Florida Sea Base News

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

It was another pleasant day at the Florida Sea Base.  The tropics are generally quiet.  There is a system off Nicaragua but it should be no threat to the Florida Sea Base.  I expect to see some tropical waves forming in the Atlantic very soon.  I am optomistic that all of our participants and most of our staff will be gone before we have a sustantial threat.

Dive Boat Mate Dan Mikalian, Dive Boat Mate Dillan Gould and Divemaster Kodiak Hengstebeck departed today.  All three did outstanding jobs this summer and I hope they can return next year.

Our General Manager, Paul Beal, is headed to New York for a long weekend.  His daughter, Catie Beal, is a Cadet at West Point.  Catie will be receiving her class ring.  Here’s what Wikipedia says about the West Point class ring:

Main article: United States Military Academy class ring

2007 West Point class ring

West Point began the collegiate tradition of the class ring, beginning with the class of 1835.^[199] The class of 1836 chose no rings, and the class of 1879 had cuff links in lieu of a class ring. Before 1917, cadets could design much of the ring individually, but now only the center stone can be individualized.^[199] One side of the ring bears the academy crest, while the other side bears the class crest and the center stone ring bears the words West Point and the class year. The academy library has a large collection of cadet rings on display.^[200] Senior cadets receive their rings during Ring Weekend in the early fall of their senior year. Immediately after senior cadets return to the barracks after receiving their rings, fourth class cadets take the opportunity to surround senior cadets from their company and ask to touch their rings. After reciting a poem known to cadets as the “Ring Poop”, the senior usually grants the freshmen permission to touch the ring.^[201]

We received several calls from people wanting to purchase used scuba equipment today.  Office Manager Ellen and Scuba Commissioner Capt. Alex have been handling those calls.  If you are considering such a purchase, it might expedite the process if you notify us via email instead of on the telephone.  Ellen and Capt. Alex are in and out of the office and might miss your call.  The email address is fsboffice@netbsa.org.  I appreciate everyone’s interest.  We buy one-third of our BCs and regulators new from Aqua Lung each year.  We use the equipment for two years.  While it is still in excellent shape, we sell it.  The income from the sales offsets the purchase of the new gear.  We are selling this used equipment for about 1/3 of what it costs new.  We do NOT sell masks, snorkel or fins.  We do NOT have any tanks available at this time.  We may sell some tanks in late September, but we can’t ship them so usually we sell them to local divers and dive shops.

Capt. Dennis Wyatt is not feeling well today.  He has a summer cold.  But he is a super trooper and is refusing to allow me to assign another captain to fill in for him.

That’s all for now.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

I am generally an early riser so I have been using that time to write my daily blog before making my way into the office.  With the end of season approaching I am going to try a different tact.  I’m going to write the post each evening.  I’m not sure what I am going to write about after the season ends.  I always welcome comments from readers and I will be happy to post your comments or stories about the Florida Sea Base if you want to send them to me.

Today was HOT at the Florida Sea Base.  For the last several days our “feels like” temperature has been in the 104º F range.  The high pressure system is starting to move a little and we have a small chance of rain tomorrow and a little better chance for Sunday.  The wind is forecasted to remain in the 10 to 15 knot range through the forecast period.  That is barely enough for the sailors to sail and is calm enough for good diving conditions. The National Hurricane Center is not showing any tropical activity.  It would be a nice way to end the season but there is still time for ugly weather to show up.

Capt. Alex Bergstedt, Scuba Commissioner, had the reins of the scuba programs today.  The next-to-the-last Scuba Liveaboard crew checked in today.  They will have a great week aboard the Schooner Conch Pearl with Capt. Denny Webb, Capt. Holley Whitley, and the scuba instructor this week, Capt. Scott Costa.   The Scuba Instructor position on the Pearl was split between Kyle Lippenberger and Sargon Smith for the rest of the season.

Capt. Alex also sold a couple of sets of used scuba gear today.  We are selling used BCs for $100 ($25 less than previous years) and regulators for $250 ($125 less than previous years) or a combo BC/regulator for $325.  The same setup would cost you $900 or more even at a discount dive shop.  Shipping is $7.50 per item and we have to charge sales tax (sorry, but the Florida Comptroller slap us on the wrist for failing to do so a few years ago).  There is a flyer with more details posted at www.bsaseabase.org.  Click on “Used Scuba Equipment Sales” to see the flyer.

I did engine room chores this morning including servicing the house batteries, cleaning the sea strainer for the air conditioners, and replacing the thermostat for the aft a/c unit.  Th aft a/c is still acting up a bit but I hope it’s only because the water and the air temperatures are so high.  This is an ongoing problem.

Three of the true “oldies but goodies” of the Coral Reef Sailing program are headed north along the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida to the respective homes Sunday morning.  The flotilla includes Capt. George Clements and his wife Tabby on S/V Silver Crow, Capt. Giuseppe Passanisi and his wife Rose on S/V Silent Harmony, Capt. Gerald Dowling and former staff member Andrea Jones aboard S/V Miss Jerry and Capt. Bob Morris, his wife Kim and a friend on S/V New Dawn.  These three captains must have about 45 years of experience in the Florida Sea Base Coral Reef Sailing Adventure.  Fair winds and following seas – I wish you the best.  Capt. Bob submitted the following comment:

It’s not quite 0630 Sunday. I’ve done one last check on weather between Sea Base and Tampa Bay (south St. Pete.) It appears I’ll be motoring back home! At least it will be i n nice weather. I’m accompanied by my new (May 1) bride, Kim and a friend. We’ll be shoving off as soon as I retrieve my dinghy, which I almost forgot!

I would like to thank all of the staff and the other captains for making this a FANTASTIC first year for me. The galley and commissary, who kept me well fed; too well! My goal of losing 25 pounds this summer faded with the last sunset. The Coral Reef mates who got my crews to me and took care of them as necssary, as well as assisting with docking and departing. The other captains who made me feel at home and part of the team. Some new friendships have blossomed in the process. You have also assisted with sundry projects, lending tools and advice, and most of all, encouragement. The staff who kept things running so smoothly and doing boring little things like, say, taking care of checks! The crews, without whom none of this would be possible. Last but not least, Kim, who supports my endeavors and stands beside me.

I’m looking forward to seeing all of you next year for another great season. Until then, fair winds and following seas.

Bob
S/V New Dawn

Back to the office tomorrow morning.  I have plenty of budget issues to keep me busy for weeks.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

IF the forecast holds, the Florida Sea Base will not be effected by what was Tropical Storm Colin.  At 20:05 EDT Tuesday the storm was downgraded by the National Hurricane Center to “a trough of low pressure”.   The system is still forecasted to track east of the Bahamas and will be monitored for potential redevelopment.  As of 02:05 EDT there were three tropical waves in the Atlantic and Caribbean.  One of these bears watching but will pose no threat for at least several days.  Our local weather remains to be very good.  We do have a few spotty showers creeping into the area, but nothing of significance.  We had a 10 minute shower yesterday morning during breakfast.

The “static kill” operation at the Deepwater Horizon site started at 16:00 Tuesday.  From what I am reading, there does not appear to be a “Plan B” if this fails.  The site is blessed with decent weather.  Let us pray that this maneuver is successful.

Simply because it continues to be an issue with arriving crews, I want to remind everyone that Coral Reef Sailing, Scuba Adventure, Scuba Certification, Scuba Liveaboard, Out Island, and Keys Fishing Adventure do NOT spend a day in Key West as part of their Florida Sea Base adventure.  If you are registered for one of those programs and want to go to Key West, you will need to come a day early or stay a day late and make your own arrangements for visiting Key West.

I was permitted to drive BSA Explorer yesterday with three crews on board for their final dive at the Florida Sea Base.  I want to thank Mike Patten for being my First Mate for the trip.  The divemasters on the boat included Christy Clemenson, Brittany Haury, Paul Lipsky and Kevin Wilson.  Kevin just arrived last night to fill in for Meghann Michalski who is bailing out on us early this summer.  We went to a spur and groove reef formation named Three Peaks.  The divers attained a maximum depth of 50 – 55 feet and stayed down for about 40 minutes.  The water temperature was 86º and the visibility was 70+ feet.

Also in scuba related news, I would like to congratulate Meghann Michalski and Christy Clemenson for recently receiving the Master Scuba Diver Trainer certification from PADI.  MSDT is the second level within the PADI instructor hierarchy.  If Christy’s parents are reading this, I think it is my duty to let you know she is considering legally changing her name from Clemenson to Awesome.  James Bond introduces himself as “Bond, James Bond”.  Christy wants to be able to say, “I’m Awesome, Christy Awesome”.  She explained to me that she feels it is only fair to warn others of her “awesomeness”.

Today is another scuba arrival day (only three more after today).  We are hoping for an uneventful check-in, but little glitches do tend to present themselves.  Ellen will be prepared.  She is our official “first impression” of the Florida Sea Base.  She greets all of the arriving crews with enthusiasm and she is very good at resolving most of their check-in issues.  I usually get the call when their is a major issue.  (I’m the bad guy.)

I will miss the early part of the check-ins.  The full time staff is meeting this afternoon to set our assumption for attendance for the 2011 programs.  This in turn controls our budget assumptions and limitations.  The Florida Sea Base is essentially self sustaining.  We do get donations from time to time.  But almost all of our income is from campers’ fees.  There is no “subsidy” from the National Council or elsewhere.

Here we go again.  It’s opening day at the Florida Sea Base for about 100 newly arriving participants.

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

The Florida Sea Base management is closely monitoring the progress of the tropical wave (designated Invest 97) located between Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.  We may have a meeting at 08:30 to discuss the threat.  For now, the existing weather system is causing us enough grief even if Invest 97 doesn’t intensify.  The bad news is that the forecasted path for Invest 97 continues to be towards south Florida or the Keys.  The GOOD news is the forecasted wind strength has been dropped from over 80 mph (category 1 hurricane strength) to 60 mph ( tropical storm strength).  Sixty miles per hour is still a lot of wind, but the effects of the wind are more logarithmic than linear so 20 additional mph of wind can cause much more damage.  For today we are expecting 20 – 25 knot winds with 9′ seas at the reef line.  While conditions could improve in the next three hours, at this point I am pretty sure I will have to ground the dive boats for at least today and tonight.  Nine foot seas are too dangerous for our generally inexperienced divers (one of whom got beat up by the ladder trying to board the boat at the end of a dive 2 days ago), hard on the boats, and hard on the moorings (one of the moorings at Conch Reef was damaged in the past few days).  All of the Coral Reef Sailing boats are operating on the Gulf of Mexico side of the islands.  The wind is blowing, but the seas on the bay side are only 2 feet or so.  They will likely stay hunkered down in the lee of some of the islands and spend the day fishing and snorkeling.  Even with the possible approach of Invest 97, the local forecast is calling for less wind tomorrow and Friday than for today.

Courtesy of Weather Underground

I drove BSA Explorer yesterday morning.  The wind was 20 knots and the seas were consistent 5′ waves with legitimate 7′ rollers coming thru regularly.  We went to Long Key Ledge which is about 25′ deep.  The visibility was 30′ or more.  The divers onboard were doing their last dive of the week so we were back in time for lunch.  Capt. Tom was on BSA Adventure and went to a site named Three Peaks with similar conditions.  He also returned at noon. Capt. Carol was on BSA Eagle and Capt. Dennis was on BSA Tarpon.  They were out all day.  The conditions worsened in the afternoon.

I have some Plan B proposals to discuss with my staff and then with the scuba participants for today’s land based activities.  I have a lot to tend to this morning.  Be safe.  If your children or spouses are here at the Florida Sea Base we will be keeping them safe.

If you are scheduled to arrive in the next three or four days the base will be remaining open and you should continue with your scheduled plans.  If the weather changes to the point that we cannot accommodate you, we will let you know in three ways: (1) we will call the registered adult leader of the incoming crews, (2) information will be posted at www.bsaseabase.org, and (3) information will be posted at this site.  I understand that you may have concerns, but calling the Florida Sea Base won’t help.  It will tie up the phone lines, but all we can tell you is we are monitoring the situation, we will contact you if the conditions warrant and we are operational at this time.  The current weather conditions are unrelated to Invest 97.  The current weather conditions are not life threatening, just too bumpy to safely get divers on and off the boat at the reefs.  Everyone here will have a good time today.  In many ways it’s not much worse than getting rained out at a camping event.

We rarely get rained out at the Florida Sea Base, we get blown out by too much wind.  That’s what happened Friday; too much wind.  And weather that interferes with program is always a downer.  But I heard a story that shows there is the possibility of humor even when the chips are down.  I heard this third hand so I’m not sure about the accuracy, but it sounds about right to me.  Charles Harvey is one of our Divemasters who attended the 2009 Divemaster Academy.  Charles, Chuck, Chuckie (he seems to be going through an identity crisis right now) is doing an excellent job.  Apparently he was somewhat puzzled as he was nearing the surface at the end of a dive – it was SNOWING UNDER WATER.  Well, at least for a few seconds it SEEMED like snow.  Until Charles looked towards the surface and saw someone barfing scrambled eggs on top of him.  I know it’s gross.  But it’s true AND it’s funny.  Capt. Dennis needs to include this story in his next book.

Despite the wind, the Coral Reef Sailing boats made it safely on and off the dock throughout the day.  The small sailboats got to do their thing under mainsails only.  There was just TOO much wind for headsails.  The divers had a tough day.  There were long boat rides in search of good visibility and seas calm enough to allow for entries and egresses without endangering the divers.  The dive boat captains (Capt. Carl, Capt. Carol, Capt. Dennis and Capt. Tom) did an excellent job of keeping their divers safe and entertained.

Capt. Rich spent Friday afternoon in Key West visiting with Captains Skip and Deb Bradshaw from the Schooner Pirates Lady and I think he also met with Capt. Bill Malone, owner of the Schooner Jolly II Rover.  Sailing Commissioner Matt McClure and Scuba Commissioner Capt. Alex Bergstedt had the day off.

I comment on the weather almost daily.  If you click on the Weather page of this site it gives average monthly air and water temperatures and some other helpful information.  I recently added the Links page.  The page alignment is giving me a fit, but it still has some useful information.  (I will ask my computer wiz son to align the spacing one of these days.)

I am off this morning but thought I would get this posted as early as possible.  It’s going to be another tough day for the divers.  The wind is trying to lay down a little, but not enough to really help.  NOAA’s forecast:

Today…East winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas beyond the reef 4 to 7 feet. Seas higher in the gulf stream. Seas inside the reef 2 to 3 feet. Nearshore waters choppy. Isolated showers.

Tonight…East winds 15 to 20 knots early…decreasing to near 15 knots late. Seas beyond the reef 4 to 6 feet…subsiding to 3 to 5 feet late. Seas higher in the gulf stream. Seas inside the reef 2 to 3 feet. Nearshore waters choppy…becoming a moderate chop. Isolated showers.

Today is the last day for the Sunday rotation of the Scuba Certification and Scuba Liveaboard crews.  I am always disappointed when the weather is uncooperative on anyone’s last day.  Even though I obviously have no control over the weather, I almost feel like I should apologize.

Ending on a positive note, the cap is still holding this morning at the Deepwater Horizon site with no major negative consequences so far.  Billy Nungesser is the president of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. He was quoted as saying, “For the first day, we’ll be pulling more oil out of the Gulf than is leaking in.  We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but that’s a very long tunnel.”

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Yesterday the oil flow was halted from the Deepwater Horizon drilling site.  This is not a permanent fix, but any interruption of the oil flow is great news for the world.  This is a temporary fix and oil will likely flow again soon.  But hopefully this device will help reduce the amount of oil being discharged into the Gulf.  There is a decent summation from www.msnbc.com.  Click to follow the link.  The report is too long to copy here.  As I said, the best part of this is they have finally made a step towards getting this mess under control.  Maybe a baby step.  And definitely a temporary step.  But a positive step – at last.  And that is encouraging.  We want this flow stopped.

Thursday got off to a decent start with the Florida Sea Base staff in a much improved mood.  The ACA inspection went well.  The only glitch in the day was a squall that come through around 14:00.  The sailboats from the small boat sailing program were overwhelmed by the wind.  The storm lasted about 30 minutes but three of the four small boats needed to be towed in.  No one was hurt.  Two of the jib sails took a beating but everything else looked okay.  Also the night dive was postponed until tonight due to an approaching squall line at departure time.  The divers had an exciting day with 5′ seas.  The forecast for Friday and Saturday calls for more rain and wind but the weather should start settling down a little after that.  Here’s the official marine forecast from the National Weather Service in Key West:

Today…East to southeast winds near 20 knots and gusty. Seas beyond the reef 4 to 7 feet. Seas inside the reef 2 to 3 feet. Nearshore waters rough. Winds and seas higher in and near numerous showers and scattered thunderstorms.

Tonight…East winds near 20 knots…decreasing to 15 to 20 knots after midnight. Seas beyond the reef 4 to 7 feet. Seas higher in the gulf stream. Seas inside the reef 2 to 3 feet. Nearshore waters rough…becoming choppy. Winds and seas higher in and near scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms.

Chrystene Matthews, Director of Food Services, and Maria Donovan, Ships Store Manager, bought this cool shirt for Capt. Dennis Wyatt in celebration of his book (The Bald Man and the Sea) selling out of its first printing.

Capt. Dennis Wyatt

It you are not familiar with it, the picture on the front of the t-shirt is his book cover.  VERY cool.

Cathy Hamilton sent this very kind comment:

You guys & gals are amazing! Our troop sent a group down for a scuba adventure. One of our scouts only was able to get Scuba Diver certified. I told him I wasn’t sure you would even let him dive. Not only did he get to dive, you were able to finish his certification for Open Water Diver! That’s going way above and beyond the call of duty! My hat’s off to you and your staff! Thanks for this great blog–I’ve really enjoyed reading it!

Thank you very much, Cathy.  The staff is amazing and we do what we can to make our programs an experience of a lifetime.  I will admit that we miss the mark sometimes; but that is the rare exception.  The vast, vast majority of our crews leave here very satisfied.  And what is really cool is when you connect with that one kid and you literally see them light up.  And if we do everything just right, no one sees the massive effort the staff put into our programs.  When everything goes right, all the participants see is a bunch of staff members having fun in the process of providing a safe high adventure experience that will be a lifelong memory.

With that said it’s time to make some magic for another day.  Today will be tough because of the weather.  But we will find some sunshine and great memories will be created today.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Yesterday was the last day on the water for a while for Capt. Rich and me.  Today is an off day for the boats we were driving and Captains Carl and Tom should be back to work on Thursday and resume command of their vessels.  Today Capt. Rich and I will be in the office dealing with “management” chores.  We will get to drive an occasional trip now and then, but it was a real treat having a crew for a week; just like the good old days.

Yesterday I took the triple crew from Missouri out for their final dive (this week) at the Florida Sea Base.  We also had three special guests; Paul Beal, General Manager, Dana Beal, Mrs. General Manager, and Capt. Alex Bergstedt, Scuba Commissioner.  They were on a (successful) mission to catch fish for the saltwater aquarium.  We went to a very large patch reef named Labyrinth.  The visibility was outstanding again.  The water was about 30′ deep and the water temperature was 85-86 (as it has been all week). Capt. Rich took his crews to a nearby site named Boink.  (No, I don’t know how it got its name.  Let’s say two boats collided there and made a “boink” noise.)  We came back to the base for lunch and for the crews to begin their check-out process.  They had luau last night (dampened a little by a brief rain shower) and depart after breakfast today.

The America Camp Association (ACA) inspectors will be at the Florida Sea Base Thursday and at the Brinton Environmental Center Friday for our accreditation inspection.   Their inspection is only every second or third year (compared to the BSA’s annual inspection) but it involves a greater number of standards (many of which don’t apply – like wearing helmets while riding horses).  Director of Program Rob Kolb has been tasked with overseeing the inspection process and assuring that we are in compliance with over 200 camp standards (or at least the applicable ones).

There is nothing of a tropical nature expected to develop for the next week.  We are expecting rain locally for the next three days but it shouldn’t be enough to have much affect on our programs.  We are Scouts after all and it is high adventure.  We can handle a little rain.

It will be a little sad to see the Missouri crew depart.  It was a real treat to get to work and interact the participants for a week.  They were very kind.  Each crew completes critiques at the end of the week.  One of the questions asks them to rate the staff members.  The top score is a 10; they gave me a 20!  You just don’t receive that type of gratification doing budget.

It’s time to report to the salt mine.  Deep breaths.  Happy face on.  It’s “opening day” today for six Scuba Adventure crews, one Scuba Certification crew, one Sea Exploring crew, and four Coral Reef Sailing crews (108 new smiling faces with high expectations that we intend to exceed in every way possible).  Plus we will have 32 Coral Reef Sailing participants on the base for their mid-week fun day.  Then their is the luau line-up: four Coral Reef Sailing crews, one Eco Adventure crew, and one Sea Exploring crew (64 participants).

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

Yesterday tried to be a typical Monday at the Florida Sea Base, but I was driving a boat all day so I missed much of the drama (yaaaaa!!!).  I started my morning on S/V Escape publishing yesterday’s post.  As I mentioned in that post, I had gotten up at 03:30.  I re-read the post last night and noticed some typos.  I think I corrected all of them and then I updated the post.  Sorry for the mistakes, but it was 03:30 and I was tired.  Anyway, from Escape I moved on to the office and worked on emails prior to and following the 07:30 staff meeting.  Breakfast was shortly after 08:00 and then I reported to the BSA Explorer.

BSA Explorer was loaded and we left the dock around 09:30 with the gung-ho Missouri crew aboard plus one Florida Sea Base staff member (Gwyenne) and two Brinton Center staff members (Byron and Tom) aboard to complete some of their Open Water certification dives.  Our first stop was a patch reef named Ham.  This is a 30′ dive and the divers were down for an hour, maybe a little longer.  Then we moved to Davis Reef, a ledge type reef and home to the Buddah statue that seems to intrigue people.  The water is about 25′ at Davis and the participants were down for another hour or more.  Shortly after we arrived, S/V Wandering Star under the command of Capt. Dennis Dugas arrived with a Coral Reef Sailing crew and they moored on the ball next to us.  We moved the boat one more time to an unnamed location near Cheeca Rocks where the water was 20′ deep so the staff members could complete another training dive while the participants enjoyed lunch.  We were going to move again, but everyone was having a good time where we were so we stayed.  We returned to Florida Sea Base at 16:15.  Did I mention that we missed the rain yesterday?

Today will be the last day I get to drive the dive boat for a while.  That’s kind of sad for me.  Wednesday I’ll be behind a desk all day.  Air conditioning is greatly appreciated, but overall it’s much nicer sweating on the dive boat than stressing in the office.

I know most of the people who read this little blog are Scouts, Scouters, or parents of Scouts or staff or a combination of these.  That being true, most of you still honor family and church values.  If you are looking for something “wholesome” and fun for all age groups, something that your family can enjoy together, take a few minutes to check out Tim Hawkin’s website.   Tim is a friend and a great, clean, family oriented comedian.  If at all possible, make it to a live show.  If not, CDs and DVDs are available through his website.  I have been to four shows and folks 8 – to 108 have a ball.  He plays mostly in churches, but there is no sermon; just clean, comfortable and affordable venues.  You can also see Tim on YouTube.  His videos have well over 50 million viewings.  I have never “endorsed” anyone in my blog before.  But Tim is truly Scout appropriate and LOTS of fun.  While the CDs and DVDs are great fun, the live performances are the best way to enjoy Tim’s humor.  (Plus they are very affordable.)

It’s about 04:50 and I’m going to try to lay back down for a while.  I’m really dreading returning to the office this afternoon; budget, scheduling, policy reviews, staff management, hiring, firing, troubled staff, uncooperative adult leaders, medical issues, management meetings, camp inspections, emails and telephone calls.  I love my job!  Fortunately I’ve been listening to “The Best of Bonnie Raitt” while working on this post.  My mood is easily effected by music.  Her music is uplifting and makes the whole day better.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape