August 25, 2004
Scouts survive Sea Base
Local Boy Scouts enjoy high adventure on Florida Keys island
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Kayaking, deep sea fishing, snorkeling at night and camping with swarming hordes of mosquitoes were just some of the challenges faced by 41 Boy Scouts from two area troops.
Twenty-four Boy Scouts from Troop 30, based at Trinity Lutheran Church, and 17 scouts from Troop 31, based at St. Francis High School, enjoyed a high adventure trip to the Boy Scouts of America's Sea Base Camp in the Florida Keys.
Members of Troop 30 left on July 25 and returned to Traverse City on August 6, including five days of touring in Miami with their trip. Members of Troop 31 headed to Florida on July 31 and returned on August 8.
Members of each troop also completed a service project during their stay at Sea Base.
Deep sea fishing is something that Jon Doherty, 15, a patrol leader for Troop 31 will remember from this trip. Using chum, the scouts trawled for Mahi Mahi and dolphin fish, relishing the time on the sparkling waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
"It's a challenge reeling them in," said Doherty, an 11th grade student at St. Francis High School. "They pull a lot more and when you're trawling behind the boat and it picks up, you have to be awake."
As a patrol leader, part of Doherty's mission was to set an example for others during difficult times, such as coping with the island's biting pests. During each troop's four-day stay, countless mosquitoes swarmed enthusiastically around the campers on Big Munson Island, the remote camping area in the Florida Keys that is part of Sea Base.
"The biggest challenge was keeping an easy mind, keeping up good spirits," Doherty said. "It is a challenge to be a leader because as a leader I had to keep other people's spirits up. Someone counted 73 bites on their arm alone."
Taking scouts on a high adventure quest is a great way to promote both personal growth and teamwork for the participants, said Chris Stein, scout master for Troop 30 for 10 years.
"What we hope that they'll get out of it is that they'll step out of their box," said Stein, whose four sons have all been involved in scouting, three achieving Eagle Scout rank and one on the way.
Getting out of their comfort zone, in terms of food, temperature, sleeping conditions and discomfort, prompts the scouts to turn inward and to each other. Stein added that being physically fit was not enough, the boys had to be - or learn to be - mentally fit.
"That they'll find out something about themselves that they didn't know before," Stein said. "Our hope is that these boys will find a kind of iron in them, learn that they can do things that the didn't think they could do."
Doherty acknowledged that the trip matured him both as a leader and as a scout.
"You come home and have a feeling like you've survived, like a good feeling that you've accomplished a great task," he said.
Stein said that although the two troops tried to coordinate their trip, their four-day high adventure camps did not overlap. But they did coordinate an intense phone campaign this winter during the four-hour sign up period to book a slot this summer.
"You have one day that you can call, starting at 10 a.m. and it is first come, first served," noted Stein.
He and Dave Sliwinski, scout master for Troop 31, had seven people on seven different phones dialing non-stop for an hour and 40 minutes before someone got through.
"Whichever one got through first handed the phone to the other troop when they were done," he added.
Stein and his troop spent extra time sightseeing and touring in Florida after their high adventure camp. He realized that finding lodging for 24 scouts and the accompanying eight adults would be a challenge, both logistically and financially. The grandmother of a troop member stepped in to help and connected with the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Training Center in Hialeah, Fla. Major Scott Mack welcomed the troops for two different visits.
Members of Troop 31 bunked at the facility two nights before their high adventure camp and members of Troop 30 stayed their five nights after their camp. In both cases, the Marines and the Boy Scouts discovered a winning synergy.
Members of the 8th Tank Battalion shared MREs with the boys, provided cots and a sleeping area, let them use the weight room and gave a tour of the facility. Scouts from Troop 30 also played 'grown up' Marine video games, used at the base for training.
"They were really good to us," Sliwinski said. "This group of Marines were the first Marines in Baghdad and they talked about their experiences there."