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Ten Thousand Islands Canoeing for Families

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LOCATION
Florida
EXPEDITION TYPE
Canoeing
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Service, Base Camp
PRICE
$1,494 - $1,545
PROGRAM
Families, Additional Programs
AGES
12+
LENGTH
4 Days
START LOCATION
Fort Lauderdale, FL
END LOCATION
Fort Lauderdale, FL
i
SEASON(S)
Winter
SKILLS

TECHNICAL

  • Basic First Aid
  • Basic Paddle Strokes
  • Campcraft
  • Food Preparation and Cooking
  • Leave No Trace Methods & Ethics
  • Map and Compass
  • Natural History
  • Navigation
  • Self Care
  • Tides and Currents

INTERPERSONAL

  • Character
  • Communication
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Empathy
  • Leadership
  • Problem Solving
  • Responsibility
  • Self Awareness
  • Service
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Testimonial

“The aspect of Outward Bound called Duo is one of the most important personal events on the trip. For 24 uninterrupted hours, my teenage son and I talked about life, relationships, sports, anything that came to our minds. The Duo brought each parent closer to their child than ever before. Years later, both Ryan and I still think back on that time.” – Justice Correale Stevens, Alum

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This specially-designed Outward Bound course helps youth navigate the tough road from adolescence to adulthood with the support of their families.

This four-day course provides a unique opportunity for families to deepen their connections and appreciation for one another through challenging wilderness activities like canoeing, chart reading and sleeping and eating on white sandy beaches under a blanket of stars. The memories and metaphors of a shared adventure will carry on long into the future, as family participants further develop their relationships.

NOTE: Cost listed is per participant.

NOTE: For details on current COVID-19 policies, including vaccination, please contact an Admissions Advisor at the National Admissions Office at 866-467-7651.

UPCOMING COURSES

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What is this?

For detailed information on course availability statuses and what they mean, click here.

COURSE # DATES DAYS AGE COST
NEFC-211 12.30.21 - 1.2.22 4 12 and up $ 1,494 JOIN WAITLIST
NEFC-311 12.30.22 - 1.2.23 4 12 and up $ 1,545 APPLY NOW

Thank you for your interest in Outward Bound! 

This course starts within the next week. Please call us at 866-467-7651 to assess the possibility of applying for this course!

APPLY NOW
This means a course has several open spots and is actively processing applications.

APPLY NOW – Almost Full
This means there are three or fewer currently available spots left on a course. To secure your spot click Apply Now to begin an application!

JOIN WAITLIST

Once a course has reached capacity, three waitlist spots will become available. In the event a spot becomes available, those on the waitlist may have an opportunity to secure the available spot. To join a course’s waitlist, click “Join Waitlist” to begin the application process. Upon completion of your application, a $500 deposit is required to reserve the waitlist spot. If you choose to remove your application from the waitlist, or if a spot does not become available, you will be refunded the $500 deposit. If a spot becomes available and you elect not to take it, Outward Bound will keep $150 of the deposit.

Waitlist spots are prioritized in the order of returned paperwork, not in the order applications are received, so be sure to return the initial paperwork as soon as possible! Please be aware that waitlist spots may become available up to two weeks before the course starts. While cancellations do occur, we cannot guarantee a spot will become available. Applicants may only be listed on one waitlist. If there is another course that still has availability and is also of interest to you, we recommend applying for that course instead. If you have questions, please call 866-467-7651 to speak with one of our Admissions Advisors.

CALL TO APPLY
This means a course is very close to its start date. Although it is unlikely to secure a spot this late, you can call the National Admissions office at 866-467-7651 to discuss your options.

COURSE IS FULL
When a course has reached maximum capacity, meaning all spots and the three waitlist spots are occupied, a course will read “Course Is Full.” This means applications are no longer being accepted.

CLOSED
As a course nears its start date, the availability status may read “Closed.” In this event, a course roster has been finalized and applications are no longer being accepted or processed.

Family Expeditions

Outward Bound Family expeditions are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to experience the great outdoors with the people you love. These eye-opening adventures provide a new and exciting place to bond as a family, improve communication, and cultivate a shared sense of natural wonder as you explore some of the nation’s most pristine wilderness areas together.

  • Build skills, form connections: Learn, practice and refine expedition and personal skills. Faced with demanding natural challenges, discover the strength within each family member – but also the power of working together.
  • Value strengths and strengthen values: Learn to incorporate Outward Bound values into everyday life by pushing your own limits and seeking challenge as an opportunity for personal growth – as individuals and as a family unit.
  • Demonstrate mastery: As the course nears the end, Instructors transfer leadership responsibilities to crewmembers so they may apply skills, make group decisions and celebrate successes as a family.
  • What you’ll learn: Return home with wilderness skills, conflict resolution strategies, compassion for others, and the ability to work together as a highly-functioning, collaborative family unit.

Canoeing

During this course, family combinations will find a unique experience as they paddle together through lush mangrove tunnels in a land of contrasts: between tropic and semi-tropic, land and sea, salt and fresh water, canoeing the wild waterways of Florida. Participants can expect to spend a good deal of time each day in canoes traveling from campsite to campsite. These canoes are tandem, which means parent-child duos will need to work together and communicate as they travel. Depending on the weather, the level of difficulty will vary daily. Crews will learn marine expedition risk-assessment and management, marine route planning and navigation, paddle strokes, canoe-based rescues, equipment use and how to work with a paddling partner.

Duo

Near the end of the families course, students will participate in an adapted version of the Outward Bound Solo experience called Duo. Parent and child duos will separate from their crew to be alone together for a period of time, generally overnight. During this time, Instructors assign each duo with their own individual campsite within a designated area. These areas are both secluded and within hearing distance of other group members and Instructors to preserve safety protocols. Students will have all of the necessary gear, food, water and skills to complete this portion of the course. They will also know the location of their Instructors’ campsite should they need to contact them for any reason. Instructors will be monitoring students closely during this time and the Duo will last no longer than 24 hours. This experience is a great opportunity for families to relax, recharge, connect and reflect on their course after long days of strenuous group activities.

Service

Service to others and the environment is a core value of Outward Bound and is integrated into each course. Participants follow Leave No Trace ethics as service to the environment and do acts of service while leading and supporting fellow participants. Students develop a value of service, seeing the impact of their actions firsthand, and transfer this desire to serve their communities back home. 

Outcomes

Acquire a taste for adventure on this four-day Outward Bound experience, which reminds students of their connection to nature and leaves them feeling inspired to take on real challenge in their everyday life. Through these condensed experiences, students become comfortable living and working together in the wilderness while practicing the Four Pillars of Outward Bound; craftsmanship, self-reliance, physical fitness and compassion. Participants also create a solid foundation of skills that they can build upon once they return home.

Course Area

Everglades National Park, Florida

This course takes place off the west coast of southern Florida in Everglades National Park and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. As the largest sub-tropical wilderness in the United States and third-largest national park in the lower 48 states, The Everglades provides a variety of precious wildlife habitat. The aquatic preserve hosts more than 350 species of birds, 300 species of fresh and saltwater fish and 40 species of mammals within its confines. Everglades National Park is one of only three locations in the world to show-up on lists of International Biosphere Reserves, Wetlands of an International Importance and World Heritage Sites. As a subtropical region, The Everglades have a 12-month growing season. The Florida peninsula is believed to be the last part of the continental United States to rise from the ocean, making it the youngest region geologically and only Alaska can claim a longer shoreline. The Everglades have mild and pleasant temperatures from December through April, with low humidity and clear skies. Temperatures reach average highs of 88 degrees and lows of 54 degrees throughout. Strong cold fronts may occasionally create near freezing conditions, but such events are rare in this subtropical climate. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Calusa, Miccosukee and Seminole nations.

SAMPLE ITINERARY
DAY 1
Course start, load boats, learn paddle and rescue skills. Begin expedition.
DAY 2
Canoe expedition: navigation skills and reading tidal charts and flow
DAY 3
Canoe expedition: island beach camping, Everglades natural history lesson, family reflection activity (duo)
DAY 4
Final expedition back to land, course end ceremony, transportation to the airport

Testimonial

“The aspect of Outward Bound called Duo is one of the most important personal events on the trip. For 24 uninterrupted hours, my teenage son and I talked about life, relationships, sports, anything that came to our minds. The Duo brought each parent closer to their child than ever before. Years later, both Ryan and I still think back on that time.” – Justice Correale Stevens, Alum

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Cost: $1,494 - $1,545

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Getting Started

If you are ready to enroll on a course click the enroll button next to the course you wish to select or you can enroll over the phone by speaking with one of our Admissions Advisors (toll-free) at 866-467-7651.

To secure your spot on a course you must submit an enrollment form and $500 deposit that is applied toward the total cost of the course and includes a $150 non-refundable enrollment processing fee. 

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