Troop 845 attended the Scuba Adventure at Florida Sea Base August 5-12, 2018. To prepare for this experience, all six boys and two adult leaders earned their Open Water SCUBA certification last summer as well as additional dive trips between June 2017 and August 2018. Justin Mallory, Life Scout and Crew Leader, helped the Crew organize for the trip, including fundraising during the year. The Crew included Alex Dudley (First Class), Anthony Nieves (Life), Nolan Ragon (Life), Robert Nieves (Life), Sean Sullivan (Star) and two Troop Committee members Jim Mallory and Mike Ragon. The adventure began with snorkeling and earning the BSA snorkeling badge.
During their first boat dive, they saw a barracuda, a reef shark and a million fish! During the following days, they experienced many close encounters with nurse sharks, saw sea turtles, a moray eel and a small octopus. The Dive Master commented that it was rare to see an octopus during the day and the Crew felt extremely lucky! From the boat docks, they also saw manatee playing in the water and from the boat, a school of playful porpoises. One of the dives allowed them to dive around a Norwegian freighter that sank during World War II. The conditions were good that day with 60 feet visibility and a coral formation “swim through”. The adventure also included a night dive and the conditions were perfect to see the sea turtles, eels and barracuda. By the last day, the Crew was exhausted and ready to come home to share their incredible stories! Crew Leader Justin Mallory said, “We plan to create a presentation to share with the Troop and encourage younger Scouts to follow in our footsteps and embark on this incredible journey for themselves.”
