Florida Sea Base

[mmmeenehan]

Troop 50, sponsored by Holy Spirit Church, Annandale Virginia is off to the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base Scuba Adventure trip next week from 1 - 8 August. If you are at Sea Base next week, say hi. We will be the ones with the light blue Troop 50 Dive Team crew shirts (or Mountain Dew shirts, if they arrive in time).

 

[Footslogger]

Hope you have a GREAT time. I led 5 crews down to Seabase in the 90's (was living in Marietta, GA at the time). Did just about everything we could with the scouts, including getting them all AOW on the last trip.

 

[tbeindit]

I always wanted to go there, but never got the chance, we're from Michigan and I just earned my Eagle so I'm pretty much done. Hope you have a good time!

 

[mmmeenehan]

Our crew just got back from the Florida Sea Base Scuba Adventure this week. We had a great time. It appears that Sea Base has been making small changes each year. The last time I was there was 2005. Changes that I noticed this year were:
1. FSB now has a Newton dive boat (in addition to Corinthians and Duskys). They are talking about getting another. We were scheduled for the Corinthians all week except for the night dive off a Newton. We were able to use a Dusky one day cause we were doing the Nav adventure dive for AOW.
2. Dive locations from the main base seem to be restricted to the area from Davis reef to Pillars. High gas prices were cited as the reason.
3. Instead of doing a commercial dive day with Florida Keys Dive Center, crews are now taken to the Brinton Environmental Center for a two tank dive on Looe Key.
4. There is now a small snack bar where one of the scuba classrooms used to be.
5. No conch ceremony after the luau.

Grady Hardin is still on staff.

 

[dmax tim]

I'm setting up a spring break trip for 08, is the diving worth doing?

hows the equipment, should we bring all of our own stuff?

I've got 6-8 interested right now.

This trip will get us the triple, we did Philmont in 06, 107 miles at NT this summer.

 

[mmmeenehan]

I like the diving, your opinion may vary. Most of the dives are not too far from Sea Base (at MM 73.8) with Alligator Reef being their local reef for the first dive and the night dive. This summer they were taking crews down to Looe Key for a two tank dive. You can research the dive locations (Alligator reef, Davis reef, Aquarium reef, Coffins, etc.)

The equipment is in good condition. You can download their used equipment sale flyer to see what they use. I was discombobulated using their gear for our scuba skills checkout session after American Airlines lost (delayed?) my luggage containing my gear for over 24 hrs. Fortunately my gear showed up an hour before our first open water dive. My newly certed crew had no problems with their Sea Base issued gear.

Congrats on your triple crown award. I think you download the application from the NT site.

I think you'll find FSB to be the least stressful of the 3 national HA bases especially if you select the scuba adventure program where you sleep in the dorms every night.

Mike Meenehan
National Capital Area Council
FSB x7

 

[Footslogger]

Lead crews 5, no maybe 6 years in a row back in the 90's out of the Atlanta Area Council. In fact, at one point I was the High Adventure Chairman for Seabase in the Atlanta area. Spent a lot of time travelling to troop meetings doing slide presentations and answering parents/scouts questions. Took the same group of boys (my son included) from basic open water to AOW at Seabase.

Can't speak to the program nowadays but if it's anything like it was back in the 90's it is a QUALITY program !! You can't beat a program where you show up, get issued equipment and go diving every day. Dollar for dollar it's one of the best deals going for kids (and adults for that matter).

We were one of the first troops to participate in the "Reef Ball" artifical reef program. I was the one who put the Reef Ball folks in touch with Seabase. They got a PADI grant and the rest is history. We layed the first reef balls and then went back each year to check on their progress. A sign (probably now eaten away by the ocean) was placed on our original reef area.

OK ...enough is enough. But needless to say I think the Seabase program is numero uno !!

 

[mmmeenehan]

We were one of the first troops to participate in the "Reef Ball" artifical reef program. I was the one who put the Reef Ball folks in touch with Seabase. They got a PADI grant and the rest is history. We layed the first reef balls and then went back each year to check on their progress. A sign (probably now eaten away by the ocean) was placed on our original reef area.

Seabase discontinued the Reef Ball program several years ago. The story I got was:
-the balls were getting blown around by storms, turning them into u/w junk
-concern about the environmental impact of the ball manufacturing process (washing of the concrete into the bay)

Our S.C.E.N.E. service project there this summer consisted of picking up the gravel kicked into the grass from the pathways and raking/weeding the volleyball court. Go figure.