Boy Scout Troop 80 in Cranford sent a crew of eighteen scouts and two adults on the adventure of a lifetime to Florida Sea Base, the Boy Scouts’ national high adventure facility in the Florida Keys.
The crew flew down to Florida in late July, starting their activities with an airboat ride in the Everglades before checking into Sea Base in Islamorada. After a day of preparation on base, including learning how to snorkel, they were transported down to Key West to board the Jolly II Rover, their home for the next week. The Jolly II Rover is an 80-foot schooner, complete with sleeping quarters, fishing gear, and a rope for swinging off the bow. The ship was crewed by Captain Rio, Chris “Cutthroat” Martin, and two staff members from Sea Base, Sabrina and Nate.The crew set sail into the beautiful waters of the Keys, spending the week sailing, snorkeling, fishing, and swimming. Mid-week, the crew had shore leave in Key West where they toured the historic sites and visited the southernmost point in the continental US. It wasn’t all fun and games, though. The scouts were also responsible for keeping the schooner ship-shape and preparing all of the meals. Fortunately, they had lots of oranges aboard to stave off the dreaded scurvy.
There were many highlights of the trip, including spotting sharks, huge conchs, and an amazing variety of spectacularly colored fish while snorkeling. Pods of dolphins swam around the bow of the boat on two occasions, and the crew enjoyed beautiful sunrises and sunsets and slept under the stars on the deck of the ship. They returned tanned and ready to start another exciting year of scouting.
The crew was led by Shamus Garcia, and the other crew members were Trevor Aschmies, Brendan Aszklar, Frank Caldwell, Logan DesRochers, Jack Garcia, Tim Garcia, Garrett Kennedy, Zach Kornberger, Mark Lynch, Kevin McCarthy, Will O’Connor, Tim Romero, John Santulli, Rob Scheurer, Dan Stryker, Nick Stryker, and Roy James Walton. The adult advisors were John Aschmies and Roy Walton. A special thanks, as well, to Martha Garcia, who did a lot of the preparation and planning.
Cranford’s Boy Scout Troop 80 visited Florida Sea Base, the Boy Scouts’ national high adventure facility in the Florida Keys.
