Florida National High Adventure Sea Base

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Florida National High Adventure Sea Base

Campsite data
Owner	Boy Scouts of America
Location	Florida Keys, Florida
Country	United States
Founded	1979
Founder	Sam Wampler
Attendance	11,223 (2006)^[1]
Website	http://www.bsaseabase.org/
Scouting portal

Keys Blessing
Bless the creatures of the Sea, Bless this person I call me, Bless the Keys you made so grand, Bless the sun that warms the land, Bless the fellowship we feel, as we gather for this meal, Amen
—John Hammond

The Florida National High Adventure Sea Base is a high adventure program base run by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in the Florida Keys. Its counterparts are the Philmont Scout Ranch in northern New Mexico and the Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases in Ely, Minnesota.

The main Sea Base is located in Islamorada, Florida on the end of Lower Matecumbe Key. Other bases include the Brinton Environmental Center located on Summerland Key, Out Island on Big Munson Key and the Bahamas Sea Base in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas.

The Florida Sea Base Conference Center has become an alternative training site to the Philmont Training Center. Most conferences it hosts are for professionals or national level committees, but it also hosts conferences for outside groups.

1 History
2 Programs
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

In 1975 a handful of volunteers from Miami, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia got together to develop a high adventure program using the waters in and around the Florida Keys as their foundation. They asked the then Camping Director of the South Florida Council, Sam Wampler, to coordinate trips to Freeport in the Bahamas. Sam, using his station wagon and a warehouse, operated this program until 1979. Unable to find a director for this ever growing program, the committee convinced Wampler to become the first Director of the "Florida Gateway". Under Wampler's leadership, the National Council received a 1.3 million dollar grant from the Fleischmann Foundation. Following some extensive research, the Old Tollgate Motel and Marina was purchased. That original 6.3 acres (25,000 m²) became the beginning of what is now known as the Florida Sea Base.

Since that original gift, there have been several other grants and purchases which have allowed the base to grow. From 1990 to the present, the growth has been dramatic with the addition of a third dorm, a conference center, conference housing and a new maintenance building. The original restaurant was also given a major facelift. A new chapel was created and a 45 feet (14 m) Corinthian catamaran was also purchased. In April 2005, a new 46 feet (14 m) Newton dive boat was purchased.

[edit] Programs

Sea Base offers the following week-long programs:

Bahamas Adventure is a sailing trip operating from the Bahamas Sea Base.
Bahamas Tall Ship is a similar trip aboard a tall ship.
Out Island Adventure is a trip where participants live on the "desert island" of Big Munson Key. Participants travel by sea kayak to the island; activities include fishing, snorkeling and canoeing.
Coral Reef Sailing is a sailing trip aboard a pair of small sailing boats.
Sea Exploring is a sailing trip aboard a large sailing vessel.
Florida Keys Adventure covers various activities in the Florida Keys, including snorkeling, fishing, sailing and visiting Out Island and Key West.
SCUBA Certification is a scuba diving certification program.
SCUBA Adventure is a SCUBA program for certified crews.
SCUBA Live-Aboard is a SCUBA program for certified participants that combines the sailing and scuba diving programs.

Other programs include:

Divemaster Training Academy certifies participants as PADI Divemasters.
OA Ocean Adventure is an Order of the Arrow prgram that includes one week of SCUBA Certification, and one week of environmental restoration work in the waters of the Florida Keys. OAOA is a counterpart to the OA Trail Crew at Philmont and the OA Wilderness Voyage at Northern Tier.