Sunday 6 December 2020

2020 Kapiti Regatta

The weather could not have been more friendly, even it it did only last for half a day, it was the right half of the day! Sunshine and mild winds in the morning picked up to overcast and moderate winds for the long race which most of us finished pretty quickly. Certainly I was back in just over an hour and a half and I was near the back of the field.

As results go we did reasonably well on Sunday, getting some good positions and seeing some very good sailing from the scouts. We had no venturers so some of our older scouts took on the role and sailed in their classes.

Well done to Sean, Matt, Xavier and Hamish for helming successful boats. Will and his crew got a win in their cutter in the Tokomapuna (Airplane island) race and Xavier got a second in the open class with me as crew. Sean and Matt had two placings.

GROUP POINTS


Group Scout Points Venturer Points Open Points
Britannia 5 4
Eastern Bays
St James 10 12 18
Ngati Toa 8 4 10
Paraparaumu Beach 3 4
Kotuku 1 4
Westshore

INSHORE RACE


SUNBURST 1st 2nd 3rd
Scout St James Britannia Ngāti Toa
Senior
Open Ngāti Toa

CUTTER 1st 2nd 3rd
Scout
Venturer St James Paraparaumu Beach Ngāti Toa
Open St James Kotuku

OFFSHORE RACE (AIRPLANE ISLAND)


SUNBURST 1st 2nd 3rd
Scout
Venturer St James Britannia Ngāti Toa
Open St James Ngāti Toa

CUTTER 1st 2nd 3rd
Scout Ngāti Toa St James Paraparaumu Beach
Venturer
Open St James

Thursday 3 December 2020

Cycling trip to Hongoeka Bay

by Alfie


We met at the Den and the weather was perfect for our bike ride. The high winds and rain had died away and the sun was out. Before we set off we did a short presentation about bicycle maintenance and road safety. We then went outside to check everyone's bikes. Lucky everyone's bikes were in perfect order. We then set off in our patrols across the domain.


We set off down the Ara Harakeke pathway towards Plimmerton. During this trip, everyone stayed together in their patrols. We followed this pathway until we reached Plimmerton. When we reached Plimmerton we moved from the walkway to riding on the side of the road. We continued along the side of the road until we reached the pathway alongside the ocean at which point cars were coming regularly along the road. At this point, we switched back to the walkway all the way to the Marae. 

Hannah near the Plimmerton Firestation


Liam, Ruby and Ciara bringing up the rear

When we reached the marae we waited for everyone to catch up. Since we were ahead of schedule, we decided to go further than planned and went to the headland further along the path. We stopped here for a bit. Hamish and Will went out onto the rocks and sang songs while Zoe and her friends caught crabs. While we were having a break, a group of scouts climbed a large rock, despite being told not to. Jesse fell off the rock and had to be sent to the hospital as he had sliced his knee open on a rock.

Hanging around at the point

Jesses knee (He had 11 stitches later!)

After Jesse had been driven to the hospital, we set off back to the den. There was no incident on the way back. When we got back to the den, we had a game of infection tag, then a game of poison ivy. We then had flag down and left for the night.

A few more pictures are available here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xke93nmSjcfMU11a7

Monday 16 November 2020

2020 Swamp tests

Last Sunday we revised our Sunday Sailing practice to being swamp testing and safety drills.  The low tide that was coming in meant the channel was running at full speed and causing a strong rip in the area outside the den.  For that reason we decided sailing was not feasible, but we decided we could do our annual swamp test of the cutters.  This is a fun activity that requires scouts to sink the cutters and then leave them to float.  Flotation in the cutters ensures that they float quite high out of the water and we have to maintain these to ensure this height out of the water.

219 showing water just above the centre case

146 sitting only a little deeper than 219

83 failed.  This is not how a cutter should look in the water.

For completeness we put 83 through the same test and this result was expected.  New flotation is currently being made for it and should be installed in the next weeks.

The scouts also had some fun doing some safety drills:

  • Pulling scouts out of the water and onto the boat
  • Swimming under a kayak with your life jacket on
  • Swimming and coming up underneath an overturned boat
  • Swimming underneath a sail on the water


Alfie heading under the boat

Rose coming out from swimming under the sail

More pictures are available here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/G941fFuvVXteDGnv7


Friday 13 November 2020

2020 Levin Regatta

Lake Horowhenua was a blast!  During some times of the day that was literal.  The weather was a mix up of just about everything you can get up there.  We arrived to drizzle and a reasonably strong Northerly which felt like it was dying.  We got boats on the water and started sailing and it dropped to almost nothing.  After about half an hour of drifting around trying to find wind, we found some coming up from the South that grew into something quite strong.  Most of the boats went in after about an hour on the water.  

We all then settled down to have some sausages and hot drinks with Kotuku.  They were fantastic hosts and brought a great scouting spirit to what would otherwise have been a pretty non-descript event.

Special mention to Magnus, who lead the younger scouts through rigging, sailing and derigging with great maturity and attitude.

Racing across the lake

Magnus showing Zoe how to enjoy sailing

Calvin and Rose "Rowing under sail" during the lull

What it's all about!

More pictures here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/Z5zy8PiPTeyWZmQK8

Wednesday 28 October 2020

Onepoto Regatta 2020

 First regatta of the season!  What a brilliant start to the season.  And the weather?  Randall put it well : "The weather for Onepoto was best described as 'Wellington' with Saturday being just shy of perfect, Sunday being a drizzly mess and Monday a bit of both."

Our Juniors produced some really memorable results, including winning the Seamanship event on their first time out (a credit especially to their coxswain Matt).  And our intermediates who won Iron Scout, Rowing and Cutter Sailing.  

I was especially proud of the way Ngati Toa as a troop got together to get boats ready and put away afterwards.  This was something I witnessed that was missing in the other troops.  It makes me very proud.  Thank you.

I have included a few pictures below.  More are available here

Grant and the watch leaders deciding the crews

Adam and Phoebe heading out to race

Our winning seamanship crew

The results look pretty good for us.  We achieved a solid second over the whole weekend with St James taking weekend honours.  Some very good individual performances and a strong showing from our intermediates, made up a little for the small turnout amongst our seniors.

SAILING


SUNBURST1st2nd3rd
JuniorParaparaumu BeachSt JamesBritannia
IntermediateSt JamesNgati ToaBritannia
SeniorSt JamesNgati ToaBritannia
OpenSt JamesBritanniaNgati Toa

CUTTER1st2nd3rd
JuniorSt JamesParaparaumu BeachBritannia
IntermediateNgati ToaSt JamesBritannia
SeniorSt JamesBritanniaNgati Toa
OpenSt JamesBounty RoversNgati Toa

ROWING


1st2nd3rd
JuniorSt JamesBritanniaNgati Toa
IntermediateNgati ToaSt JamesBritannia
SeniorSt JamesNgati ToaBritannia
OpenSt JamesBounty RoversNgati Toa

KAYAKING


1st2nd3rd
JuniorSt JamesNgati ToaBritannia
IntermediateBritanniaNgati ToaSt James
SeniorSt JamesBritanniaNgati Toa

IRON SCOUT


1st2nd3rd
JuniorBritanniaNgati ToaSt James
IntermediateNgati ToaBritanniaSt James
SeniorBritanniaNgati ToaSt James
Open---

SEAMANSHIP


1st2nd3rd
JuniorNgati ToaSt James
IntermediateBritanniaSt JamesNgati Toa
SeniorSt JamesBritanniaNgati Toa


Overall results

PointsGroup
100St James
70Ngati Toa
66Britannia
17Paraparaumu Beach
8Bounty Rovers

Tuesday 20 October 2020

2020 - Term 3 - News and Roundup

Hi,

COVID-19 has been a constant this term with the country moving up and down alert levels and keeping us on our toes.  First victim was the Turere Lodge hike which was booked paid for and arranged and ready to go.  Unfortunately we had to pull the plug on it based on advice from Scouting NZ.  But we still managed to get a lot in to a term that was fairly uncertain

Term 3 roundup

A quick summary of some of our programme evenings at scouts this term.

Ice Skating

Starting the term on the ice.  We went for a visit to the waterfront to get a evening of fun ice skating in.

Fear Factor & Disability

Understanding our limits and what we consider acceptable was the point of the evening with some groups doing a fear factor type challenge (finding dice in a box of worms) or eating worms buried in cream (right).

The disability side involved a number of experiences that replicated having a disability and was enlightening for a lot of scouts

Neil's sketchy activity evening

A night of fun based on dubiously scout like activities, including hungry hippo on skateboards (right).

The also built ladders and bridges in the den to cross between the rafters.  (see below)

Cheese making

Rachel taught us all how to make cheese, that we then used to make an Indian style curry.  There were some significant differences in the tolerances of some of the scouts taste buds though!  Some definitely "Like it Hot!"

Making Covid Masks

Angus took us through making covid masks during Alert Level 2 and several of the scouts actually finished their masks.  Given that we very quickly went down to Level 1, I would suggest that they probably did not see much use.

Swimming & Boatsman quiz

Trying to get our younger and new scouts evaluated for their swimming ability is important for us leaders.  We do this every year just before the sailing season really starts .  This year, due to the Alert level the pool would not allow us to bring the whole troop, so only those who needed to be evaluated went. 

The rest stayed back at the den and learnt some boatsman skills.  The Watch Leaders had 2 minutes to teach the scouts in their group the knowledge they needed for the questions that were asked at the end.  The Watch Leaders were not allowed to answer or help and the points gained all counted to wards the Watch Leaders skill. 

Individual achievements

Invested

Several of our new scouts were invested during the term this year and are now fully fledged members of the troop.  The investiture was held outside in the dark, to allow parents to watch during the Alert Level 2 when we were contact tracing.  This was something different and quite fun.  They are:

  • Kalina
  • Zoe
  • Hannah
  • Alex
  • Nathaniel
  • Freddy

Welcome to the troop and we wish you loads of scouting fun.

Sandford "Young Leaders" course

This course is a full on two days of learning and doing on how to lead (and how to follow a leader). 2 of our scouts completed this course successfully in July.

  • Ethan
  • Magnus

Well done, both of you.

Future Sandford "Young Leaders" and Cossgrove "Practical Skills" courses

These courses are all planned for the rest of the year.  Dates as follows:

  • Sandford Course
    • 18-20 October - This is a young leaders training course and will be recommended to a few senior scouts.  It is held at Brookfield.

Looking ahead

Please remember that we are Sea Scouts.  The regattas are a VERY important part of what we do and we do expect a good level of attendance.  We would reasonably view this as at least half of the scout events below.

2020

Onepoto Regatta

Starting on Labour weekend with our own regatta, the Onepoto Regatta  will start on the Saturday with Seamanship, iron scout and kayaking events, and the sailing events on Sunday.  We will be camping overnight on the domain.

  • When: 24/10/2020 & 25/10/2020
  • Where: Titahi Bay Sailing Club & Ngati Toa Sea Scout Den

Zone campfire

  • When: Saturday 31 October @ 6:00 pm
  • Where: Kuku East Road, Levin

Levin Regatta

  • When: Sunday 08 November @ 9:00 am
  • Where: Forest Lakes, Levin

Petone Regatta

  • When: Sunday 22 November @ 9:00 am
  • Where: Petone Foreshore

Kapiti Regatta

  • When: Sunday 6 December @ 9:00 am
  • Where: Paraparaumu Beach

Ward Island Picnic

  • When: Sunday 20 December @ 9:30 am
  • Where: Petone Foreshore

2021

Whakaipo Bay Camp

  • When: Sunday 20 January til 26 January
  • Where: Whakaipo Bay, Taupo

Harbour Race

  • When: Sunday 14 February @ 9:00 am
  • Where: Greta Point, Evans Bay

Kapiti Coast Zone Raft Race

  • When: Sunday 21 February @ 9:00 am
  • Where: Pauahatanui Inlet

Worser Bay Regatta

  • When: Sunday 28 February @ 9:00 am
  • Where: Worser Bay Yacht Club

Hickson Regatta

  • When: Sunday 14 March @ 9:00 am
  • Where: Greta Point, Evans Bay

Cutty Sark Regatta

  • When: Sunday 2 April - 4 April
  • Where: Napier

Swimming Sports

  • When: Sunday 22 May @ 3:00 pm
  • Where: Canons Creek Pool

LNI Prize Giving

  • When: Thursday 17 June @ 7:30 pm
  • Where: TBA

Farewell & Thanks

Kate Scott, who has been a scout leader with us for many years, has decided to call it a day.  

Her contribution to our scout troop has been innumerable.  Her sailing skills have helped many a scout grow their ability.  And her quiet focus on activities has meant many a group of rowdy scouts has always learnt something good that evening.

She will be missed and we wish her all the best in a future endeavours.


Tuesday 29 September 2020

2020 Group Camp - "Time Warp"

Another year, another group camp and another great camp with memories made and new friends found.  The theme this year, "Time Warp" was the inspirition of a group of Venturers as was the inclusion of the confidence course in the activities.


FRIDAY

Friday started with the traditional making of the buffs that everyone wears to denote the group (called "cohorts" this year) they are in.  Then it was off to the campfire.  Started a little late, but we got into the story behind the camp in the end.

"Time Ranger 1524 has been asked to help the aliens collect some dinasaur eggs.  Apparently during a game of catch one of them accidently missed his catch and the space rock fell to earth killing off the dinasaurs and now they want to put them back.  Time Ranger 1524 asks the scout cohorts to help find a dinasaur egg each through completing various challenges.  However, he is doing this illegally and his boss, Time Marshal 931 is not allowed to know what they are doing"

Time Ranger 3:24 PM a.k.a "1524"

SATURDAY

Various adventures were had including Caveman Cooking, The Floor is Lava, The bush treasure hunt, The River of Time, and the Tardis creation unit were all available to help complete the bits and pieces necessary to help find and then defend the eggs.

THE TARDIS

The challenge was to 

  1. Create a Time Travel Vessel, 
  2. Create piece of headwear to show which cohort you were in and;
  3. Learn the "Time Warp" dance

Dougal helping the younger girls
with their helmets
A Hippie Time Machine


Hamish looking serious about
his punk mowhawk
Concentration is paramount on these
activities


Not really what was required,
but so good it had to be photographed
Harvey the Spaceman

THE RIVER OF TIME

A firm favourite at these camps, the little lake at Brookfield has kayaks and rafts and a rope bridge and everything required to create a host of challenges.  This one involved getting a whole bunch of materials back from an island in the middle of the lake and building a raft with which to complete a series of challenges.  Of course no visit to the Brookfield lake would be complete without using the rope bridge and the rope swing.

The rope swing Best use of the wire rope bridge


Magnus and Ellen raft their cohort
off to complete their challenges
Josh with his helpers off to do
the same


Alex helping Cubs and Keas to
enjoy kayaking on the lake
General kayaking when the
challenges were complete

CAVEMAN COOKING

This was everything the name describes and run by far the most entusiastice leaders.  Cooking on open fires, frying on stones and cooking a storm, it was great fun, not to mention a great feast!

The cave people (and a hippie) to help the
scouts understand what they were doing
"And this is what we use to make the flour in
and we put it in this bag when it's done!"


Everyone should be able to find
capsicum just outside their cave
Is this damper ready to eat?


The preparation table Preparing the fires

THE FLOOR IS LAVA

Just like to television show, the floor is dangerously hot and you may not fall in it.  The penalty is dire: You have to tell Michelle a joke!

Scouts have the rules of the
spiders web explained
Someone told Michelle a
good joke


Jacob helping a kea over the
slack line
Alex doing the same


Trying to stay on the boards
between "safe zones"
How the boards get where you
need them to be

FINDING THE DINASAUR'S EGG

Along the way the cohorts all had to find their Dinasaurs egg to get to the alien the next day.  This involved following a treasure hunt of clues through thick bush opening a locked chest and following the trail all the way to the egg.  Then the egg has to be personalised so that they know it when they see it again.

The clues Enjoying the bush experience
looking for clues


Looking for the clues with the help
of the Time Ranger
Finding the clues


The last clue is in a locked chest.  The
other clues helped to open the
combination lock
The dinasaurs egg.  What it was all about!

THE STORM

The storm that was forecast for Saturday night came through as promised with buckets of rain and plenty of wind.  As scouts though "Weather does not stop scouting!  It just means we have to be prepared!"

Following the days activities the scouts all went off to their tents and prepared them by storm lashing them.  Extra guys were created using lashings and bigger pegs were used to create a second round of supports for the tent frames.  The scouts were then shown how to storm lash their awning if it should blow free.  Two of the tents actually used this technique during the night very successfully.  

As a scout leader I am very proud of the way the scouts approached both the lashing and faced the storm during the night.  A very impressive effort.

Individual lashings as a
storm lashing
A single line used as a
storm lashing


The scouts efforts at storm lashing the awning. Impressive for a first time out.

SUNDAY

The weather delivered as promised and then finished by about 9am, also as forecast.  No complaints there, but there was a lot of water around.

Sunday morning started on a serious note as it always does at Group Camp with a "Scouts Own" and awards and recognitions. There was only one Bravo Award this year and it went to a scout.  Using knowledge he had learned at scouts, he helped a man who was hyperthermic in the bush, kept him warm and got him help.  Well done Hamish.

Two cubs were invested and one Kea, "Nathan", was given a special woggle for representing the values of a good scout throughout the last term.

Lastly, we invested our newest leader, Dain, who is helping in the Kea section.  Welcome to the team Dain.

Then we all packed up and got ready for the BIG EVENT!  The leaders all got into character again!

Jane in her NASA uniform.
She kept that a bit of a secret!
Pete, Stu and Glenn as the 3 ....
neons ???


Dene and Lauren representing
the 1980's well with Pete and Glenn
Cavemen, they keep popping up.  This
 time Grant and Nicki with Kym


Tim and Nick also doing Cavemen. 
Or was it Nick and Tim?
Vanessa the Space person


The challenge today was to take their eggs in their cohort and carry them over various obstacles and challenges without them getting damaged.


Carrying the egg under the cargo nets Caveman move Rock!  Ugg!


The balancing beams make it tricky to
keep your egg in one piece
Up on the high wall.  A drop from here
could spell the end of an egg


Poster photograph for
next years camp!
Some people found the water too
tempting.  We are Sea Scouts after all!


Next came the defence of the eggs from the Time Marshal when he found out what everyone was doing.

Rosie does not know whats behind her Max playing it safe


Alfie on the attack Rachel getting in the mix


Getting some ammunition sponges Mayhem all around


Once they had successfully defended their eggs from the Time Marshal, they could take them over to the Alien, who offered to purchase them for sugar flavoured sugar!

The alien offering to purchase the eggs after they had successfully been defended.


Alls well that ends well. The Aliens got there eggs, the Time Ranger and the scouts all got paid, and the Time Marshel lost out again. Everyone got a bit wet, from rain, rivers, lakes, and water fights but no-one minded it a bit. They were all having too much fun. 

Many thanks to the parents who helped us to clean up the camp ground so we could all go home in a timely fashion. 


Keep well and we look forward to next years big adventure.

There are more photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/68D9hxxjdicuqNKx8

Derrick