Located in the Branford/Mayo Florida area and other locations throughout northern Florida are several underground rivers. These reach the surface through a very elaborate cave and cavern system. Each year thousands of divers and snorkelers travel to the area to enjoy these crystal clear freshwater caves, caverns, and springs.

Where are we going?

The areas that we will visit are located near High Springs, White Springs, Branford and Mayo, Florida about eight hours driving time from Knoxville. Some of the possible activities we will participate in are:

The north Florida spring system is very unpredictable during the spring months. Rain fall in Georgia and north Florida can cause the springs to "black out" or overrun their banks. For this reason plans always need to be flexible. We have listed above possibilities. We certainly cannot visit them all but any one of them may be visited under certain circumstances. While the weather is always unpredictable and causes change we have never had to cancel a trip.

Trip Schedule

Our tentative plan is as follows:

There have been a few mentions that Sunday is Easter Sunday. We will have a worship service on Sunday morning prior to leaving the camp at Blue Springs.

How much does it cost and what is included?

The cost for the trip will be $110 per person. This is payable as a $30 deposit and a balance payment due on or before the 15^th of March in the amount of $80. This includes the following:

And at no extra charge – all the fun you care to have!

Costs for the trip have been figured pretty closely. Any residual will be placed into the troop account.

A word about the food

The boys will not be doing all of the cooking. The cuisine should be very satisfactory. Breakfast will pretty much be left up to the patrols. The lunches will be picnic style hoagies, chips, and drinks fixed by the leaders prior to departure to the rivers each day. The dinners will be excellent. Thursday will be something quick but look out for Friday and Saturday. Friday we will have a spectacular cookout back at Blue Springs – loads of good food for all. Saturday we will ask JHRR to prepare one of their famous cookouts or possibly a buffet. We get to choose our meal and they always do a great job.

What’s not included (Read Carefully)

Not included in the above cost are several items. These you will be responsible for on an individual basis.

What do I bring?

Each scout will need to pack the following:

Mask, Fins, and Snorkel?

A few words about mask, fins, snorkel, booties, and wet suits. We will be going over each of these items in the coming weeks at out scout meetings. We encourage each person – scout, parent, leader, sibling, etc. to attend. We will be snorkeling down a river for the day. It is a wonderful trip that you will remember for the rest of your life. You will either remember the beautiful fish, turtles, vegetation, and surroundings or you will remember how uncomfortable you were because you did not have the right mask, fins, wet suit, etc. Come to the meetings and learn to do it right.

Mask, fins, snorkels, and wet suits can all be rented. We have had good experiences with a few of the local stores and we can direct you to these. We have also had some bad experiences with stores that sell or rent equipment that just doesn’t fit. You will learn what to look for at the meetings. We will also set up a day where we look over any equipment you might already have to be certain it is acceptable and safe.

Do not go out and buy anything yet! Most people will rent the wet suit as these are very expensive. The wet suit MUST FIT properly. We will show you what we mean by this.

Many of you will want to buy the mask and snorkel since borrowing these is like borrowing a tooth brush. You can rent these items and if properly sanitized they are probably fine. The fins can be rented. We will tell you where you can do this and we encourage you to go early as sizes are limited. The mask MUST FIT Properly and the Fins MUST FIT properly. We will also show you what we mean by this.

Who can go on this trip?

Any scout or scout leader that can swim reasonably well can go on this trip. We will require each person to earn the swimming merit badge and demonstrate proficiency with the mask, fins, and snorkel prior to going. We will rent, borrow, barter for, or sneak into someplace wet to make the swimming merit badge and snorkel checkout available. More on this at the meetings.

This trip is also open to your entire family. In years past the mothers and sisters have had a great time and we have certainly enjoyed having them. We encourage the entire family to join us. Of course, the same swimming and snorkeling requirements must be met and demonstrated since surprises on the river are not encouraged.

We must set some limits as safety measures. Children who are not scouts MUST be accompanied on the trip and down the river by a parent. Additionally, any children that are not scouts should be of an age where they are comfortable camping, canoeing, snorkeling, and hiking. In general, we’ll leave this call up to the parents but I would recommend any one under the age of about nine to wait another year or two.

Just who is it that guides this trip?

Your leaders for the trip will be well trained and very experienced. John Bublitz is a scout leader that is also a certified YMCA SCUBA Diving instructor and a SCUBA Lifesaving and Accident Management instructor. He has been taking students and divers to this area for more than ten years. He knows the springs, the rivers, the people, and places. John has lead this trip for the scouts in each of the previous three years. He rarely gets lost!

Bill Shafer is a scout leader and he will also accompany us on the trip. He is a certified YMCA Scuba Diver and has taken this trip several times in the past. Bill knows the area and is familiar with many of the rivers and springs that we will visit.

Mike Clark will possibly join us. In addition to being a scout leader and past scoutmaster, Mike is also a certified SCUBA diver that has made this trip on two of the previous three years. Mike brings his entire family and is a good one to speak with if you are on the fence about bringing the crew.

Bruce Van Cleave will also probably attend. Bruce in my opinion is Mr. Outdoors and a valuable asset on any trip we could take. As a professional scout he certainly brings a wealth of know how to the group.

In addition to the above persons, the group will probably be joined by two other YMCA Assistants, Sue Shafer (Bill Shafer’s NEW wife) and Alexis (Alex) Blevins. Both have worked in the UT Chattanooga SCUBA program with John Bublitz. Both are well qualified and will be along to enjoy themselves and look after those making the trip down the river.

In addition to the above there are several scout leaders in the troop that will probably make their first trip. The leadership is rather plentiful.

Is there any risk?

While we always try our best to insure the safety of anyone making the trip we do need to advise that this is a trip made into some rather remote areas and primitive rivers. Participants will camp, swim, snorkel, climb, hike, canoe, etc. All of these activities do involve a certain risk and each participant must accept the risk that comes with participation in these activities.

That being said, we can tell you that we have never had anything more than a few scrapes on any of these trips. Our record is very good and with your help and training with swimming and snorkeling skills we hope to keep everyone safe.

SCUBA Divers

There are now several leaders and scouts certified as SCUBA divers. While this is not a SCUBA trip, there should be some time available for those that wish to dive. Local springs suitable for diving include Troy, Royal, Devils, Den, Ginnie, Orange Grove and others. If you would like to dive please let me know. Saturday, while the rest of the group is canoeing will probably be the best time to do this. Let’s discuss it if you have an interest.

I cannot do a checkout for any student divers. This takes two days of undivided attention on my part. It is just not possible on this trip.

What do you need to do

If you would like to go you need to sign up quickly. Some of the possible alternate springs are rather small and can only comfortably accommodate smaller groups. Canoe rentals are also limited. While we do not want to limit the number of participants we need to accommodate those that go on the trip with us. A group of twenty is easy, thirty becomes a challenge, and forty is out of the question. Canoes will probably be the limiting factor. Sign up early so we can plan and scramble.

Your deposit signs you up for the trip. Please make the deposit check in the amount of $30.00 per person to Troop 141 and bring it to the next meeting. The balance of $80.00 will be due on or before March 15^th. We need to order the meals at JHRR in advance, reserve camp sites, and plan the food purchases so we need a firm number of participants by this date.

Questions

Always a few questions. Please don’t hesitate to ask. We have been very fortunate in past years with people being very well prepared. Please ask questions. Be Prepared!

Questions – Best asked at scout meetings. If you cannot make the meetings call:

John Bublitz Office: 539-6099

Bill Shafer Office: 531-3242