Florida Sea Base News

I have discussed this before, and season is winding down, but it bears mentioning for those planning to attend in the future.  At this time, the Florida Sea Base does NOT require strict adherence to the FDA height/weight recommendations.  This could change at any time.  For now, the absolute maximum weight for participation at the Florida Sea base is 295 pounds.  This is regardless of height or fitness.  An 8′ tall professional football player in peak physical conditioning cannot participate if he weighs more than 295 pounds.  This policy is made very clear in Part D of the Annual BSA Health and Medical Report form, in the Florida Sea Base Participant’s Guide and on the Florida Sea Base website.  If you appear to be near our limit, you will be weighed during check-in.  We had grounded several people durning the 2012 summer season for exceeding the 295 limit, two of them on Sunday.  This is very disappointing to the individual and to the youth participants in the crew.  Please do not put yourself or the Florida Sea Base in this embarrassing position.  And don’t forget, at any point in time the National Office could require us to adhere strictly to the FDA guidelines as Philmont and Northern Tier does.

There were no issues of significance at the Florida Sea Base Monday.  One of our divemasters did a magnificent job of stubbing her big toe.  But she was a trooper and didn’t even cry.  Hopefully she will be able to dive today.  We are tight on staff so if she can’t dive, oh my gosh, I may have to go diving.  Nobody wants that (except me).  But wait.  One of the dive boat captains sent a text.  He is not feeling well so I may have to drive the dive boat today.  This is like the good old days; work on budget, answer phone calls, send emails, fix the scuba compressor, drive the boat and dive with a crew all at the same time.  Not bad for someone born in MCMLII.

The tropics are fairly quiet today.  The remnants of TD7 have some chance of reforming.  Invest 93L is alive but turning away from us.  A new wave has slid off the coast of Africa but has not been designated as an Invest system yet.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground had this comment in Monday’s post:

Another area to watch this weekend will be the Gulf of Mexico, where a fall-like cold front is expected to stall out. Though no models are showing tropical storm development will occur, wind shear is predicted to be low to moderate this weekend, and cold fronts stalled out over the Gulf of Mexico often serve as the seed for tropical storms.

Coral Reef Sailing boats are heading for home; Captain Scott and Admiral Gail Penfield are leaving the dock today.  Like the Penfield’s most of the other captains are planning on leaving the day after their last trip.  Captain Joe Wischmeire and Captain Ed Marill live in the Keys and will end their last trips at their residences.

I’m running late.  Have a great day.

Oops.  I forgot to include this disclaimer yesterday and almost forgot again today.

I hope you enjoyed this post.  I need to remind everyone that this is a private site and is NOT owned, maintained or sanctioned by the Florida Sea Base or the Boy Scouts of America.  Any questions or issued raised by comments on this site should be directed to Captain Steve Willis at 305-393-7373 or Steve.Willis@scouting.org or by clicking on the comment button.  Please do not contact the Florida Sea Base directly.  They are not responsible for any comments made on this site and some of the individuals do not appreciate my blog adding to their workload.  More information can be found on the ABOUT page on this site.

Capt. Steve Willis
Professional Scuba Bum™
PADI CD #39713
Aboard S/V Escape 

Wowy-zowy; the wind is howling.  Our maximum wind speed was 30 knots yesterday.  Otherwise, the weather is quite pleasant; low 70s and lots of sunshine.  Courtesy of the National Weather Service:

Friday And Friday Night…East winds near 25 knots and gusty. Seas beyond the reef 6 to 9 feet. Seas higher in the gulf stream. Seas inside the reef 2 to 4 feet. Nearshore waters very rough. Isolated showers.
Saturday…East to southeast winds near 20 knots and gusty early…decreasing to 15 to 20 knots. Seas beyond the reef 6 to 9 feet early…subsiding to 5 to 8 feet. Seas inside the reef 2 to 4 feet. Nearshore waters rough early…becoming choppy. Isolated showers.
Saturday Night…Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots early…decreasing to near 15 knots. Seas beyond the reef 5 to 8 feet early…subsiding to 4 to 7 feet. Seas inside the reef 2 to 3 feet. Nearshore waters choppy early…becoming a moderate chop. Isolated showers.
Sunday…Southeast to south winds 10 to 15 knots…becoming southwest to west and decreasing to near 10 knots in the afternoon. Seas beyond the reef subsiding to 2 to 4 feet. Seas inside the reef around 2 feet. Nearshore waters a light to moderate chop…becoming a light chop. Isolated showers.
Monday…Winds becoming northeast to east 10 to 15 knots. Seas beyond the reef 2 to 4 feet. Seas higher in the gulf stream. Seas inside the reef around 2 feet. Nearshore waters a light to moderate chop. Isolated showers.
Tuesday…East winds near 15 knots. Seas beyond the reef 3 to 5 feet. Seas higher in the gulf stream. Seas inside the reef around 2 feet. Nearshore waters a moderate chop. Isolated showers.

Scuba tank preparations are coming along nicely.  They still have a long ways to go, but we will be ready for the onslaught of scuba crews arriving on 13 March.  The facilities department will spent a few days making additional preparations in the scuba area next week.  Several additional scuba staff members arrive on 10 March and that will help us meet our deadline.

Capt. Carol and I talked a little while this morning and she is now on a crusade to do what we can to protect our carrying capacity on the dive boats.  The solution may cost a pretty penny, but we may not be as impacted by the new limitations as some of the other dive centers.  We have some smart cookies working for us and tend to creative ways to meet these challenges.

Captains Dennis, Allan and Mike have returned after a successful oat delivery to Belize.  Maybe Capt. Dennis will find time to write an essay on the adventure.  If so, I’ll post it if he will let me.

The refrigeration guy diagnosed the problem with Escape’s refrigerator yesterday.  Another week and $500 – $600 and it should be chillin’ like a villain.  I’m scheduled to drive to Aventura this morning to see the fat doctor.  But I may put that off until next week.  Gas prices have hit $3.75 a gallon here and the weekly trip is getting to be pricey.  I am considering an every-other-week schedule to save gas money and wear and tear on the car.  The good news is I’m still losing weight.  The bad news is I’m not losing as fast as I was and I am struggling with my lack of patience.  Losing weight is expensive.  Besides gas and doctor’s bills, I have given away most of my clothes in the past two weeks.  I’m only replacing what’s absolutely necessary because, if all goes well, I should lose another size or maybe two before this struggle is over.

Capt. Steve
Aboard S/V Escape

One of the frequent questions we are asked has to do with the recommended weight guidelines included on the FSB Health and Medical Record.  Many of our leaders are aware that Philmont requires strict adherence to the guidelines.

The policy is a little different at Sea Base – at least for the time being.  The weight guidelines are meant as a guide for the participants and their doctors.  If the participant is overweight for their height according to the guidelines, they can still participate at Sea Base provided their doctor approves.  However, there is an absolute maximum allowable weight of 300 pounds regardless of how tall or how fit a participant may be.  There are two primary reasons for the 300 pound limit.  First, the ladders and other equipment on most of our boats cannot accommodate a 300 pound load.  Second, in the event of an in-the-water emergency that rendered a participant unconscious, egressing a 300 pound person from the water onto a vessel is nearly impossible.  Just try to imagine removing a limp, 300 pound person from the water, up four to six feet of freeboard (on a sailboat), on a rolling, pitching vessel when only one or two rescuers may be immediately available.

This policy is subject to change so please check this website from time to time for any updates.  I am also positive that there will not be any changes to this policy in 2010.  However, the National Office is creating some pressure for all BSA facilities to strictly comply with the weight / height guidelines.  There is legitimate reason for their concern – most fatalities within the BSA are adult leaders having heart attacks and most of those victims are significantly overweight.  So stay tuned.  If there are any changes, they will posted here immediately.