Trish enjoys a day of boat projects?

Hmmm,  no fun when you live on an island and run out of the appropriate size hardware... time to paddle across the river for a trip to Win-Carr.

Great way to end your first day of course

Here is a great way to celebrate then end of your first day of a 7 day sea kayak course in the Everglades.

Beware of the Gummans

The day the grummans attacked...

Last multi-crew course start for the 2011 season.

Hard to believe that this mornings Palmer-Trinity course start is the final multi-crew course start of the 2010-11 season.

Captain DH...

Anyone seen a basecamp around here?

Course break = playtime!

MR & Shelly out for an afternoon sail during some time off between Savannah and Canterbury.

2010-11 FL Staff Photo

Here it is the Official Sunset Island Staff Photo!

Choosing routes for Savannah Country Day

Course Director Trish Haitz facilitates route selection for the upcoming Savannah course.

Sunset Island - Ever wonder where the name came from?

Here is your answer....

Guest Chef's

As we await the return of the first round of Ransom crews, guest chefs Shelby & John are mixing it up in the kitchen while Anne is gone to Naples for more supplies.

John seems a bit skeptical...

Ransom Course Start 2011

By boat and by van we headed over to the Gulf Coast Ranger District Office in Everglades City to meet the first round of Ransom Everglades students. 

This year is the 28th year that the FL Programs of the North Carolina Outward Bound School has run programs with Ransom students.

 The Ransom course start typically marks the beginning of our busiest time of the year for Sunset Island.

Continued cold as we head into a new year.

The cold weather in December 2010 set records in South Florida.

We awoke to another morning of frost as we approach the new year.

Cold Start for William Jewell

Night one of the William Jewell course course saw a hard freeze here on Sunset Island.  There was frost on the docks (above) and greeted Mary as see donned a puffy jacket before starting breakfast.

Swamp Swap 2010!

The evening of December 25th played host to this season's annual holiday swamp swap.

The William Jewell staff were on day one of precourse.

It was the eve of the sea kayak precourse

The Gray Family was fully represented.

And of course Anne Lovett was full of cheer

Not to be outdone, our new Logistics Manager, scored some nice loot on her inaugural Swam Swap

 Start to make you plans now and be sure not to miss this once a year gala.

December 25... SWAMP SWAP!

It is that time of year again when we look deep into our recesses and find the perfect swamp swap gift. That's right, this year December 25th at 5 pm please gather in the Sunset Island Lodge armed with a wrapped gift and get ready to swap.  We will laugh and cry and steal each others gifts.  Please keep in mind that the object is to provide someone else with either a recycled gift that you are no longer using or a purchased gift that is 10$ or less.
We will have a large dinner following the swap around 7 pm.  William Jewell instructors are on duty and homefolk and guests are on preduty.  Thanks in advanced for a wonderful festive gathering!
cheers,
Anne

A new addition to the Sunset Island Times -

Looking out across Chokoloskee Bay from my office the day started off with some morning fog.  I'm working diligently to wrap up loose ends before Trish, Anne, and I head out to sail C'est la Vie from Wilmington, NC to our Sunset Island Basecamp.

Before we depart I wanted to share with you all an addition to the Sunset Island Times.  Scrolling down the page you will discover recommended book lists on the right side of the page.  The book lists are divided into genres...
Everglades Ecosystem & Restoration
Local History Resources
Flora & Fauna Guides
Nautical Resources
Fiction, Inspiration, Other
I hope that placing these lists on the Sunset Island Times will provide staff easy access to resources.  Many of the titles listed are available in the basecamp library.  If staff wish to purchase a book and use the link on this blog then 4% of the purchase price will go into a fund for purchasing new materials for the Sunset Island library.  If you are planning to purchase any of these titles, then I encourage you all to use these links.  If anyone has other books they would like to see added, then please send me an email.

Jeff




 

Fall 2010 Work Weekend - Thanks for all the hard work and good times!

The Fall 2010 Fall Work Weekend has come and gone.  Thanks to everyone who chipped in to make the event a huge success.  We reached an apex of 26 participants on Saturday, November 6th.  Here is a pre-banquet dinner group photo.

For more photos of the event please check out the on-line photo album... Fall 2010 Work Weekend Photo Album.

Here is a link to the list of all the projects completed (highlighted in green) and some project projected for future work weekends (highlighted in orange)... Final Project List Fall 2010 Work Weekend

Anyone interested in participating in the 2011 Spring Work Weekend the tentative dates are April 1-3, 2011.

Thanks again for everyone's efforts.  You all make a huge difference in the success of our programs and the quality of life here on Sunset Island.

FL Semester Phase course start

International Semester Students arrive from NC!

The Everglades welcomed the International Semester students on Monday, November 1st for their 2nd phase.  The welcome party included Trish, Julie, Kat, and of course thousands of excited mosquitos!

After arriving in Fort Lauderdale the students headed to Homestead for their Swim test.  They all passed swimmingly and headed to Robert is Here. 

Sadly, Robert was not there and will not be there until November 3rd for all those interested in knowing.  Once arriving in Flamingo, everyone crowded into the bug tent that Julie and Kat so graciously set up. 

Pita pizzas eased their tired and hungry bellies.  Soon after eating everyone gladly laid their weary heads down for the evening.  Visions of dolphins, manatees, and panthers danced in their heads. 

Duffle Shuffle commenced the following morning and the students were introduced to their surroundings for the coming weeks.  Some were very eager to try out  fresh coconut milk and were very creative with ways to extract it.  After loading all the gear back into the vehicles, the students were ready to be transported to the put-in.  

Everyone was in awe of the beauty of Flamingo! Julie and Kat left the students, Trish, and Jimbo with happy hearts!  Good luck semester and we will see you at resupply!

Blog entry by: Kat Triplett

Fall 2010 Work Weekend Project List

This weekend, Friday, November 5 through Sunday, November 7.  Sunset Island will be hosting it's semi-annual Work Weekend.  We are preparing in earnest and eagerly awaiting the arrival of all the Work Weekend volunteers. Currently there are 26 confirmed participants, a mixture of alumni, staff, and friends of the Outward Bound School.  Here is a link to the current project list - Fall 2010 Work Weekend Project List .

We will post a report post work weekend of the projects completed along with a photo album of the progress, sweat, and laughs.

Please contact Program Director, Jeff Lovett, via email, JLovett@ncobs.org if you are interesting in receiving information about future Sunset Island or NCOBS Work Weekend Dates.

Let the projects begin...

FL Semester Phase Precourse

We are into day two of precourse preparations for the FL Phase of the fall semester course.  Julie Springsteen is working behind the scenes as course director.   Trish Haitz is co-instructing with Jimbo Schley. Jimbo is still in NC with the crew, but Trish is here in FL  course planning...seen below working on her 72 hour plan.

Meanwhile our new Logistics Manager - Kat Triplett is growing familiar with the field libraries in the front office.

The semester students fly into Fort Lauderdale on Monday and will drive directly to Flamingo to begin their 15 day canoe expedition.  So the season begins here on Sunset Island.  I'll sign off with a parting image of our first gear pile of the 2010-11 season all wrapped up and awaiting tomorrow morning's loading party...