Troop 209 – Silver Springs, MD

 

What an amazing group of Scouts and Leaders that did their very best at every task….and did themselves proud. We were fortunate to have steady winds all week (very unusual for this time of the year) because this was definitely a sailing crowd! We put on the miles throughout the week all under sail. They came together as a crew quickly and we got a lot done because of that. They had some fun excursions at Hope Town and at Nippers on Great Guana Cay. We also got in some fantastic snorkeling on some ocean reefs and flew in the current on the Iron Cay drift dive. We packed it in and had a blast.

Thank you to Troop 209 you did yourselves proud and we are very proud of you too!

Captain Thomas & “Admiral” Linda

 

Larry said he got to be very good at sleeping sitting up when he was in the Navy. ?Caught ya!

 

Captain is explaining to Emile how to sail close to the wind

 

Off to Nippers!

 

The ocean reef dive on Fowle Cay

 

The water really is this blue. ?Unbelievable!

 

John was fishing but no catching….sorry!

 

Dr. Cox tied a good clove hitch. ?Good job Doc!

 

Having fun riding the bow sprit!

 

Mom, this one is for you!

 

Galley Crew making delicious french toast for breakfast. ?Yummy!

 

Father and son really enjoying this time together

 

Ok Gordon, time to get in the water

 

Plum tuckered out!

 

Look at those “Stud Muffins”!

 

Off on another great snorkeling excursion!

 

See you later. ?Have FUN!

 

Looks like Larry got his clove hitch right!

 

Uh oh – Did EJ do it correctly?? ?Or course he did!

 

Sam is thinking…”Now what do I do??”

 

Harrison, our navigator and chart plotter at the helm! ?YEAH!!

 

Just hanging with my buddy!

 

Enjoying an evening sail on the bow sprit

 

We sailed into the night. ?Pretty cool!

 

We enjoyed every minute of the night sail!

 

What do you all see??

 

Snorkeling in paradise

 

Chris is ready to go find some sand dollars…and he did!

 

There goes Chris………..

 

John gives thumbs up and ready to Goooooooooo!

 

Hey James, you are thinking to hard!

 

Eric has it down!

 

Hey Conner, now what do you do?

 

Gordon is always smiling when he is doing things. ?It is so nice!

 

Still sound asleep. ?Harrison is NOT a morning person!

 

Good Morning CREW! ?Time to rise and shine!!

 

Yes he got his water bottle back from the sea. ?Rescue at sea!

 

Uh Ohhhh – Niall dropped his water bottle over board while under way and he had to go rescue it.

 

Getting ready for another great snorkel. ?What will you see this time?

 

We had such a good time together!

 

Where are you going now? ?Oh the drift dive at Iron Cay!

 

Chillin’ out at Captain Jack’s restaurant

 

Thanks Dad – this was great!

 

The Spannker Crew has bonded!

 

Larry did a good job coiling his staysail halyard!!

 

Spannker Crew backwind to starboard…..

 

Staysail Crew ready to hoist sail

 

Are you guys ready?

 

Sweating off the main throat halyard. ?Tough Crew!

 

Fantastic Job!

 

Up with the mainsail

 

Ready to raise the mainsail

 

Sweating off the spannker throat halyard

 

Up with the spannker!

 

Look how well James coiled his halyard line!

 

Emile and James coiling their line

 

Larry at the helm. ?Thank you Larry for all you did on the ship!

 

What an awesome bunch of guys! ?Good on ya!

 

Dr. Cox fixing EJ foot

 

Ej got a “boo boo” on his foot. ?Time to operate!

 

How many Scouts & Leaders are in that dinghy??

 

Oh yes, this is more like it. ?You both were great to have on our ship!

 

Fatherly love………….

 

Our first snorkel on Mermaid Reef

 

It was nice hanging out with you Dad!

 

Waiting patiently……….

 

Oh yea – this was a blast. ?Thanks Dad!

 

Getting suited up for their first snorkel

 

Too much FUN Dad!

 

How many people can fit on this bow sprit?

 

This time together….Priceless!

 

I think they missed the reef!?

 

Thanks Chris and Nick! ?Keep that sailing enthusiasm going!

 

Emile in full control of the ship…….OH NO!

 

Jim and Joe – Come back any time. ?We would love to have you on board again!

 

“Point Man” Nick on his perch at the bow. ?You did a super job Nick!

 

“Squirrel Man” EJ was totally “on top” of his job!

 

Connor and Niall, our “LIfeline and Ladder Crew” did such a fantastic job every single day! ?We are proud of you both!

 

Duncan finally got to eat his fresh coconut. ?It was scrumptious!

 

Our “Crew Chief” Joe was one of our best!

 

Our 2 “Conch Award of Excellence” recipients – James & EJ. ?Congratulations you guys deserve it. ?Thanks for all you did throughout the week!

 

Troop 209 – Silver Springs, MD