Sea Base Day One
And so let the Sea Base adventure begin!
Early, very early yesterday morning six scouts (Will S, Charlie S, Matthew, Nino, Felix and Jack) and two scouters (Mike T and yours truly) were kindly driven to BWI by Francesca and Ellie for our flight to Florida and the BSA High Adventure camp at Sea Base.
We checked in, we ate breakfast, we flew south and we hopped in a shuttle that took us down the Keys. After a couple of hours we arrived at Sea Base. Check in was simple (thanks Francesca for getting all the paperwork done) and we started to dream of a mid-afternoon nap under the palm trees.
Oh no! That was not to going to happen anytime soon. Our dive master (Josie from Culpeper, VA) kindly instructed us that we should drop our gear in the dorm and report to the classroom! It was time to learn. No nap!
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the classroom, followed by dinner and then, you guessed it, another hour in the classroom. Supposedly getting PADI qualified means you actually have to learn this stuff.
After school the boys spent the latter part of the evening playing the staff at volleyball, which didn’t end too well for the boys from McLean. Not only did they lose but were hot, sweaty and covered in sand. Here’s the slight difference from camp with the younger scouts, to a man they went to the dorm, grabbed their stuff and took a shower! Awesome.
Today will be more classroom, then a swim test (part of which is you have to float for 10 minutes!), then hopefully if all goes to plan we hit the pool and start this breathing under water malarkey.
Sea Base Day Two
Day two complete. Classroom work complete. First pool dive complete!
Gotta love sleeping in an air conditioned dormitory on a soft fluffy bed. A tad different from Cap Pipsico!
Day two started much like day one ended – in the classroom. We got up at a very civilized 7:30 and headed to flags followed by breakfast. After we ate we headed to the Chart Room.
Jose had miraculously changed into a Will overnight (she got a sinus infection and can’t dive for a few days). Will was joined by Max as our two dive instructors. Close your eyes and picture two blonde, tanned surfer dudes and you have just met Will and Max!
We completed all the sections of the book, done all the pre-exam work and then took our final! No pressure, but you have to pass to continue. We all did which was quite a relief (especially for me … can you imagine if I’d failed … lordy).
A pretty good lunch (burgers and a great fresh fruit bar) was followed by equipment allocation and then off to the pool. Yet another swim test (my 29th this year!) was done by all (it was a little further and harder, 400 meters and a 10 minute float) and then it was gear on time.
On went the fins, mask and snorkel and then the cool stuff. Our BCD (the floaty thing) and tank slipped on and then we took our first breaths underwater. Now that was really cool!
We went through some basic underwater training, regulator out, back in, mask clearing and using your buddy’s spare regulator. All did a great job and we headed off to the deep end. This was followed by weight dropping and recovery. We spent about 25 minutes under water and once we surfaced it had begun to rain. Pretty amazing going under in full sun and popping back up in the rain!
More pool work today, more food and no naps. It’s a hard life in the Keys!
Sea Base Day Three
Day three is in the bag and we are done with our pool work.
Our day started at the usual time and was followed by breakfast outside watching the boats bob up and down (all meals are outside). A beautiful spot to attempt to eat the suspect eggs, dodgey sausages and interesting toast!
As we were eating breakfast Florida decided to give us an early morning light show. A pretty major thunderstorm rumbled through but with all the storms here it seemed to last about 5 minutes and then before you knew it, out popped the sun and all was forgiven.
At 9 we gathered near the pool and prepped for the first of 4 dives we were doing yesterday.
Three themes are starting to take shape this week, firstly Matthew (our fearless crew leader) WILL forget his water bottle wherever we go. Secondly, Nino will resist putting on sunscreen (although reluctantly does each time as Will S. threatens to beat him) and thirdly, when we’re setting up our gear, one of us WILL walk away with a tank in the upright position. The latter drives the dive dudes crazy! It’s obviously a dangerous thing to do as the tanks are really heavy and would hurt if they fell onto a little unprotected toe.
They have given us enough warnings already that from now on every time it happens we need to buy them a milk shake and $4 a pop this is becoming a problem. We did it SIX times yesterday!!!! I was leading the pack with two leaves, joined by Matthew, Charlie, Felix and Nino. The Touses and Will S. are feeling pretty special right now and can’t believe the level of stupidity in their fellow team members, especially a certain scoutmaster.
Our dives all went well and we had a blast. Each dive lasted between 30-45 minutes and we are now ready for the open water! Today we take to the seven seas and will begin diving with the sharks and everything else that is likely to eat us, sting us or generally try to mess us up (according to big brave Will S.).
Sea Base Day Four
S-s-s-s-s-s-s-shark!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awesome day yesterday. My first time diving in the sea for 27 years and the boys first time ever (just for your info Mike T. is already PADI qualified and is using this as a refresher!).
After breakfast we headed to our boat the BSA Burglar, where we met the captain and mate (another surfer dude). After we loaded our gear we headed to the kitchen (on land) to make our lunch. Bagged it up and lobbed it gently into the cooler. Inside each dive cooler is a special treat, 3 pineapples (one for after each dive). And I can tell you it’s a real treat.
We headed out to sea and after cruising for about 30 minutes we arrived at our first dive site, Alligator Reef. We did two dives here and basically repeated a lot of the training we had been doing in the pool (regulator out back in, mask off and on, sharing air with your buddy, equipment off and on, controlled emergency ascent etc etc ). It was just so cool to be doing it at 25 feet below the surface with loads (and I mean loads) of little fish coming to check us out.
One of the skills we practiced was heading off on a bearing and returning to the same spot. Now I know how most of the scouts struggle in the woods when we’re orienteering, imagine doing it under water! On our compasses there is no little red needle and no little red shed (sorry Mr. Johanson), instead we have a black boat that needs to get into the black harbor (i.e. north). We all managed to execute this pretty well. I would hate to have to do this over a really long distance, those damn currents a tricky little monkeys.
We saw several barracuda, a turtle, rays, an eel, beautifully coloured fish of all different sizes and of course the highlight of my day (and maybe life!) a s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-shark! It was a 15 foot great white! OK, maybe not. It was actually a very shy little nurse shark about 4 feet long hiding in one of the ledges. But still, we saw a shark!
Our third dive was a 20-minute drive away. During the drive we said the Keys Blessing and ate lunch.
Bless the creatures of the sea
Bless this person I call me
Bless the sun that warms the land
Bless the Keys you made so grand
Bless this fellowship we feel
As we gather for this meal
Amen
We arrived at the Labyrinth Reef, anchored and got our gear on and were ready to go. This was a beautiful reef and we spent most of this dive exploring it and executing a few more of the skills we needed to practice – just a great way to spend a Wednesday. Our two surfer-dude dive instructors are great. They’re “cool” enough to banter with the boys but absolutely focused when it comes to teaching us to dive. Messing around and not concentrating are NOT options.
We then headed back to Sea Base. It was about a 45 minute run and when we got back we readied the boat for today’s fun (tanks off, tanks on, cooler off and cleaned) and then cleaned/rinsed our gear.
Rinse and repeat today – 3 more dives. I just hope the boys realize how lucky they are and how special this place is. It’s a delicate environment and one we need to fiercely protect.
Remember, touch nothing, take nothing and leave only bubbles!
Sea Base Day Five
S-s-s-s-s-s-s-stonefish!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yesterday was clear and sunny all day. Air temp was varying between 85-90 and the water temp was a beautiful 85. Not a wetsuit in sight.
Another three dives were completed. Our first on Long Key Reef and then two dives on the Pyramids of Atlantis.
All week the dive dudes have been warning us about sea sickness. The boats we dive from are, even in a gentle swell, thrown around like a little rubber ducky in the tub attempting to dance to country music. As a team we are split down the middle as to who needs to take meds. We’ve taken them and miraculously all of us have been fine.
Today, however, all of a sudden as we arrived at dive one Will (dive dude 1) was leaning over the side releasing whatever goodies he had inside! The Captain insists on good volume, good distance and good form! A small slice of pineapple followed and he was good to go.
The Long Key Reef dive was our last dive before we completed certification. This time we had to lead the dudes around the reef and back. Sounds simple but is a tad daunting as it is very disorientating down there (even with a compass). We took it in turns to lead and all made it back to the boat! Pineapple time.
A short drive over to the Pyramids of Atlantis and we were ready to go. These are piles of bridge rubble that are laid out like a bowling pin set prior to the first strike (in my case they are in the same formation after both my goes!) and form an artificial reef.
The captain asked what music we wanted (they’re very keen on music at all times, running out, running back, during the tank exchange) and we thought it was for when we got back onboard and didn’t really think too much about it. In we hopped and began our dive weaving in and out of the pins seeing lots of fish. And then it started, Pink Floyd the Wall! In between breaths I could hear Comfortably Numb playing. I began to breath much slower and leave gaps in between so I could hear the music, unbelievably cool. At one point we just stopped, floated just above the sand, breathing really slowly and listening to the music, magical.
During our last dive we saw a really well camouflaged Stonefish. These little fellas are not good for you and incredibly venomous. We stayed back, had a good look and then headed off. As we are now certified we can take cameras down so hopefully I got a good shot of the fish and maybe one or two of the boys underwater.
Once back onboard we pineappled and then headed back to Sea Base. This time we listened to Dire Straits.
Another fun day and today we dive three more times and then round off the day on at a snorkel reef and play the boat rodeo (I let you know what that is when I find out!!). Both the captain and mate are from Texas and we’ve been promised Texas rock as our musical theme for today (yay for us!).
Sea Base Day Six
Only one more day to go and we’ll be back inside the beltway staring at parked cars, grumpy drivers and lunatic cyclist all clad in their little lycra numbers riding like they’re in a time trial at the Tour de France and if they slow down at all their shorts will spontaneously combust!
Yesterday we visited three beautiful spots, Eagle Ray Reef, Floyd Aquarium Reef and Who Hubb Reef. Once we arrive at each site the captain comes down and draws the reef on a whiteboard. He orients it with a compass needle and then tells us a little bit about it, where we should go, what we should expect to see and the best way to navigate it. It wasn’t until we were doing our log books last night that we realized the “Floyd” and the “Who” refers to which band is playing when you’re diving!!! The captain loves his music.
We saw eels, turtles, another sssssssshark, lots of lobsters, a pretty big sting ray and the usual array of beautiful fish.
After our three dives we headed to a snorkeling reef. This is where the captain got very excited. He came down and started to explain the Fender Rodeo! He clearly enjoys this way too much as he went into great detail about the name of the horse we would be riding, where in Texas it was from and how excited it was to come out to play.
The fender is simply a fender (or Silver as the captain called it) used on a boat. The idea is to jump off the side of the boat with Silver between your legs and ride him for as long as you can. Just as in a real rodeo, your back hand has to come of the strap before your time starts. Well, we all had a go and as you can imagine it didn’t go too well. Mr. Touse lasted the longest on the first round (about 1 second) and round two was taken by Will S. with about a 10 second ride. Ridiculous, but fun.
We then had 20 minutes to mess around and Max (dive dude 2) tried to teach the boys back flips off the boat. This did not go too well for most. The most appalling attempts were definitely by Charlie, closely followed by Jack. Matthew and Nino attempted a synchronized pair flight and had a mid-air collision. Will S failed miserably on his first attempt but then got it. Sensible Felix, Mr. Touse and I simply watched in bewilderment!
At flags last night we had to follow the tradition of all newly qualified divers (yeah right) and get up in front of everybody and sing a song, complete with hand gestures. To the tune of Pomp and Circumstance it goes …
My turtle swims sideways,
Your turtle swims upside down,
My turtle swims sideways,
Your turtle is dead!
One more dive today and then pack-up time.
A great week, all newly certified PADI divers and to a man will miss this place.
Sea Base Day Seven
Glad you all had fun watching the Nats win last night.
Well, that’s it! Breakfast will be followed by a drive north to Ft. Lauderdale and a short plane home ride this evening.
Yesterday was a beautiful clear and really hot day. Because we are now “divers” we left the safe confines of the BSA Burglar and joined the big boys and girls on the BSA Enterprise (same type of boat just a bit bigger). One last dive on the Landing Strip Reef and we were done. This is a long rectangular ledge reef, about 30 feet down and easy to navigate.
As soon as we hit the bottom we grouped up for a team photo and then the dive dudes gave each of us a handshake and our Sea Base patches … a fun moment.
On this dive we spotted a pair of lionfish, lots of grumpy looking moray eels, rays, a massive lobster and our usual buddies the yellow, blue and multi-coloured fish.
As we were about to leave Max had to hop back in the water and release the anchor, which had got stuck under a small ledge. We then got up to cruising speed and Max and Will were chatting to us about the dive when Max calmly looked at us and said, “well, it’s been a fun week guys” and went to the side of the boat, gave a Nixon-esq wave, and jumped off!!
A man overboard drill ensued. Obviously all planned, but it was still quite a cool way for him to jump in. We threw him a floaty and then steamed off at full speed and began to execute our Williamson Turn (luckily Mr. Touse was able to explain what the heck was going on!). Another one of the BSA boats was then called in to pick him up. We then saw our first sighting of dolphins for the week and were told by the remaining dive masters that it was because of our sacrifice (i.e. poor old Max) to Poseidon.
Once back at base, we rinsed our gear and then ate lunch. Lunch was followed by a brief siesta and then we checked all our gear back in, cleaned our room and completed the final paperwork.
Last night was our special treat, the Luau! On each crews last night they get to wear Hawaiian shirts (yay … please treat that as an English sarcastic yay), eat a great meal of fresh fish and shrimp, play various beach type games and then wrap up with (thankfully) a few skits and then each dive master takes his crew off for a roses, buds and thorns session.
Back to work tomorrow … sad typing fingers with a little sniffle closing out from Sea Base!