Saturday 26 January 2019

2018 Term 4 roundup and looking ahead into 2019

Hi all
And welcome to our 2018 wrap up and news of what's to come this year.  I hope everyone had a great break from the routine and the mundane and looking forward to new experiences and new challenges in 2019 will bring.
Important
OSM Updates
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Term 4 roundup
Unlike Term 3 where a wide variety of activities were experienced and shared, Term 4 was all about Sea Scouting - Rowing, Seamanship, Kayaking and of course Sailing!
Of course not all of it was just boring learning.  We had visits from a couple of other troops during the term.
  • Waikanae Troop - who we took rowing out in the Pauahatanui arm of the inlet.  It was all rather adventurous with the seniors taking the cutter almost around into the next bay
  • Titahi Bay Troop - in return for our visit to them in Term 3 we invited Titahi Bay Scouts to come sailing and kayaking with us which they did.
Some time was spent learning sailing basics, rigging and weather (thanks to our very able Venturer volunteer Alastair), some time practicing them and then putting them into practice at regattas.
We fitted in an expedition rowing trip almost around to Browns Bay, a very impressive effort given that we normally only get an hour and fifteen or twenty minutes on the water on a Thursday evening.
Onepoto Regatta
The Onepoto Regatta is our home regatta and was fantastic as always.  I won't redo everything I have done previously as there is a blog on the site here: https://ngatitoaseascouts.blogspot.com/2018/10/onepoto-regatta.html which tells it all.
Many thanks to Neil for doing an extraordinary job again this year as Shore Officer and Rachel and her team for laying on the magnificent spread for dinner.  All the leaders and parents who came along to help and support, my thanks to you too.
Levin Regatta
This was a first for me and I think most of the scouts.  Lake Horowhenua has always been a little sketchy with algal blooms and pollution always being a risk.  This year, it was decided to try and get a regatta in on the lake early in the summer to beat the algy and pollution.  The work the council up there have put in over the last few years have also made a big difference and we look forward to better years up there in the future.
The new venue presented it's own challenges around where to base ourselves and where to do briefings and where to launch the boats.  For future reference, the boats launched quite easily when we walked them to the end of the little spit.  The lake would have been excellent for sailing had the wind not been so enthusiastic, but we still got some rowing races in which we faired reasonably well in (I think we get the prize for the most second places).  
Unfortunately, I have no photographs of this regatta.  We also managed to write off one of our cutter sails.
Kapiti Regatta (by Neil)
There was a good breeze in the morning that was due to die out so we swapped the order and set out for Aeroplane Island in the morning sun. The race over to the island soon became well spread out with Ngati Toa firmly in the middle of the pack and sailing well. All our boats managed to avoid the dead patch of air on the leeward side of the island while some others drifted forlornly in to it and stayed there for some time. The race back to shore was a fight against the tide that saw many boats, including the Ngati Toa fleet, drift a long way south before heading up the shoreline to the finish. 
After a brief break for lunch we started the inshore race just as the wind died out. This meant a very slow race for most boats with several not making it over the finish line in favour of getting home before darkness fell. Overall it was a good regatta with a good turn out from the Scouts and Venturers and much fun had by all.
Ward Island Picnic (by Grant)
We have some great photos to share with you of the sailing to Ward island on Sunday. Well done to St James for hosting this fun event. It turned out to be some of the best sailing conditions we have had on the harbour for a long time, and we had a blast.
This short video is particularly good - I like to call it "Wake Up Will"
We ended up with 14 Scouts and 1 Venturer (Alistair, who quickly partnered up with St James) so we took 3 cutters and 1 patrol boat.
Special thanks to Roy McGuinness, Kate and Neil Calvert for towing there and back. Kate and Neil also stayed for the day and got to sail with the scouts (a special sort of torture).
Both Kate Scott and myself would really like to say just how proud we were of our Scouts on Sunday. Their enthusiasm and complete confidence to take charge of those boats and sail them across Wellington harbour is, quite frankly, awe inspiring.
A great way to round out the year.
Individual Achivements
Investitures
This term we invested a lot of new scouts.  The following scouts all took the promise and received our scarf and woggle to wear with pride, whenever in the company of other scouts:
  • Connor Tyacke
  • Thomas Duncan
  • Rosie Bell
  • Bronson Martin
  • Seth McGregor
  • Jesse Barnes
  • Xavier Braga
Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards
Some of you scouts have completed Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards over the last term.  They are:
  • Ellen has achieved her Gold Award and is well on her way to her Chief Scout.  Only her Zone Leader interview stands between her and achieving the pinnacle of scouting.
  • Hamish and Harry have both achieved their Bronze Awards
The Bronze award is a requirement to attend Jamboree and the leaders will make every attempt to help scouts achieve this, but you need to be aware and motivated to achieve it to.
Sandford "Young Leaders" and Cossgrove "Practical Skills" courses
This year I hope get a large number of you onto these two courses.  They are both great fun and very challenging, and will definitely put you outside your comfort zone for a weekend. 
I have the dates for two Sandford courses and will be sending out invites closer to the time.  The first is 5-7 April and the second is 17-19 May.
A Cossgrove course is also planned but the dates are not finalised yet.
Term 1 Programme
A programme has yet to be finalised for Term 1 2019.  Needless to say it will contain a lot of sailing, rowing, kayaking and fun.
We are planning to organise a camp during the term as well.
Term 1 Events
One planned event we do know about is the Kapiti Zone Mud Slide
  • When: Saturday 23rd February
  • Where: Pukera Bay Scout Den, Greenmeadows Park
2019 Regatta Schedule
Please remember that as Sea Scouts we need to attend as many of these events as possible, so put them in your calendar now so you won't forget.
2019 - Sailing Calendar
Hickson Regatta
  • When: Sunday 24 February 9:30am
  • Where:Evans Bay
Zone Raft Race
  • When: Sunday 03 March 10:00am
  • Where:Onepoto / Titahi Bay BC
Harbour Race
  • When: Sunday 24 March 9:30am
  • Where:Evans Bay
Worser Bay Regatta
  • When: Sunday 07 April 9:30am
  • Where:Worser Bay
Cutty Sark Regatta
  • When: Sat-Sun 20-21 April 9:30am
  • Where:Napier @ Westshore
Charge Course(Certification for Parents and Leaders who wish to help run Safety Boats, instruct Scouts and operate a shore base)
  • When: Monday 22 April 9:30am
  • Where:Napier @ Westshore
Swimming Sports
  • When: Saturday 18 May 3:00pm
  • Where:Cannon's Creek Pool, Porirua
LNI Prizegiving
  • When: Wednesday 05 June 7:30pm
  • Where:Ngati Toa Scout Den
Contact us
If you have any questions of queries, feel free to contact me on 021 0292 8345, or at NgatiToa.SeaScouts@gmail.com.
Yours in scouting
Derrick