A Scout’s Oath intends to prepare young people to make ethical choices.
A Scout’s Oath intends to prepare young people to make ethical choices.
Little did Russell Township Troop 193 know, their unwavering dedication on the high seas would come in the form of saving a sea turtle named Jerry.
“Never underestimate the determination of a group of people when it comes to rescuing someone or something else,” Troop Leader Scott Parker said in a recent interview. “I am very proud of how the Scouts worked together during the turtle rescue as well as their participation in the SCENE program that encourages conservation and wildlife protection programs.”
In late June, the troop rescued the sea turtle, which was tangled up in fishing line, while on an excursion to Florida National High Adventure Sea Base, a high adventure program base run by the Boy Scouts of America at Islamorada.
The group sailed the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean on a 40-foot sailboat named the Katziki.
Parker joined Assistant Leader Robert Dorsky and Scouts Ben Kovacic, Xavier Zup, Jack Dorsky, Parker Lewis, Michael Gantous and Aidan Stocum on the six-day trip.
“The excursion was quite the high adventure,” said Zup, a Scout since 2012 and West Geauga High School senior. “We were on the outer edges of a tropical storm in the gulf which increased wind speeds significantly. This let us sail for almost an entire week.”
Some of the most beautiful and tropical places on earth can change from serenity to fury depending on Mother Nature’s plans, as residents of this area around the Florida Keys recently discovered during and following Hurricane Irma.
After Irma made landfall on the Keys, Federal Emergency Management Agency used one the BSA’s Florida Sea Base facilities as a staging area for search-and-rescue efforts.
“We were in the Gulf of Mexico when Cyclone Cindy was passing through, most days the winds were between 20 and 25 knots,” Parker said.
One morning, upon pulling out of an overnight sleeping harbor and raising anchor, the crew saw that a fishing line was tangled up in the anchor chain.
“As we were getting to the end of the line, I saw a shadow in the water that was much larger than a fish,” Parker said. “It turned out to be a hardy 24-pound green sea turtle.”
Capt. Valerie Weingrad soon radioed for contact information for the turtle hospital in Marathon, Fla.
“We were given instructions to cover the turtle with a towel and keep it wet, which the whole crew assisted in, while we waited the 15 to 20 minutes for the search and rescue boat,” Parker said.
A marine rescue group met the boys at the dock and took possession of the injured turtle to care for its injuries.
The crew named their rescued friend Jerry, after their captain’s father, who recently passed away.
“The boys checked in on the turtle and learned that it in fact had injuries from the fishing line and several tumors believed to be caused by human impact on the waters near its habitat,” said Tom Mansfield, a father of a Scout who was too young to make the trip.
Mansfield said Fibropapilloma virus was the reported cause of the tumors and a leading contributor to this virus is pollution in the ocean.
In addition to saving Jerry, this inspired the boys to do a shoreline cleanup public service project at the end of their excursion.
“Rescuing this sea turtle was not life changing, but it greatly impacted my awareness to pollution,” Zup added. “This poor turtle had about 500 yards of fishing string wrapped around its fin, along with multiple tumors around its head caused from pollution. Saving this turtle was definitely the highlight of the week because we could tell how much relief we gave the turtle.”
Kovacic said being a part of the sea base adventure definitely made an impact on his life and taught him a valuable lesson.
“When we were reeling the fishing line caught on our anchor, we were going to cut the line, but our captain told us not to,” Kovacic said. “So we started to pull on the line. After about 500 yards of fishing line, we spotted the sea turtle all entangled in it.
The lesson I learned from this is to never cut the line short in any task your doing. Whether it’s doing your homework or doing a chore, you never know what could be at the end for you. For us, we were lucky enough to have Jerry be a part of our lives.”
Unfortunately, several weeks after the high adventure, the marine center contacted them to let them know Jerry passed away from his injuries and tumors.
“It still taught me that it’s never too late to try and help,” Zup said.
