A Helpful, Courteous, Kind port in a storm: BSA Sea Base

The latest storm forecast is for 30 mph winds by Saturday (and gale force gusts), definitely beyond our skill level. Thursday night we made plans for a very early launch to beat the storm and to use the high tide to pass over some shallow banks and shorten the distance.  By 7:30 am we were off. Some rule of twelfths calculations showed that we needed to clear the banks before 9:00 am and clear another shallow by 10:00 am in order to make the straight beeline for the Keys.
With the early start and gentle beam wind we made both marks, arriving in the Keys in late morning.

Several months ago I had contacted Captain Steve at BSA Sea Base to see if we could stop for a couple of days to resupply. Fran and I had both volunteered for the BSA for a couple of decades and I had been to the Sea Base for a national aquatics task force event. Steve generously said yes, dependent upon available space, and we confirmed dates while at Everglades City.

Sea Base is a great facility and program. In fact it is a bunch of programs for Scouts. There are live-aboard trips, sailing, and even a deserted island experience.  www.bsaseabase.com .

The scuba program certifies more PADI Open Water Divers than another place in the country.  To give an idea of that magnitude, consider that there are two scuba swimming pools and four 46 foot scuba boats, each with racks for 74 air tanks. Sea Base can put a lot of Scouts in the water!

The sailing program cooperates with private owners to keep 30 sailboats operating. The owners skipper the boat and take the Scouts out for several days, and in exchange get a slip in the harbor, access to the base for showers and meals, plus a stipend. It is a great arrangement and again gets a lot of Scouts out on the water.

We arrive just before the Spring Break rush. The place is quiet, with just one conference going on. We get assigned to a dorm and have the entire floor! That is actually quite handy as we have lots of space to spread out everything to clean, dry and repair as needed. Once again we are amazed to see how many acres of stuff comes out of the boats.

The forecast is a no go for Saturday and Sunday. We eat in the cafeteria, do laundry, take hot showers, and enjoy the setting. We are very fortunate. When the storm blows through Saturday night, it gusts to gale force (35+ mph) but we are tucked away safely. The timing and generosity of Sea Base could not have been better. It would have been a rough couple of days stuck in a tent on some island or beach.

On Saturday we visit the Sea Turtle Hospital in Marathon. The first of its kind and still one of only a few, the facility rescues and rehabilitates sea turtles. Many have been hit by boats so have gashes or even worse the impact has driven air from their lungs into their body cavity so that their hind end floats too high for them to dive for food or sometimes even lift their head enough to breath. There are also many problems with ingesting or tangling in human debris, such as plastic bags, balloons, fishing line or rope. Many turtles go through operations and rehabilitation for months or a year and are then released.  Others are permanent residents.  The visit was quite moving for all of us. www.turtlehospital.org/blog/

We use the time to complete plans for the remainder of the trip. We will finish before our son arrives to pick us up, but at Flamingo we met a local who told us about wonderful campsites in the lower keys backcountry. We will touch Key West and then circle back to the remote places while waiting. Nice plan. 

We will resume paddling Monday morning.