is back on track to come near the Florida Keys, but the forecasted wind speeds are 50 mph or less when it passes us.  This is less than hurricane strength and we do not anticipate any closures.  We will have to hunker down for part of Friday and then all should be well.  The sailboats will be on a dock or mooring ball.  The divers will be on land.  As soon as the system passes we will resume normal activities.

Weather Underground

Invest 98 is no threat to our area.

Weather Underground

I have a busy day today; 07:30 staff meeting, 08:00 – 09:00 continued evaluation of weather conditions and final decision regarding activities for the divers today, 09:00 – 11:30 monthly Team Meeting and at 11:30 I need to leave for Miami (I’ll be back later this afternoon).  It will be a busy day on the telephone while on the road.  Hurray for “hands free” cell phones.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape