This winter in the Florida Keys, our team of talented and passionate educators and sailors continue to deliver excellent Outward Bound courses amongst the shallow waters of Florida Bay and Everglades. They primary utilize three Pulling Boats, along with Elisa Sue and Avelinda, to enable a high level of flexibility as enrollment numbers shift throughout the season. By the end of the April, our staff will have served just over 140 students out of our Key Largo winter basecamp.
In Florida, our most experienced Instructors and Course Directors are partnered with some of our newest staff, those who began in Spring 2012. The shorter expeditions offered in the winter allow some of our newest staff, those who completed New Sea in Spring 2012, to solidify their course progressions and teaching styles and gain more overall field experience. They work with our most experienced Instructors and Course Directors who have keen eye for identifying opportunities for individual growth. The Florida Keys cruising ground provides our staff ample opportunities for training and development. Each course allows Instructors to assume different roles specific to their individual professional development plans.
SEMESTER COURSE UPDATE
Brian Ahearn and Liz Marr travelled to Costa Rica with 14 semester students, some of our strongest students who have committed 85 days for our signature Keys to Costa Rica Leadership Semester. Both Liz and Brian, in their 3rd and 4th year respectively of delivering this exciting course, have been sharing the roles of Course Director and Lead Instructors during multi element expedition. The group recently completed their Whitewater Rescue Technician Training (WRT) before setting out for their first of several expeditions down technical rivers that flow through the forests of Costa Rica.
COURSE DIRECTING & LOGISTICS
Wendy Jordan and Adam McKinlay have provided much of the Course Director support, which includes facilitating pre- and post-course conversations between Instructor pairs and encouraging each team to journey into less familiar waters by tackling teaching topics specific to the students they are will be serving and for the environment in which they will be teaching.
Nate Miller is wrapping up his second season as the Head Logistics Coordinator. He has been holding our staff accountable for keeping their sailing vessels in “Bristol fashion” and their gear in top working order. From the administrative side, Nate has continued to impress our business office throughout the winter with timely submissions of accurate spending logs and working with me to operate well within the budget as we serve HIOBS students in the Keys.
IT’S NOT ALWAYS HOT IN FLORIDA!
Course start days have seen several passing cold fronts and have given everyone the opportunity to appreciate the layers they packed as temperatures dipped into the 30’s overnight. Immediately following the Penn State spring break course, many of the same staff will welcome students from Collier County thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Remington family.
With only a few weeks remaining in the season every Instructor continues to maintain ample energy, enthusiasm, and passion for the work that we do and the students we serve.
With kind regards,
Benjamin Hoops