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SeaBase 2008 | |
| SeaBase is one of 3 Boy Scout High Adventures. It is located in the Florida Keys. There are multiple opportunities from sailing, snorkeling, scuba diving and many others. We had 16 adults and scouts split into 2 crews. | |
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Both crews | |
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The crew of Excalibur | |
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The crew of the Island Woman Their moto - "No chumming on this boat" - you'll have to ask someone who went | |
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We flew out of Minneapolis airport on a 757. |
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Boarding the plane. Those poor people on the plane had no idea what they were in for . . . |
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Closing in on the Airport at Fort Lauderdale - almost there! |
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We stayed the first night in Florida City. About an hour away from Seabase. They had a pool for the scouts to play in. I'm not sure, but nobody else was using the pool. |
| All of our gear and crew fit into 2 vans |
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We had some extra time so we stopped at a sporting goods store. Inside was the original boat owned by Hemmingway |
Across the street was the 1935 Hurricane Memorial |
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During checkin, the scouts go through orientation.. |
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Then, off to the swim test. |
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While everyone must be a blue swimmer, everyone (including adults), must do the test |
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The dock leading to the boats |
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The ships in port |
| Our last meal on dry ground for a few days |
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| That evening, each crew headed off on their ship and the adventure was on! | |
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Life aboard the Excalibur |
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Sails up |
| Cory caught the largest fish of the week. Due to weather, the fishing was not very good |  |
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The captain of the Excalibur |
| Frequently, dolphins could be seen swimming near the bow of the boat. They were VERY camera shy and hard to get photos |  |
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The Excalibur at full sail |
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Life aboard the Island Woman |
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Everyone had a chance to sail |
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Dana caught a Silver mackeral |
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Using corn as bait, Chris caught some bait fish. We were hoping to catch a shark or barracuda using the bait fish, but no such luck. |
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Dana and Dan start to put up the main sail |
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Snorkeling was a lot of fun and the water was warm |
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At most of the dive sites, all of the boats were together. |
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Yes, that is a nurse shark |
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Lots of fish to see. We also saw an eel, many barracuda, lobsters, crabs and jellyfish |
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The captain of the Island Woman |
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Lots of boats anchorred for the night |
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| Key West | |
| Key West is a very fun and interesting place to visit. There are museums, restaurants, beaches, boats, just about anything you are looking for can be found there. | |
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The pelicans were lined up along the pier |
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One of the "tall" scout ships. |
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Another "tall" ship. They carry a crew of 24 scouts and scouters. |
| Part of the crew of the Island Woman |
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By the pier we were docked by, the scouts found a manatee |
| The scouts found 2 different manatees and I missed them both |
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Don't ask me why, but Key West has chickens and roosters running free throughout the city! |
| The start of Highway 1. This goes north to Maine |
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Roger and Roy found a different sign |
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No, we didn't try them |
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Without the picture, nobody would believe me |
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The Island Woman crew visited the Shipwreck Museum |
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At one time, this could make you a lot of money |
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Some of us visited Hemmingway's house. It was interesting. He must have liked cats (all with 6 toes) |
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Friends hangin out |
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While walking around, we found the USS Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk. |
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Always a good to watch out for |
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Looking over the bow |
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At night, Key West has street performers at one of the town squares. |
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There were 10 men holding the rope he was balanced on. He also juggled the knives over his victim while balancing on the rope. |
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What you don't see, is the ladders were balanced by 8 men holding onto ropes at each corner of the ladder. The ladder was not on any other kind of support or base. |
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More acrobatics |
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The 2 days heading back to Seabase port was very rough. 50 knot winds, waves up to 6 feet and listing to 50 degrees to each side. |
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Good thing Excalibur had a canopy, otherwise they'd be really wet! balancing on the rope. |
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| Seabase Luau | |
Upon returning, we stayed in air conditioned quarters. |
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Inside the male quarters |
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The crew of the Island Woman (I think those shirts glow in the dark) |
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Dan came in second in the limbo contest. |
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Not to be outdone by the kids, Greg went out in the next to last round (all adults had to participate) |
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The adults fell for a joke . . . |
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The Keys Blessing |
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Was it fun? I think the smile says it all |
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Gotta love palm trees |
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On the way to the airport, we had time and headed to a beach |
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Everyone had fun at the beach |
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Okay, everyone else was in swimsuits. We may have gotten a few strange looks |
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Heading back to Minneapolis |
| Seabase was an absolutely AWESOME experience!! Everyone had fun, even learned a little.
It takes real teamwork to live and function inside a 40 foot ship with 8 people for 6 days and 5 night.
Would I do it again? As all of our crew said - IN A HEARTBEAT! | |
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