Eighteen Scouts and parents from St. Mary's Boy Scout Troop 175 spent their school vacation week learning how to sail in the tropical paradise of Caribbean. The group left Simsbury and flew to St. Martin where they picked up two Katana 47 ocean sailing catamarans. Both boats were self sailed, one by Scoutmaster Brad Mead and the other by Dave Fletcher, a Troop Committee member, both very experienced sailors.
Upon arrival in St. Martin, the group was taken by van over to Port Royal, the harbor on the French Side of the island. Each Yacht can sleep 10 people, weighs about 12 tons, has two engines and can sail at speeds in excess of 15 MPH in a stiff wind. The boats were also air conditioned, had water makers on boards and extensive electronic navigation and radio equipment. The group was briefed on the boats and the surrounding islands and possible routes and then the skippers were taken through a very extensive mechanical and safety briefing on each boat. The group then took a van to the local giant supermarket and provisioned both boats for the week with food, drink, snacks and a seemingly endless supply of Mountain Dew.
Keegan Rice as senior Scout on the trip, organized the boys into groups to unload and stow all the groceries. The charter officials then came on board and assisted in piloting the boats through the draw bridge into Marigot Bay and into a marina for the evening. The next morning shortly after sunrise the boats were off to Anguilla, the next island about 20 miles away. The winds were strong and the seas were following so the boats moved very quickly through the ocean. The skippers would instruct each scout in the basics of sailing and then turn the wheel over to the scout to sail the boat. Standing nearby the skippers would coach the boys in the art of steering feeling the waves, the winds, the currents and the ocean. None of the scouts had sailed before and the thrill of steering a $750,000 boat through the ocean at a high speed was evident.
Upon arrival at Anguilla the boats were anchored side by side off of a pristine white sandy beach called Cove Bay Beach . The temperature was 85 degrees and the water clear blue. Using the buddy system the boys swam into the beach to play in the surf. That evening the chicken barbeque was cooked up on the ships grill with all the Scouts and adults participating in the cooking and eating.
The next morning at sunrise the boats pulled anchor and set sail for the island of Saba , 40 miles away across open ocean. Once the again the Scouts took turns sailing as the boats sailed at top speed to this ancient volcano. Saba was the island backdrop used for the original King Kong movie and has about 1000 inhabitants. It is famous for its clear waters and snorkeling. The winds however began to blow in excess of 30 knots and the group was forced into Fort Bay, the harbor for the island. Both boats had developed operational issues that needed some mechanics attention so the boats were moored and the group hiked up the volcano to the village two miles up the trail. Upon return the winds were still blowing so the boats spent the night in the harbor rocking and rolling. The next morning the winds had died down and the boats were repositioned to the west side of the island where the best snorkeling was.
One of the boats wrapped the mooring rope in its propeller. This required Scoutmaster Mead and Keegan Rice to go over board with knives to cut it loose. Once freed, the boats were finally moored and dinghy's dispatched for snorkeling in the caves and rocks off of Wells Bay. Colorful fish, turtles and eels were all part of the experience. That night the boats stayed at Wells Bay and once again the wind blew at gale levels making sleep impossible and requiring the skippers to check the moorings frequently. The boats had a joint pasta dinner and then a massive card came before spending the night rocking and rolling again.
The next day the boats began their sail in very high winds to St. Martin but this time the waves and the wind were head on. Along the way one of main Jib Sails ripped out in the high winds and the sail was quickly brought down , a new sail put up and the mainsail reefed for storm conditions. By this time both boats had lost their starboard engines to various mechanical problems and skipper Fletcher’s boat had lost its radio transmission. While equipment failures on these complex boats are common as more accumulate it is best to get into port. Skipper Mead brought his boat finally into Phillipsburg the crew repaired various things on the boat and then went ashore to go shopping on the Dutch part of Sty Marten. That evening the group had a restaurant meal on solid land. Skipper Fletchers Boat had made it all the way to Sandy Beach on the north side of one of the other islands, also calm water and they spent the evening swimming and also doing boat repairs.
The last day both boats spent the morning swimming at their different ports and then sailing back to Marigot Bay the home port.- both arriving just about sunset on another very windy day. Both boats united in the marina and the group went out to a final dinner at a local restaurant.
The Scouts did really great" said Scoutmaster Mead. "This was really hard sailing in open ocean conditions and everyone kept their head in the game and got home safe. A sailing ship moving at high speeds is a challenge and when the weather gets rough it can be also be dangerous unless everyone is careful. The guys did really well. Our Troop really likes to do adventure trips and many of these guys have been with us on our Kilimanjaro Climb,our exploration of the Amazon Jungle and last summer’s expedition to Alaska. They learn to take their scout skills and use them in real challenging situations."
Crewing with Skipper Mead was Keegan Rice, Mike Vallen Sr. Jack Vallen, Nicholas Carabillo, Ann Carabillo, Eric Campion, Noah Campion, Jason Child, and Zack Zikovich. Crewing with Skipper Fletcher were- Andrew Fletcher, Ron Falkner, Jack Falkner, Tom Nicholson, TJ Nicholson, Ken Gutierrez and Andrew Gutierrez.
To see photos from the trip, please visit the Troop 175 Photo Library.
