Bad Sailing Weather

. . . LEADS TO GREAT LAND EXPERIENCE

Our original sailing plans to Marathon turned to mush. In three days, we’d thought to sail from Naples to Indian Pass at the norther part of the Ten Thousand Islands in the Everglades, jump down to Little Shark River, and then sail south to Marathon in the Keys.

But we waited so long on a UPS package in Ft. Myers that the three-day weather window further south closed on us.  The new plan was to hole up a few days in Everglades City, inland from Indian Pass, to wait for another good window.

Bad sailing luck then turned out to be great luck overall. Because of the delay, we discovered the Ten Thousand Islands area in the Everglades National Park and amazing Outward Bound people.

Obviously, this photo is not ours, but gives you the sense of the scope of the islands.

Ten Thousand. . . Who knows?

The islands are gorgeous, what the National Park Service calls “a labyrinth of water and mangroves.” We’d call it one of the top natural wonders of the U.S.  We never knew that such a Caribbean-like place existed in the continental United States with three species of mangroves and other exotic birds and plants. We’ve heard there are fewer actually than the name implies . . . but who knows. There are certainly a lot.

The original plan was to anchor in a protected area in Indian Pass and leave the next day

 for the Gulf. We embarked on an inland adventure instead to Everglades City in the 

upper right hand of this map.

Left at Green Marker 33

The only thing better than the Ten Thousand Islands are the people and program at the Everglades City Base Camp of the North Carolina Outward Bound School.

Where Outward Bound comes in is through our friend Pogo Bob. When he heard our new sailing plans, he called the only person he knew in Everglades City -- Jeff, facilities manager for the base camp. After clearing it with Trish, the base camp director, Jeff kindly invited us to park Carina next to C’est la Vie, his 1966 Charles Morgan 34 sailboat, at the Outward Bound dock.

Raising anchor from Indian Pass the next morning, we motored up the canal to green marker 33. Just to the left of the marker is Sunset Island, home of the base camp and some of the finest people you can meet.

The Outward Bound pontoon boat is decorated with lights and people

 as it heads out to the annual Christmas Parade of Lights. 

The main lodge of the base camp was built in 1937 and went through several hands 

before it was purchased and upgraded by North Carolina Outward Bound School in 1987. It now houses administrative offices, the kitchen and food storage for the schools, the dining hall and a few staff rooms.

Base Camp Director Trish and Instructor Kelly had been planning

 a possible class site before being rudely interrupted. They are all positive, 
inspiring people to be around.

Outward Bound: A Life-Changing Experience

We have been avid outdoors people through our lives and value those abilities. Over our five days at the Everglades City Base camp, we learned that Outward Bound and the instructors we met there represent so much more than teaching canoeing, backpacking, camping and other skills. Their mission statement uses such words as “inspiring,” “developing character,” “self-discovery,” “impelling people to achieve more than they ever thought possible,” “showing compassion” and “creating a better world.”'

What they do is change lives and change the world as they teach outdoor skills. We knew that before we ever passed Green Marker 33 and now know it beyond doubt.

The Outward Bound instructors/leaders are people who have gone through or been touched by the program and love it so much they don’t want to leave. We truly understand how they feel. They are self-motivated, understand the goals and the process of the program, and have the strong desire to help others improve their lives through Outward Bound. They want to pass it on.

The morning after we arrived, Jeff (right) picked up items from a 

Outward Bound group camping on the islands and gave us a tour of the 

canals between mangrove islands. Kent is puffy from wind, not food.

Jeff happened to spy movement from one island to another. At first, we thought 

it was logs or gators. It turned out to be three baby raccoons. This one was the smallest.

Great People, Great Place, Sometimes Terrible Bugs

To achieve more than you think possible through Outward Bound, you have to be mentally tough to some degree. So it was no surprise to us that the staff stoically endured the thunderstorms, heat and awful, awful bugs dawn and dusk in the five days we were at the base camp. 

On our last day there, a staff member said that they hated that we’d had this terrible weather during our visit. (We thought it was normal! Who knew!) Turns out that December is usually very dry with mild temperatures and few bugs. We had June weather and bugs in December.  

It made no difference. It was still an amazing experience. The bugs were inconsequential.

Anna Banana was every dog's and person's friend during our stay. She and Squirt would

have been trouble together if we'd stayed longer. She's a good-hearted girl.

Outward Hound

At the base camp, Squirt got to be a dog with other dogs for the first time in a long time. He flushed birds. . . found dead fish. . . rolled in the grass. . . played chase. . . marked every plant. Within three days, he thought he “owned” the property and challenged anyone who came out of the lodge. 

When we left, all the resident dogs – Carly, Tucker, and Anna -- were on the dock. We like to think it was to say goodbye to Squirt (in his Outward Hound life jacket), although it more likely was because Anne was there. 

Anne is food manager for the base camp programs, meeting her husband 

Jeff through Outward Bound. She's also a very talented jewelry designer, 

although she hardly has any on here. 

Jeff and Anne’s Journey to Expand their Own Boundaries 

So, how do two Outward Bound leaders live what they teach? Jeff and Anne are doing it by taking some time off for their own adventure. They are leaving their roles with the Everglades City Base Camp for awhile to take C’est la Vie on a true cruising journey, sailing in the Caribbean loop from the windward to the leeward islands to below the Equator. . . and around.

The work was never done for Jeff and the rest of the staff at the base camp.

C’est la Vie, docked in front of the base camp lodge, is being prepared 

for Jeff and Anne's two-year trip around the Caribbean.

Is there fear about how they will live, buy food, survive? Probably not. They’ve made solid preparations. Their off-season sailing trips and the Outward Bound program have taught them to face the future with confidence. 

Our Personal Outward Bound-Like Experience

After five days at the base camp, our weather window improved. Our goal was to sail to Marathon, but – oddly enough -- we were reluctant to leave the Outward Bound folks – it’s that positive of an experience. We want our grandkids to all go through the program because they will be better people for it. Heck, we would be better people for going through it ourselves.

Before we left Sunset Island, we humorously compared our sailing south adventures to the Outward Bound philosophy. We have been faced with increasing challenges and are becoming stronger, more confident sailors. We hope our adversities don’t increasingly get more challenging as they do in Outward Bound, but if they do, we hope that we, too, can achieve more than we thought possible. 

Green marker 33 means home to students and staff of the 

Outward Bound Everglades Base Camp.