Venture Crew 101 Conducts 101 Mile Canoe Search and Rescue Exercise on the Tennessee River

Boy Scout Venture Crew 101, “The Rescue Crew”, recently canoed down the Tennessee River from Rock Pile (about three miles north of Pickwick Dam) to Camp Mack Morris near Camden, TN. The journey, which was completed in just three days, was the culmination of more than six months of planning, training and preparation by the crew members. In addition to fun and adventure one of the primary objectives of the crew was to learn and develop skills that they will need to provide search and rescue services to emergency management personnel from McNairy and surrounding counties. This trip was completed as a training scenario in which the crew was called on by local authorities to assist in the search for a fictional father and son who failed to return home from a day-long fishing trip along the Tennessee River.

Events leading up to the “super activity” included BSA Safe Swim Defense training, Safety Afloat training, and the BSA swimming test conducted by the crew’s three certified life guards, Eagle Scout Carson Moore, Eagle Scout Jamey Nunley and Associate Advisor Richard England. The crew also received training and extensive experience in the use of topographical maps, plotting grid coordinates, computing route azimuths and distances, compass use, dead reckoning navigation and then set up a five kilometer orienteering course at Horse Creek Wildlife Refuge. The course is available for other youth and non-profit organizations to use free of charge. (Information on Horse Creek can be found at http://www.horsecreekwildlife.org) Additional training was completed for flat-water canoeing and swift-water canoeing with practical and fun short canoe trips to build experience, stamina and paddling skills.

The crew’s next super activity is planned for the Christmas break and will consist of a 50 mile hike with a low-angle technical rescue and a 10-hour service project for our host location. This exercise will simulate hiking into the wilderness along a to rescue an overdue hiker who will have simulated injuries requiring wilderness medical care. Preparations for the super activity will include numerous short distance hikes, SOLO Wilderness First Aid certification, and training and certification for an Amateur Radio Technician Class License from the Federal Communications Commission.

A principle difference between a regular Boy Scout Troop and a Venture Crew is that Venturing isn’t just for boys. Girls can join too; Crew 101 has two. Young men and young women between the ages of 14 and 21 who have completed the eighth grade are eligible to join. The Venturing program focuses on high adventure; Crew 101 ties all of their activities to their specialty of search and rescue and conducts a super activity every six months. The level of training and preparation for Venturing activities goes beyond just familiarization – Venturers train for proficiency. Any youth or adult volunteers who want more information on Venture Crew 101 can visit their web page at http://www.foxkitsinc.com/venturing or contact our charter organization, Fox Kits Wilderness Survival.

Journal entries from the Tennessee River

By: Venturer Shelby Fox

Day 1: It was dark and cold when we woke up that next day, but I’m pretty sure it’s normal for 5:00 in the morning. After all of our food was distributed we loaded up and hit the road. Upon arriving we put our canoes down by the water. We got our picture taken for posterity and said our good-byes. Then we shoved off. A mist covered the water. The only sound was that of our paddles. Swish. Swish. All was calm and peaceful. As I looked at the horizon I couldn’t help but think, “What a beautiful world God created.” Within minutes that perfect scene that brought peace and joy to my soul was gone, but it will live on in my memory forever. The sun started to heat up the day and by the time we reached Diamond Island there was little time for day dreaming. Our first stop of the day was right after Highway 64 crossed the river. One of our canoe crews touched the pylon of the bridge as we passed under and it remained their tradition throughout the whole trip. So many sights to see so little time… By 3:45 we had reached Swallow Bluff Island. We were all amazed with the bird nests. It’s not every day you get to see dozens of birds with nests in the side of the, well, bluff. That night we camped near Eagle Nest Island. And as you all have probably guessed, we slept like rocks.
Day 2: Aroused from our beauty sleep by a barge and our Crew Adviser’s alarm clock, we jumped out of our tents, packed up camp and ate breakfast on the go. Under a bridge, past a marina and by an island, we passed the halfway mark around 11:30 and took a picture to celebrate. The rest of the day passed without anything really exciting except maybe a few barges. I think that when I say, “The best part of the trip was the wakes from the barges,” that everyone in the Crew agrees. Riding a wake was like riding a roller coaster: lots of fun. We stopped for the last night of our trip at Ladyfinger Bluff. We were all asleep before our heads hit the pillow.
Day 3: The last day we woke with joy and excitement today was the last 31 miles! On our way down the river we met lots of fishermen; all wished us luck on our journey. Time sped by and before we knew it there was the last bridge to glide under. As we passed underneath there was one little “touch” of the last pylon to keep our tradition. We had lots of fun and made canoe loads of memories. As we planned our trip there were many who said, “we couldn’t do it” or, “it is too far” or, “it is too fast.” But we had a plan and determination and we had faith. Thus we see that anything is possible, if you just set you minds to it and don’t look back.