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Overcast Crew takes adventure to new heights
Teens looking for some adventure don’t have to look very far. The Wantagh-based Venturing Crew 130 gives boys and girls a chance to go on expeditions that they likely wouldn’t do otherwise.
The crew, part of the Boy Scouts of America and sponsored locally by Wantagh American Legion Post 1273, sponsors monthly trips, as well as one week-long adventure each summer. Last year, the crew went canoeing in the Adirondack Mountains, and the summer before that was biking in New England. This year’s planned venture is a 50-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail.
Advisor Art Woodard, of Wantagh, said that different venturing crews have different specialties, and with Crew 130 it is high adventure. He said that the members of the crew pick their trips. “We’re basically their support and safety,” Woodard said of the adult leaders.
A majority of the members come from Wantagh, Seaford, Levittown, Massapequa, Bellmore and Merrick. The co-ed unit is open to teens ages 13 to 19. “They’re making new friends,” Woodard said.
The crew started three years ago with just four members, and has since quadrupled in size. David Frey, 16, of Massapequa, is one of the founding members and is the unit’s president. The Southern California native said he likes the canoe trips, or any adventures that involve water.
“It makes me explore new ideas,” he said of being a Venturer. “It allows us to work together and have some fun at the same time.”
Frey, who attends Plainedge High School, said he wants to be able to look back on his youth someday and realize he had many great experiences by being part of the organization. He doesn’t want to regret missing out on exciting opportunities.
Carl Bloom, 14, of Seaford, has been a long-time Boy Scout and joined Venturing Crew 130 about a year ago. “I thought it was going to be cool,” he said, “and it is because you go on trips.”
Sophia Burger, 15, of Bellmore, joined in September 2014. Her older brother is in the Boy Scouts, and she went on many of his trips, which gave her a taste of adventure. “I’ve liked this kind of stuff my entire life,” she said. “I just always wanted to be a part of it.”
She said he favorite trip so far was a caving expedition last December. She and her fellow venturers went spelunking, in which they went down into a big crater and spent several hours in a wet and muddy hole.
Michael Schablin, of Wantagh, the district commissioner, said that venture crews offer more opportunities for high adventure than the Boy Scouts because the members are typically older. Boy Scouts can be as young as 10, he said, which can limit the types of fields trips they can take, while Venturers are typically in their mid- to late-teens and able to push their limits further.
Members of the crew also do community service. Last year, they participated in a homeless awareness campaign by spending a night sleeping in cardboard boxes. They also do food and toy drives throughout the year, including during this past holiday season.
Woodard said most weekend trips are typically in the Tri-State area, within a two- to three-hour drive. Venturing Crew 130 meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church on Island Road in Wantagh. For more information about the unit, visit www.Crew130.org.
