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Living
High adventure on the seas
Active seniors are healthier
Historic record on display
High adventure on the seas
“Ready on the mainsail,” shouts Capt. John Duke, owner and operator of Coastal Sailing Adventures out of Little Torch Key and Oceanside Marina on Stock Island. Six Boy Scouts scramble across the deck of the 75-foot schooner Dream Catcher, unlashing sail ties and prepping the sheets to bring her wings skyward. A few others stare ahead, mesmerized by the ever-expansive horizon line and the storm-clouds that form above it. It's hard to believe that a few short days ago, many of these boys had never stepped foot aboard a boat. They've rock-climbed boulders, rafted white waters and hiked for many a mile in and around their native Indiana. But today and the days that follow, they learn to sail, fish, snorkel, and row, as well as see and learn about the indigenous plants and animals that inhabit our great chain of islands. Through their new skills and acquired knowledge, they will feel the history of the Florida Keys come alive around them. Duke's independent program parallels that of the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base in Islamorada, owned and used by scouts across the country. While both offer unique educational aquatic programs to scouts, Duke extends his programming to include college outdoor clubs, youth at-risk programs, marine science programs, schools and camps throughout the country. Duke and his wife Beti have offered coastal sailing adventures to youth for more than 33 years. Their program aboard Dream Catcher places emphasis on sailing training basics, inter-group dynamics and cooperation, positive attitude, and safety.
In order to run a large sailing vessel, everyone on board must understand what it takes - it's all hands on deck. As the boys learn, sail training covers all aspects of being on a boat, not only skills like tying a bowline or hoisting an anchor but meal prep and head duty. Ship shape, as they say. “I don't really like wiping out the toilets,” said Stephen Riffert, 12. He is the youngest participant among the crew of 12 boys, six parents, and two captains. “But you know it has to be done in order for the ship to work and for us to have fun.”
“Only there's no side to swim to,” jests Joe Beaty, 17, who admits he was, at first, a bit nervous about getting into the ocean. “The world is covered with so much water, but we're made for land. It's a whole new experience.” Others, like Cory Brewer, prefer learning on - rather than in - the water, taking his place securely behind the helm, scanning the horizon and occasionally glimpsing at the compass to better keep his course. His navigating is flawless.
“It's been extremely successful for the troop,” Lambert said. “When the younger ones were lost, the older boys took them under their wing. There really was a sense of mentoring.” Whether learning how to best slice a pineapple, bust open a coconut, drop anchor, row a long-boat or raise a sail, the troop keeps alert and aware, paying homage to their motto “be prepared.” “They've allowed no shirkers,” said Mary Anderson, scout-mother who helped the program along during the week at sea. “It's been all for one and one for all. They've done well expressing their leadership qualities.” Amid the cannonballs off the topside and conga lines across the cockpit, there are quiet moments, too. There are the bowed heads of grace at mealtimes, the scribbling of pens across journals, the intense concentration of two-hour scrabble games. There are scattered sleeping bags across the deck under the night's cool breeze, with the sleeping bodies inside them dreaming of the day's events. Some lie awake, watching the moon rise up over the horizon line, pondering boots and a deflated inner tube and family pictures in the pockets of abandoned pants found earlier during their beach-side row. “This trip was sort of an eye opener into a whole other world that I hadn't thought about,” said Matt Walker, the eldest of the bunch. As “the best high adventure trip” he's had, this Eagle Scout intends to further explore sailing and the maritime world associated with it. “I'm going to take more chances and try more things I might not have,” he said. “I'm going to keep my eyes open to the everyday things that I don't usually notice, but are actually really cool.” Now that's what you call scout's honor. For more information on Coastal Sailing Adventures, call John and Beti Duke at 304-5100. Florida National High Adventure Sea Base can be reached at 664-4173 or by visiting http://www.bsaseabase.org/. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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