Registration for a 2023 NCAC Sea Base St. Thomas STEM Eco Sailing Adventure is now open. You'll be underway for a week on a 40+ foot long sailing vessel located in St. Thomas, USVI, in the crystal blue water of the Caribbean. Snorkel amazing reefs and hike in Virgin Islands National Park while making a positive impact on the environment. As part of their Adventure, participants collect data to help save endangered coral reefs and sea turtles and learn the importance of protecting marine ecosystems. Truly an adventure with a purpose. This is a six-day, five-night adventure.

CREW SIZE: A Sea Base crew has a minimum of six and a maximum number of eight participants with at least two adults and a majority of youth participants. The number of yout’s must be equal to, or more than, the number of adults. There are two crews available on this trip date, each with at least six, but no more than eight, crew members.

REGISTRATION: Please follow these instructions to register and make online payments for all crew members. These Adventures are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Presently there are two crews available (-01 and -02). Crew -01 is reserved for Troop 1785. Crew -02 may either be booked entirely by one unit or become a provisional crew of individuals from several units. To sign up, a Registration Coordinator (Contact) should be designated. This person must be 21+ years old and ideally will be the crew adult Lead Advisor. This role can be changed to someone else if circumstances change.

UNITS WITH SIX OR MORE PARTICIPANTS: The Registration Contact should select an open crew (i.e., one with no existing registered participants) and sign up as the Registration Contact for that crew. Go thru the registration process to register at least one participant and pay the $700 initial deposit. You may enter the names of other known participants and provide payment at this time, or have them register themselves (see below). Registering and paying for a crew of at least six participants will reserve it.

CREW SIGN-UP: Immediately after the Coordinator has reserved the trip date, each crew member should visit this web page, click on the selected crew number, complete the registration process and pay the $700 individual deposit. Family members (i.e., one or more youth and adult) may register together. Keep your registration number to re-enter the system for future payments.

REGISTERING FEWER THAN SIX PARTICIPANTS: If you have fewer than the minimum crew size of six or you are signing up as an individual, you may click Register and sign up for available openings in Crew -02. The number of Youth and Adult openings remaining are shown on the next page in registration. NOTE: Once again, this trip is available on a first-come, first-served basis. If both crews are full, a wait list may be created or an additional trip may be requested if there is sufficient interest.

TRAVEL: NCAC arranges all travel for NCAC crews by group airfare to save costs. NCAC Crews meet at the designated airport and travel in Scout uniform as a group to and from the Washington, DC Area. There will be no possibility for crews or individuals to travel independently.

PAYMENT: The total estimated cost for each participant is $2,100. This includes the Sea Base fee, your airfare to and from St. Thomas, USVI, and other incidental expenses.  An initial deposit of $700 each will reserve your spot on a crew. The final payment is estimated to be $700 and will be determined by April 15th, 2023. Note that the Sea Base fee is per boat, not per individual. Crews with less than the maximum number of participants will have higher per person costs. You are strongly encouraged to max out your crew size to minimize individual expenses.

Payments may be made with a credit card or an e-check. A 3% surcharge applies to all credit/debit card payments, e-check transactions are free. Late fees may apply to payments received after the published due date deadlines. See the table below for the payment schedule.

TRAINING: A High Adventure Committee-sponsored training session will be held in the June, 2023 timeframe. Attendance by all crews is expected.

Direct questions to Dana Abrahamsen, NCAC High Adventure Committee Sea Base Liaison at dabrahamsen@ftc.gov or John Blackwell, NCAC High Adventure Committee Chair at john.blackwell@goosecreekdistrict.org