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The 15 Venture Crew members and adult chaperons still smile despite the cold.
The Coast Guard shared stories about its mission with the members of the Venture Crew. |
The young men and women of Venture Crew 1717 discovered the beauty of the Mattaponi River during spring break.
This was no simple trip to the water's edge to fish, or look at the wildlife abundant on the high banks, swaying marshes or partly submerged sand/silt bar islands. Although they did all of those things, they did it during a 20-mile canoe trip from Walkerton to Boardley.
Eleven crew members and four adults braved the cold air temps--and even colder water temps--to take this high adventure trek. They all managed to stay dry, well, relatively speaking, that is. No one capsized.
The crew set out on March 24, staying in their base camp at Heartquake Estates during that 20-degree night. Tuesday morning the crew excitedly set out at 4 a.m. with eight canoes along a tidal stretch of river.
Setting out down river from the Walkerton boat ramp shortly after first light, the crew immediately had to overcome a temporary setback when one of the canoes developed a
Attempting to make it
After visiting the reservation, the crew headed back upriver to its midway campsite. Arriving at the dock belonging to the Rivers Edge Construction Company, the crew unpacked and set up camp for the night on the banks high above the river in King and Queen County as the winds began to pick up.
As they made a slight repair to one of the boats that had started to slowly leak, they noticed that their scout flag was now sticking straight out from the stiff wind.
The next morning their scout flag was still sticking straight out, indicating that they had winds around 13 to 15 knots. But it was blowing the wrong way. The tide was going out, however, and the crew took advantage of it. The combination of winds blowing upriver and the tide going down river made it pretty interesting, pretty quickly. The white caps forming bounced the crews' boats up and down, a few of them "catching air" as they fought against the wind.
At one point the waves were so high, lead advisor Willis Madden called for everyone to head to shore, while he got a weather update. After finding out that the winds would be gusting off and on for the rest of the day, he posed the question to the crew: Push on, or stop? The crew decided to push on.
Mounting up and pushing out to calls of "watch the waves" and "keep bow into the wind," the crew gained a few miles before they lost one of their helpers. The tide had changed. Another crew advisor, Andrea Klinefelter, recommended that they take advantage of a sandy spot on the beach to their right, on the King William County side of the river. While regaining their energy, they were paid a prearranged visit by the Coast Guard, which definitely lifted their spirits.
Chief Petty Officer How-ard and his crew from Coast Guard Station Milton Haven greeted the Venture Crew members, and explained about their missions, equipment, and the capabilities of their boat. Many of the crew were impressed.
After the Coast Guard left, the crew members dis-covered it was just about three miles to their destination. Realizing that they were now facing the winds and the tide coming in, the crew decided again to push on.
Slowly, the little fleet of seven canoes battled the wind, the waves and the tide, pressing forward. The wind was finally on their back, instead of in their face. The next mile and a half was a lot easier with the knowledge that the end point was in sight. The crew was pretty tired, needless to say, but that didn't stop them from celebrating around a campfire, and watching some movies later. Returning back to Stafford County on Thursday, all agreed that their Spring Break High Adventure trip was a great time, and they'd all learned many life lessons.
Venture Crew 1717 is sponsored by Hartwood Presbyterian Church. Venturing is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 through 20 years of age. For details about Venture Crew 1717, visit thecrew.rulestheweb.com or call 540/752-0743. For information on Venture Crew, visit scouting.org/venturing/venturingloca tor.aspx.
--Willis M. Madden Jr.
