New Forest Hike Pictures updated 8th April 11

SUCCESS AT COWES CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL!

A colouful Willie Wonka and his Christmas Factory tableau was one of the highlights of the Cowes Christmas Carnival. More than 80 members of 2nd Cowes Sea Scouts dressed up as characters from the famous Roald Dahl story, including Oompa Loompas, the bubblegum-loving Violet Beauregarde and even one of the golden tickets, to scoop one of the first-place prizes. The carnival committee chairman, Lynn Hammond, stated " The entry from the Sea Scouts was the star of the show. It was absolutely brilliant and you could tell that an amazing amount of work had gone into it."

All sections of the Group were involved in the construction of the float, props and costumes over many weeks. The dragon boat had illuminated eyes and smoke coming through the nostrils of the figurehead. It was already planned to enter the summer carnival in Cowes with the float later this year, but the Group have now been asked to attend some of the other Island carnivals.

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TROOP AFLOAT AT CORF

Recently, members of the Troop spent a weekend at Corf Scout Camp on boating activities. Arriving scouts were greeted by a downpour and temporarily assembled at the Mitchell Centre. When the rain eased off, members completed assembling the camp on sites 23 and 24, adjacent to Corf Lake, using some of the tents salvaged from the previous weekend's Isle of Wight Festival. Cooking was centralised to concentrate on activities afloat. On Friday night, older members explored Corf Lake in the dark, using kayaks available at Corf.

On Saturday, the 5 boats brought from Cowes, together with 6 kayaks amd a canoe, were deployed to give everyone a chance of getting afloat. The very strong winds which curtailed the sailing activity caused problems to the other craft and several people had to be retrieved from the opposite bank. On the Sunday, after the tide had risen at midday , the young people were split into 2 groups to explore Newtown Creek under power. They also constructed a large pioneering structure involving cargo nets. At the end of the camp, 3 members were invested into the troop before returning home. Apart from the heavy rain on Friday, the remainder of weekend was mainly dry with the odd light shower.

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RN RECOGNISED SEA SCOUT CAMP

Eight Scouts from 2nd Cowes recently spent a week on HMS Bristol, moored at Whale Island in Portsmouth Harbour, at the annual summer camp for RN Recognised Sea Scout Groups. Using the Type 82 Destroyer as a base, the first timers attended a taster week, sampling a variety of boating together with a day's expedition, whilst the remainder specialised in individual courses for dinghy sailing, power craft, kayaking or offshore sailing for which they obtained qualifications by the end of the week.

The first full day was affected by very strong winds and some of the activities were cancelled and replaced by a visit to HMS Victory. The winds eased during the week, accompanied by strong sunshine. Although the camp was run by members of the Scout Association, the attendees were introduced to Naval procedures, including marching across Whale Island for their main meals. 3 Leaders and 1 Young Leader from 2nd Cowes also attended as Instructors or members of the support team.

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NEW FOREST HIKE

64 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Leaders, parents and friends took part in the, now annual, Spring Hike in the New Forest. This number swamped the Red Jet with its usual Saturday shoppers. At Southampton, the Scouts made the short walk to the railway station, allowing the younger members to catch the shuttle bus. The Weymouth train was held up whilst South Western Trains insisted on printing individual tickets, albeit at a large discount. These tickets could not be obtained in advance!

At Brockenhurst, the party split into 2 groups, with a hike of about 8 miles for the Scouts and half that distance for the younger members. The destination for both was Beaulieu Road Station with a time constraint, as trains only stop every 2 hours. As expected for this time of the year, the forest was muddy in parts which only added to the young people's enjoyment. On their hike, the Scouts disturbed a herd of deer that ran across in front of them. At the finish, there was time for games, kite flying or relaxing before the train arrived. The weather was better than expected with the threatened rain holding off. It was a very successful day, albeit with a few tired legs. Everybody, young and old, bonded together. Thank you to Red Funnel for supplying a grant towards the fares.