As many of you know, your PLC decided last summer to establish a High Adventure rotating schedule, and the plan for the summer of 2024 is to participate in one of the Adventures at Florida Sea Base. Because High Adventure planning and registration begins a full year-and-a half before an adventure actually takes place, in mid-January Troop 761 will register for one (or more) adventures to take place in late July 2024. Some of the adventures that you will need to decide on in the coming weeks include:
- Coral Reef Sailing around the Florida Keys
- Snorkeling Adventures near Sea Base and near Key West
- Camping and snorkeling from a deserted island
- Sailing in and around the Bahamas
- Sailing in and around St. Thomas and hiking on St. John
- SCUBA Diving adventures from Sea Base or on a live-aboard boat
As you can see, there’s a lot to choose from. For a full description of each possible adventure, please visit this site: https://www.bsaseabase.org/scouts/adventures/. You’ll note that many adventures have a crew size of 6-8 or 10-12, including at least two adults. If we have enough interest from the Troop, we can register for more than one adventure. Here are a few details to keep in mind:
- In order to participate, you will need to be at least 13 years old and a First Class Scout by July of 2024. In addition, you will need to be physically, mentally, and emotionally mature enough for a High Adventure outing. There are maximum weight limits for each height, and the maximum weight of any participant allowed is 295 pounds.
- You (Scout and Adult) should be a strong swimmer and comfortable in open water. As you can see, all adventures involve significant exposure to the ocean environment, but you will have plenty of time between now and then to improve your swimming skills.
- If you (Scout and Adult) are interested in any of the SCUBA Adventures, you should be a certified diver before the trip. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time to become certified before July 2024. In fact, the BSA National Capital Area Council organizes a certification program for Scouts at a greatly discounted price, usually in late summer / early Fall. We will try to leverage that opportunity to get scouts who are interested in a SCUBA adventure at Sea Base certified.
- The fee to participate is approximately $1,200 to $1,250 per Scout or Adult, depending on the adventure. This fee does not include transportation to and from the Sea Base location.
- If you decide you would like to participate, we will ask that you make a commitment in the form of a $50 deposit no later than January 18th, 2023; 10% of the remaining balance is due no later than March 1st, 2023; 50% of the remaining balance is due no later than November 1, 2023; and the final payment Is due 90 days before the adventure begins.
We realize that’s a lot of information to process, so please take a look at the Adventure descriptions in the above link over holidays and give it some thought. We will ask for commitments to attend no later than Friday, January 13th. In addition, we will host a virtual Q&A session on Thursday December 29th at 7:00 p.m. to answer any questions that will help you decide if this is the High Adventure you’ve been looking for!
