Water, Fish, Fire and Dragons

Hello all,

Water
This past weekend saw the back-to-back Harbour Race and Hickson Regatta events hosted by Britannia at Evans Bay.  Conditions on Saturday were a bit slow so the course was shortened up to two smaller laps.  Sunday was fantastic, however, and our crews made the most of it.  It was a two-horse race between ourselves and Britannia and we managed to nudge them out with a couple of wins in the last two events of the day.  Well done to all our sailors!  Photos should be up on our site in the next day or two.

Nicky and Emma in a sunburst were victims of a hit-and-sail incident by an Eastern Bays cutter.  There was some damage to our boat so we will evaluate it and make repairs over the next while.

Our 'new' cutter Tuahine (83) has been surveyed, certified and made ready for action.  Her sailing rig is different from anything else we currently have so the leaders will have a look at the setup to ensure we understand it before sending Scouts out under canvas.  She is fine for rowing right now, so I'd expect we can put the oars in any time. 

I will mention it this Thursday, but our Great Onepoto Raft Race is set for this Sunday.  Some lashing practice wouldn't be a bad idea!  If anyone has spare inner tubes, please bring them along on Thursday or Sunday.

I should have full details about the Cutty Sark Regatta in Napier in a few days.  In broad strokes, however, it will be held at the Westshore Scout den on the Easter weekend.  It's a fantastic event, the weather (in my experience) is glorious, and all the kids have a blast.

Fish
Ross says: Tomorrow nights plan is to row the cutters out into Porirua harbour or the channel, anchor up, and all have a go at fishing. There will be a competition for the most fish caught and the biggest fish. What we need you to bring is something to fish with, either a fishing rod/reel or if you don't have access to a fishing rod, simply just a spool of nylon, a sinker and a hook will do (all available at the Warehouse for a low price)...you don't need large hooks – you can catch big fish on small hooks but you cant catch small fish on big hooks so don't go overboard and bring along a hook capable of catching a whale.

The fish that you might catch include pilchards, spotties, kahawai, trevally, john dory (see the photo of a John Dory caught by Ross using his bare hands behind the Scout den). There are also small school sharks that may be caught as well.

We will provide bait and we may have a limited amount of fishing gear available if you are unable to find any yourself. Richard might bring his net out that we can set as well.

Fire
A Kapiti Zone Campfire has been planned for Saturday 10 March starting at 6pm.  These are always special events and this one is doubly special because it is being held on the beach at Raumati!  Full details are in the PDF that went out with the email.

Dragons
Our dragonboat paddling was disappointingly blown out last week.  We have rescheduled for 16 March.  Please file decent weather requests (in triplicate) at least one week prior.

Cheers,
Randall

Change to dragonboat paddling night and other notes

Hello all,

I have just been advised that the dragonboat paddling we had scheduled in for 16 February has had to be pushed back to the following week, 23 February.
Also, the time has been shifted to 7-8pm instead of 6-7. This works out better for us as the 7pm start will allow more families to arrive on time and enjoy more of the experience.
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Many hands make light work, as the saying goes, and our Quartermaster David Arrowsmith has asked me to pass along a request for a few minutes of parent help tomorrow night.
We have a number of tents which are currently being stored in the boys' and girls' change rooms. As you can imagine, this makes it more difficult for the kids to get changed at the beginning and end of the evenings and generally slows things down.

So we are asking that parents please stay for a few minutes after bringing their Scouts at 6:30 to help move the tents out of the change rooms and back into the QM stores. All we'd need to do is wait until the sunbursts have been rolled out of the shed so we have room to work.
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The forecast for tomorrow night is rising northerlies which may mean rowing only, or may mean staying on shore depending on conditions. Please have your Scouts bring their wet gear anyway.

Cheers,
Randall

trolley derby wrap-up

Hello all,

It was a perfect morning for a trolley derby, and a number of brave and foolhardy souls took to Endeavour Drive to prove their mettle. 

The build quality of the trolleys was as variable as it usually seems - if you squinted just right and tilted your head just right, your brain would trick you into seeing a working brake.  Or functional steering.

The course was surprisingly steep, and a couple of trial runs indicated that shortening the course might prevent Scouts from being launched into low earth orbit.  With Venturers, however, no such concerns.

A number of race heats were run, with excellent driving from everyone and only one minor tip-out.

In the end, Raumati took the Scouts trophy home, with George Stuart declared Scout Driver of the Derby on the strength of his multiple wins for the troop.  Well done, Raumati! 

The Waikanae Venturers snuck in a dark-horse winner with their interpretation of Thomas The Tank Engine.  The adults present figured that if the thing should come apart during the race, the barrel could be used as a safety capsule.  Seems to work occasionally at Niagara Falls, anyway.

And Jareth Logan of Ngati Toa was recognised as Venturer Driver of the Derby on his not-quite-legal-but-fascinating-anyway drift trike.  One of his screaming runs featured not one but two unplanned 360 slides.  The rules did stipulate four wheels, but wasn't explicit about them all being on the ground.  And considering how much time the trike spent on two wheels, it might as well have been in the Bicycle class.

A huge thanks to all the parents, leaders, supporters and family members who came out today.

Randall

10 PIN BOWLING NIGHT - open to the whole Troop!!!!

10 PIN BOWLING NIGHT - open to the whole Troop!!!!
from 6.30pm Wednesday 21 September
cost - only $8 per game
Where - Strike Porirua

Following the huge success of last years bowling night we again invite all members of the Ngati Toa Troop, their families and friends, to a great night of competition and entertainment at Strike Porirua, Kenepuru Drive, from 6.30pm.

This is a huge opportunity to mix with other groups within the troop, and to raise funds to ensure we can continue to provide great activities for you or your child. We have been able to secure game tickets at a discount enabling us to raise some funds while having a great time at a cheap price (normal pricing is $10-$12 per game). When you purchase your game tickets, we will track which section of the troop the sale has come from and the funds raised will be allocated to that section.

The added benefit obtained this time is that tickets will be able to be used anytime up to 3 months away so if for any reason you are unable to make it on the night, you can play at a later date.

Tickets will be available from Ross Pritchard at Scouts each Thursday night or you can pay on the night (Ross will be available from 6.30 at the venue to sell tickets). Anyone wanting to purchase larger quantities of tickets for use at a later date can contact Ross by email (ross [at] whittakers [dot] co [dot] nz)

NTSS MasterChef done for another year

And done well, I have to say.

Thanks to everyone for another great event!  And especially to our 'volunteer' judges and parent assistants.

Photos are up already at
https://picasaweb.google.com/ngatitoa.seascouts/NTSSMasterChef2011Edition