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About 18 months ago, we applied for a Sea Base Adventure. We didn’t really know much about what we were getting into. In fact, we barely knew anything. We picked the Out Island Adventure because it sounded like a full-throttle experience and that’s been our theme for the last little while. Click the image to see the whole gallery.
Fast forward to August 4th, 2011, 6 scouts and 2 adults boarded an airplane bound for Key West, FL. This was a High Adventure trip but strangely, we did very little to prepare for it. Since preparation is what we do; it felt downright uncomfortable.
We arrived in Key West around 2:00 pm on Thursday. We went straight to the hotel, checked-in to our rooms and went to grab lunch. After lunch, we visited the Key West Aquarium, the Southernmost Point of the U.S., Mallory Square and walked down Duval St. Somewhere along the way, the boys had each picked up a yellow helium balloon. They ended-up tying them together into one very long chain that reached 25 or 30 feet in the air. Mr. Carlisi and I walked behind them all the way down Duval St. and had a great time watching the people try to figure out who these boys were with the giant balloon string.
We eventually made our way back to the hotel and the boys went swimming. We tried to get them interested in dinner but that never worked out. Despite not being hungry, they enjoyed ice cream in their room while the adults had a nice quiet dinner at an Italian Restaurant next door.
Friday morning we got up, packed, checked-out and went back down Duval St. to visit the Shipwreck Museum. We learned about the “Wreckers” that used to salvage ships that sank on the reefs surrounding the Keys. There is SO much Key West history involving famous wreckers, spongers, captains & businessmen. After a great lunch at Sloppy Joe’s, our shuttle arrived and we were on our way to the Brinton Environmental Center.
Brinton is on Summerland Key about 20 minutes north of Key West. Our first impression of Brinton was how nice the facilities were and our second impression was how laid back everything was. Usually the “high-adventure” check-in procedures are long and arduous. Our Sea Base check-in took about 5 minutes; long enough to turn in medical forms and answer a few questions about our crew.
While I was checking the group in, the rest of the gang was introducing themselves to Kylie, our Island Mate. Kylie was with us for our entire Sea Base experience, from the time we stepped off the shuttle van until the time we got back on it 7 days later. Kylie was a force to be reckoned with; a ball of energy and enthusiasm. One of the first things she told the group was that if we didn’t have our “man pants” on during our time together, she would have no problem showing us up.
After introductions, and an iguana capture, we settled into our dorm, changed clothes, got our snorkel gear and went into the water for swim checks. After an hour or so of playing in the water, we showered and got ready for opening flags. During flags and dinner, we had the first of what was to be our daily afternoon thunderstorm.
We attended a very spirited opening ceremony after dinner and a slideshow about Big Munson Island. We learned a little about its history and the flora and fauna present on the island. We learned about Key Deer (a descendant of Virginia white tail), Vacacoons, Silver Rice Rats, lots of birds, and Poisonwood “P-Dub”. Poisonwood is a tree that is found on the island that makes Poison Ivy sound like a trip to Disney. After the program, we went back to the dorms to enjoy A/C for the last time.
We woke up Saturday morning, packed our dry bags and put the rest of our stuff in a locker. Into the locker went all electronics, including watches. From that point on, we were on Island Time. For the rest of our adventure, we didn’t worry about what time it was. We got up when the sun came up, we ate when we were hungry and we went to bed when we were tired. In between all of that, we piled up one adventure after another.
After doing a few chores and having lunch, we loaded up our 8-person war canoe and set a course for Big Munson Island. Big Munson is a 100 acre primitive island that was donated to the BSA in 1982 by Homer Formby. The island is undeveloped except for a dozen or so campsites. There is no running water or electricity on the island. It’s primitive and awesome. The trip to Big Munson is about 6 miles; a fair amount of paddling. All 6 crews took a break at the ½ way point to do some swimming and snorkeling. After the break, we paddled into the harbor outside Big Munson and spent several hours snorkeling on Munson Rocks, a protected barrier reef about 15 minutes south of the island.
After snorkeling, we paddled into the harbor, moored our canoe and waded onto the island. We setup camp while Michael & Jordan waded out to the docks with a kayak to retrieve our week’s worth of food and water. After unpacking, the boys prepared a spaghetti dinner, we cleaned up and crashed.
Sunday started very early. Kylie woke us up a couple hours before sunrise for a little outing. We walked over to Big Munson’s front yard and jumped in two-person kayaks. Using the moonlight, we paddled across the island’s lagoon and entered a large mangrove maze. It was pretty cool to work our way thru the maze and emerge on the other side of the island. Along the way, our paddles stirred up the bioluminescent’s in the water causing them to glow. You had to look for it but like so many other little things, it was worth the effort.
Have you ever worshipped on a Sunday morning by sitting in the dark on a kayak waiting for the sun to rise? No sounds, no artificial light, nothing to take your focus off of the incredible world that was created for us. It was our first morning on the island and what an amazing way to start. After soaking in the sunrise, we made our way back to camp and the boys made pancakes.
After breakfast and some free time, we sat out for a tour of Big Munson Island. We didn't cover the whole 100 acres but we did spend a few hours learning about the plants, trees and animals on the island. Being a barrier island, tons of different things wash up on the shore, including Cubans. Among other things, we saw a raft on the beach carved from a hollowed-out tree.
After lunch, we gathered up our snorkeling gear and paddled about 1/2 an hour out to a patch reef to snorkel fish. Snorkel fishing was a really unique experience. It's done with a plastic reel called a yo-yo. The yo-yo is rigged with fishing line, a weight & a hook. Instead of using a bobber, you actually snorkel up above the fish and watch for them to take the bait. We fished for Grunts, a bait fish we would later use to fish for shark. While we fished, a Southern Stingray swam circles beneath us. He was probably 3 feet from tip to tip and he seemed to hang out with us forever.
After our snorkel-fishing expedition, we made our way back to camp for dinner. The after-dinner show turned out to be a pretty big storm that put us to bed. Our first full day on the island was jam-packed with activity and the crew was exhausted.
Day 3, our second full day on the island, started when the sun rose. This was going to be our deep-sea fishing day so everyone was really anxious to get going. Our captain arrived and we waded out to the pier to load up and get underway. We ran out quite a ways and came up on a large group of Frigate birds swooping down and feeding on bait fish. The captain threw in a line and we were fishing. We trolled and moved until we finally got a hit. Jordan was first up so he took the rod and reeled in a Yellowfin tuna. The tuna wasn't on the boat very long before the captain filleted it and we ate it. The boys didn't all love it but they all tried it. Sashimi, on a high-adventure scout trip, good stuff.. We trolled around for awhile longer and hooked another fish. Chris fought a large Blackfin tuna all the way up to the boat but unfortunately the under-sized rig didn't hold out long enough.
By now, a large storm had built up between us and the island and most of the fleet was scrambling to get to high ground. We were forced to stop fishing and head towards home. The ride home was pretty exciting, we had wind, driving rain and some pretty good seas. While the crew was hunkered down, being pelted by rain, we looked up and Kylie had her snorkel gear on and was standing in the middle of the boat having a great time. That image pretty well described our Island Mate, always smiling, always having fun and always up for anything that came our way.
We eventually made it back to the island with a few small fish. Adam, Brian & Chris took turns cleaning their catch and we headed in for dinner. Fortunately, a couple of the other crews had gone out earlier and caught more fish than they could eat. While we were trying to figure out what else we were going to eat, plates of tuna and Mahi Mahi arrived in our camp (along with some Wasabi powder and soy sauce). Along with a huge plate of seared tuna, the boys made a batter out of pancake mix and breaded the Mahi Mahi and a bunch of onion rings. Chris & Brian also cooked their fish in foil packs and tore thru them. Dinner was absolutely amazing; we ate every ounce of fish we had.
After a short stint in a food coma, the crew rallied and prepared to go night snorkeling out on Munson rocks. The paddle out to the reef was awesome. As we paddled, we experienced the most amazing sunset. We sat there for quite awhile and took in the complete silence and calm water. That will be a tough sunset to beat. Once the sun went down, we finished our paddle and moored up at Munson rocks. Night snorkeling was fantastic. Everything we had experienced earlier while snorkeling was now completely different. We could see shrimp everywhere; their eyes reflected our lights like crazy. We saw tons of different fish, crabs that almost glowed in the dark and a few members of our crew even saw an Octopus.
After a couple of hours of night snorkeling we headed back to the floating pier to try our hand at shark fishing. While we were getting setup, the crew on the other pier caught a nurse shark and a barracuda. Our fishing was pretty slow so the boys started spotting lobsters on the sea floor around us. 60 seconds later, Brian was in the water with the net chasing lobsters. He eventually caught two and had a third in the net that got away. Lobster can move incredibly fast; who knew.. Along the way, we saw a couple of squids and Brian, our amateur marine biologist, managed to make both of them ink. For whatever reason, that was really funny. Day 3 ended with the boys cooking up the larger of the two lobsters and eating him for dessert.
Day 4 started off with a beautiful sunrise. My alarm clock was a baby Key Deer crying for his mother about 2 feet from my hammock. Down on the beach, where the boys were sleeping, were a few more Key Deer foraging thru the sea grass that the tide had brought up overnight. I took a few pictures from my hammock before putting on my shoes and following the deer down the beach. I walked just behind the group for nearly an hour. Along the way, Mr. Carlisi joined me and we watched the sun come up over the group of canoes tied up in the harbor.
We made our way back to camp and got the coffee going. Kylie wandered into our camp shortly after we did and she gave the boys a break by making breakfast. Snails, Sashimi, Lobster and now perhaps the most daring meat of all...Spam! Kylie fried up the Spam and mixed up the powdered eggs and we feasted. Today's agenda was snorkeling on Looe Key and a conservation project. We drew the conservation project first so we listened intently as she described the "project". A Key Deer had gotten tangled in a lobster trap while swimming between the islands and had become a grim welcome sign at the entrance to the Mangrove maze. Chris and Brian volunteered to kayak out with Kylie and 3 folks from another crew to recover the deer. While they were doing that, the rest of us waded to the back of the island to dig a grave and build a marker. We slogged thru mud that was nearly waist deep in parts and by the time we made it to our destination, burying our little friend wasn't too hard. The boys completed the task and we went back the way we came and headed straight out into the bay to de-mud.
After lunch, we got our snorkel gear together and waded out to the pier to meet the boat that was taking the remaining 3 crews out to Looe Key. They had water jugs with ice, which was pretty sweet after a few days of drinking warm water. The reefs at Looe Key were outstanding; we could see why it's the 3rd most dived site in the world. We were also greeted by tons of jelly fish so everyone had to work together to avoid them. The coral and the marine life around the reef were amazing. Several of us saw a 6 foot shark, barracuda, lobster, parrot fish, etc. Too much to even keep track of. Those that were finished snorkeling now switched to doing flips and diving off the boat.
After a few hours of snorkeling, we went back to Big Munson and prepared for the potluck dinner and dessert contest. The tradition at Big Munson is to cook what you've got left on the last day and get together with the other 5 crews in your rotation for a feast. The boys made a spanish rice and chicken dish that was actually really good. They also made a cherry cobbler that placed 3rd in the contest. Our last night on the island was concluded with a great closing campfire full of traditions that I won't tell you about. Good stuff that you'll have to experience for yourself.
Day 5 started with a bang, a storm blew up right as the sun was coming up. It was quick but enough to clear the beach of sleeping scouts. We had our final breakfast and packed our gear for the paddle back to Brinton. Before we left the island, we invited Kylie to sit with us on our front porch (a place we were really fond of by now) and participate in Roses, Buds & Thorns. After a great RBT, we waded out to our canoe and shoved off. The current was ferocious that morning and several of the crews got pushed way off course. Fortunately for us, our island mate knew the drill and we didn't waste any time getting across the channel and past the hardest part. After a short break, we finished the trip and rolled into the Brinton harbor. After unloading our island gear, we got the rest of our stuff from the locker and made our way back into the dorm for the first shower in 5 days. 5 days is a long time when you apply sunscreen, bug spray and an oil-based lotion a couple times a day. Everyone had their own marine layer.
The homebound crews (us) had cheeseburgers for lunch and several hours of free time. We celebrated with ice water and a couple loads of laundry. The day ended with a big seafood dinner, crew skits and a luau with plenty of games and camaraderie. We survived the Out Island Adventure together and we celebrated together.
Our last day was a quick one. We woke up, did a few chores, had breakfast and checked-out. Kylie and the boys played volleyball while we waited on our shuttle. After 3 years and 4 seasons on Big Munson Island, we were Kylie's last Sea Base Crew. She was leaving a few days later to start a new job in California.
Our high adventure trip turned out to be just that. I wouldn't have ever imagined that we could cram that much adventure and that many new experiences into the time we had. It was really an amazing experience and I'm confident that we'll send more crews to Big Munson in the future.
Thanks to the adults that made this possible. Mrs. Carlisi booked our travel and made it really easy for us, Mrs. Brady filed the tour permit, Mr. Kosofsky drove us to the airport, Mrs. Neukranz picked us up. Huge thanks also to the Buercklin's; when we arrived in FL, my camera wouldn't power on and the Buercklin's dropped what they were doing and overnighted their's to Brinton so the boys would have plenty of photos to remember this trip. I'd go anywhere with Mr. Carlisi; his unselfishness and willingness to serve is an outstanding model for the boys. Enjoy the pictures and the stories to follow.
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