Camp Emerald Bay, Day 4

Greetings,
It's hard to believe that we are halfway done with our trip.  Things have gone very, very smoothly thanks to Matt's great leadership as SPL, and the cooperativeness and work ethic of the rest of the group.  This morning I asked Matt what he thought was the biggest factor in this week going so smoothly, he responded immediately with, "delegating".  Some examples of this are the following:  Matt named Stewart the 'Camp Fire Marshall', and he maintains a checkoff chart that includes an inspection component that relates to fire safety and the campsite fire extinguisher.  Justin is the 'Camp Inspector', and he encourages others to keep the camp clean, as we get inspected by the staff each day and earn points.  Zach was named the 'Camp Values Coordinator', and he maintains a 'Scouting Ideals worksheet with everyone's names, and leads a discussion of how the scouts have been demonstrating the ideals throughout their day.  After 2 days of being called last or second to last for most meals, David was assigned to 'Meal Duty Director', and he's assigned waiters to all of the meals and enforces them (arrival early to mess duty, etc...  Today, we were called first to breakfast and were one of the first groups called to get lunch.  Matt continues to find ways to involve and empower the other scouts by giving them specific duties and titles tied to our camp responsibilities.  So far, it's been working and the kids are gelling well.

Here are a few words/observations of the others:

The merit badge work is going well.  The Oceanography kids are working together tonight to get their 500 word essays done, as we have War Canoe tomorrow.

Ethan is doing well, is happy with his classes (especially Environmental Science), and just bought a fancy Emerald Bay Knife (thanks, Mom and Dad).  He's also been helping Mr. Finley with the blog, on occasion. 

Cody and Palmer are 'going with the flow' and just plugging through their tasks.  I noticed that Cody has already made 2 baskets and a stool.

Brock is 'Mr. Mellow', and is so easy to get along with.  He won our lunchtime 'frisbee throwing competition'.  He seems to be the most organized with his Oceanography essay on a type of sea turtle.

Cole is fitting in well and seems to be fitting in well and enjoying his camp experience, despite being finicky about the food. Tonight he DID eat the stroghanoff dinner, and seemed to like it! 

Stewart has been a huge mentor and big help for many of our younger scouts, including Max.  Max has seemed relatively happy and positive about his classes.  Tonight he is working on getting a bow built for his Archery MB. 

Ben has been really helpful and positive to the scouts, as well.  He also bought a cool knife, and is having a blast in his Kayaking class despite having issues with capsizing and cracking his Kayak today.

Josh is always smiling and seems to be on a 'high' every time I see him.  He went on a Bike Ride about an hour ago (4pm) with Matt, Palmer, Stewart, Max, and maybe one or two others.  He's having a blast, especially with Dad being here.  As of 7pm, he had completed most of his challenging Oceanography essay on Great White Sharks -- super!

Mr. Finley is doing a lot of sailing.  Today he was assigned the task of taking two younglings who had capsized 3 times during their first outing of the week.  We managed NOT to capsize today.  I also spent part of the afternoon/evening working with kids on their Oceanography essays (namely Josh).  

Mr. Thiry is 'Mr. Snorkeling' and 'Mr. War Canoe'.  He has been busy readying the troop for tomorrow's trip.  He's the right guy for this job, as he's already finagled getting spices, butter, and other special ingredients for our beach campout dinner.  We've been told to start dinner early, bring mattresses, and be prepared for damp conditions. 

Mr. Cook has been 'Mr. Supportive', and is always offering support to the kids.  He and Mr. Thiry continue to take all of the adult training classes.  Mr. Cook and Mr. Finley did the Adult Leader Archery Shoot and Astronomy hike last night -- it was a ton of fun!

We'll, we have to get up tomorrow at 6am to pack up and row our canoes 8 miles to Parson's Beach.  This 'War Canoe' day involves hiking, snorkeling, and making meals, as well.  We'll spend the night on the beach, awake at 5am Friday morning, then canoe back to Camp Emerald Bay.

Forgive any typos...
~Brian Finley

David waiting for his Lifesaving MB?? class.

Troop Kayak

Sailing Class

Getting ready for the Kayak MB Class

That's not a knife, THIS is a knife (in a box)!

Looking Good in our Class A's.  We 'dress up' for every dinner.

Morey Eels in the Camp Oceanography/Aquarium Building

Leopard Sharks, Horn Skarks, Rays, ... in the Camp Aquarium

Waiting in line for waffle breakfast

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What a fine looking crew!