Florida Sea Base News

The traffic will be easing past the Florida Sea Base enroute to Key West later today for the start of the Labor Day weekend and the end of summer.  Capt. Rich and Capt. Carol have friends visiting and will likewise be west bound tomorrow.

Capt. Rich was a huge help today with the seasonalization of the 2011 budget.  It really is much easier to do with two (or more) people instead of doing it alone.  Lloyd King of the National Office was also a big help in getting me started.  It’s hard to remember how to use this software when you only do it once a year.  Mr. King is the BSA’s Microsoft Forecaster® guru.

It looks like Hurricane Earl is starting to fizzle.  That is great news for the northern US Atlantic coast states.  Hurricane Fiona is going to stay well east of the US.  TD Gaston apparently floundered yesterday but the National Hurricane Center says this the storm may regenerate.  We’re not out of the woods yet.  The wave that I mentioned yesterday should become more notable in about 2 days and another wave will spill off Africa 2 to 3 days after that.  Busy, busy.

Locally the weather is gorgeous.  Except for the tiny but potent cell that hit us at about 02:10.  I poked my up to see if everything was okay topside.  A couple of night fisherman had found temporary refuge at our fuel dock.  As soon as conditions allowed I saw them heading back out, soaked but in good spirits.

Lindsay Kuc sold two sets of scuba gear and one regulator yesterday.  She was born for retail sales.  She also painted in the Thomas Building for much of the day.  Dave Rumbaugh slaved away working on scuba tanks all day.  He is a hard worker.

I’m headed in early today but to the Galley, not the office.  We are without a cook currently so I went to the store yesterday and plan on helping the staff prepare some bacon, eggs and potatoes this morning.  It will be a nice change from bagels and cereal.  I’m hoping for hamburgers for lunch, but we’ll see what happens.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

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

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 are enjoyed yet another beautiful weather day at the Florida Sea Base.  Invest 95L has become Tropical Depression 6 and is forecast to be Tropical Storm Danielle by morning and probably Hurricane Danielle by Monday afternoon/evening.  There is a chance that this one will recurve into the Atlantic and not threaten any land mass.  Hope for the best, but prepare for the worse.  For the Florida Sea Base, this system is of minimal concern at this time.

Today was my day off.  Capt. Alan Robinson of S/V Sinbad was able to get my a/c functional yesterday so I moved out of the scuba dorm and back onto the boat last night.  The unit still has some issues, but it is making cold air.  I am hoping we can get the other bugs worked out, but I think I can get by with it for now.

No new crews arrived at the Florida Sea Base today.  No crews came in for their mid-week day.  No crews returned to the base for their luau.  As a matter of fact, the last sailing crew of the 2010 summer season had their luau last night and are headed home this morning.  We still have one Scuba Liveaboard crew at sea (until Monday) and five Scuba Adventure crews completed their last dive of the week this morning.

Because the remainder of the hurricane season is forecasted to be so active, we are considering having two of the Newton 46′ Dive Specials and the 45′ Corinthian from the Brinton Environmental Center hauled (taken out of the water) and stored in dry dock.  We also plan to remove as many  of the smaller boats (18′ – 28′) as we have trailers for.  The boats are safer out of the water and with the seasonal staff departing it would be a monumental task for those who are remaining to properly secure all of the boats in the event of a hurricane making landfall in our area.

In an attempt to clear out the pantry, refrigerator and freezer as much as possible, we were allowed to have ice cream at lunch today.  It was a rare and welcome treat.  I think the ice cream was left over from the 4th of July celebration.  Even ice cream has an expiration date.  So it was eat it or toss it.  Our staff is proud of it’s “green” attitude.  So we decided it was in the best interest of the environment if we ate it all.  I thought we should ship it to the arctic circle to help replace the melting icebergs.  But I was out voted.

After lunch (and ice cream) I went to the grocery store.  Since I was still full from lunch (including the ice cream) I didn’t buy much.  My plan is to eat as many meals as possible in the Galley while it’s still open.  By the first of the month I will likely be on my own for meals.  Due to the heat inside the boat, cooking is generally limited to cooking and the grill and using the microwave.  I try to avoid using the stove or oven.

I apologize for posting this so late.  Around 19:00 we had a really nasty thunderstorm come through and as soon as that was over I was called out to handle a non-weather related issue.  It’s almost 22:00 and I’m just getting back aboard.  So much for a day off.

I hope you enjoyed your day.  More tomorrow.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

It was a glorius day at the Florida Sea Base.  The last Coral Reef Sailing crew and the next to last Scuba Liveaboard crew returned to the Florida Sea base for their luau.  We have one Scuba Liveaboard crew still on the water.  All other programs have ended for the summer 2010 summer program season.  We will almost certainly complete the summer program season without a hurricane!!!

Speaking of hurricanes, the system off the west coast of Africa is becoming better organized and has been officially designated Invest 95L.  The following is from Dr. Jeff Masters’ WunderBlog:

Posted by: JeffMasters, 10:35 AM EST on August 20, 2010

Forecast for 95L
A ridge of high pressure will force 95L to the west or west-northwest for the next five days, and the system should increase its forward speed from its current 5 – 10 mph to 15 – 20 mph by Monday. A series of two powerful troughs of low pressure are predicted to move off the U.S. East Coast next week and cross the Atlantic; these troughs should be able to pull 95L far enough to the northwest so that it will miss the Lesser Antilles Islands. The long term steering current forecast from the GFS model indicates an above-average chance of recurvature of storms approaching the U.S. East Coast through the end of August, followed by a near-average chance of recurvature for the first week of September.

Elsewhere in the tropics
A tropical wave in the western Caribbean approaching Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is generating disorganized thunderstorms, and the wave does not have enough time over water to develop into a tropical depression before moving ashore tonight or Saturday.

Today was a little busier than yesterday at the Florida Sea Base.  OUR VERY LAST CREW of the 2010 summer season checked in (late) today.  Two Coral Reef Sailing crews came to dock for their mid-week day.  One Coral Reef Sailing and the last Sunday rotation of scuba crews had their luau this evening.

Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground says the tropical storms and hurricanes are about to be unleashed.  Todays WunderBlog deserves to be read.  The changes happening in Europe and Africa are forecasted to start churning storms within the next week.  We have our monthly Team Meeting of the permanent Florida Sea Base staff tomorrow.  Our hurricane plan may be shifting into high gear very soon.  This is NOT my favorite time of year.

Sea Exploring Mate Dylan Nigh and Coral Reef Mates Sophie Stokes, Max Disser and Valeria Jurolekova departed today.  Capt. Rich was off this morning for a doctor’s appointment in Miami.  Matt McClure, Sailing Commissioner extraordinaire, is off payroll today and leaves tomorrow.  Matt has done an EXCEPTIONAL job this summer.  Thanks for a wonderful summer Matt.

A few days ago I was “surfing the web” and somehow stumbled  across a website for military type dog tags, www.dogtagUS.com.  They offer “A Scout is Friendly” special for Scouting units.  The company owner, Neil Henson, is a former Scout.  I have never purchased anything from the company so I can’t really offer any type of endorsement.  But if you are looking for dog tags for your Troop or Crew, I encourage you to check out the Scout special.

We have a small chance of showers this evening.  Everything seems to be under control.  More tomorrow.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

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

Good morning from the Florida Sea Base!  Invest 95 is not forecasted to grow to more than a 31 mph tropical wave.  It’s still bad news for the Louisiana coast but shouldn’t grow much bigger.  Invest 96 might grow to tropical depression strength and then a hurricane by Tuesday.  If so, it would be named Bonnie and yesterday all of the computer models concurred that it  would follow a path very similar to Hurricane Alex.  This morning the computer models are all over the place.

Invest 96 - Weather Underground

Alex from the Charles L. Sommers Alumni Association sent the following comment regarding parmalat:

The taste difference is due to flavor being lost as part of the UHT process. It is no different than any other pasteurized product on store shelves. If I remember the preferred method for dairy is HTST — used for packaged products like soft serve or frozen yogurt mix as more flavor is retained.

Alex maintains a great website and blog that deals primarily with Northern Tier at www.holry.com.  I hope Coach Carl G. Boyles and all of the staff at Northern Tier are having a great summer.  I have met most of the permanent staff and they are really nice folks.  But I’m not sure that I have met anyone nice enough to get this thin blooded sailor to go dog sledding in Canada in the heart of winter time.  Sorry guys.  That one is NOT on my bucket list.  Maybe we could go sailing to the Bahamas instead.

Yesterday was a big scuba check-in day.  It went pretty smooth.  We have one adult leader who arrived unhappy.  As is more frequent than we hope for, instead of submitting the crew medicals on 01 March in compliance with Florida Sea Base procedures, he waited until last week.  There was a medical issue with his son and the youth was disqualified from scuba diving.  That is the EXACT scenario we try to avoid by sending medical forms far in advance (usually October of the year preceding the reservation).  It is hard on all of us to deny a youth participation – especially when they are a week away from arrival.

But everything else went GREAT.  The staff all did a great job with new sailors arriving, new scuba arriving, old sailors departing, old scuba crews departing, sailing crews in for mid-week activities, special 4th of July activities, and all the routine efforts that are required to “make the magic” happen for our participants.

So here we go again.  Staff meeting at 07:30 (45 minutes from now), flags, breakfast and then a full day of program magic.

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