High-Adventure Week: Florida Sea Base takes the adventure underwater

HAW-WednesdayNot all Scouting adventures happen on land. Each summer down on the majestic Florida Keys, a bunch of Scouts and Venturers set sail for a different kind of adventure.

They sail and fish, snorkel and swim, kayak and scuba dive. Scouts who attend Sea Base head back to school in the fall with stories that make their friends’ summer activities look like an afternoon at the local pool.

The Florida Sea Base, the third of four national high-adventure bases I’m covering this week, is the BSA’s top destination for sailing, scuba and snorkeling. And it’s currently accepting reservations for 2015 adventures.

The lottery for 2016 trips is open from Jan. 15 to Feb. 16, 2015. So if you’re hoping to attend in 2016, go ahead and follow the suggestions below.

How to prepare for Sea Base’s lottery for 2016 trips

The lottery window is a few months away, but you should start planning now. Here are a few facts to keep in mind:

  • You don’t improve your chances in the lottery by entering right when the window opens. Any entries received during the monthlong opening count the same.
  • You do improve your chances in the lottery if you’re flexible in two areas: the type of adventure you want to take and the dates you’re available to go. Of course, don’t put down any dates you aren’t actually available (check those school calendars now).
  • Access to the Sea Base lottery is through the Sea Base website, bsaseabase.org.
  • A Scout unit must create an account to access the reservation site. If the unit already has an account, another one cannot be created.
  • You can prioritize your requests to increase the chances that you’ll get one of your top choices. Requests can be added, deleted or reprioritized as much as you want during the lottery period.
  • Units will be notified of the lottery results by March 1, 2015. At that point, you’ll have 30 days to send a $100-per-person deposit to secure your spot.
  • After that, all remaining vacancies will be made available on the reservation site on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more registration tips (and at least one pirate-themed joke), check out Capt. Billy’s FAQs.

Learn more about Sea Base

Check out this vibrant PDF brochure, but let me warn you that once you see the great offerings at Sea Base, you can’t unsee them. You’ll want to register immediately.

Take an aerial tour of Sea Base facilities

This video is cool.


Photo from Flickr: Some rights reserved by Edward Faulkner


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.