Sea Scouts
'If I wasn't here, I'd probably be at home, on the computer, asleep or bored!'
Who can join the Scout Troop?
Scouts is open to boys and girls aged between 10 and a half and 14 years of age. We run two Troops, one on a Tuesday for girls and one on a Friday for boys. Meetings run from 7pm to 9pm at our HQ located in St Nicholas Park. The troops are named after two of the Royal Navy’s Nuclear Submarines – HMS Vanguard (girls) and HMS Vigilant (boys).
What do we do?
Sailing – On the river in the summer, at Draycote Water once a month and at summer camp, and that’s just for sailing, we also go kayaking, canoeing, rafting and pulling (a form of rowing).
Expeditions – Learning to map read, navigating the way through the countryside during the day and sometimes night, and carrying two days’ worth of equipment.
Archery – Some of the traditional scouting types of activities, along with shooting, fire lighting, pioneering, and many more.
Swimming – When you spend most of your the time on the water, there is always a risk of swimming! Many of the Scouts like to spend as much time in the water as on it.
Camping – As many times a year as we can manage, Frosty camp is brrriliant even if a little cold, although our annual summer camp sometimes has colder weather. But the weather doesn’t matter when you are busy having fun.
Organised Events – There are a number of events during the year put on for us, these can include camping with Scouts from across the District or County or going along to Royal Navy Sea Scouts events with other recognised groups from across the country. These include a swimming gala, football competition and a weeklong camp aboard a refurbished Destroyer.
Uniform – The Scouts all wear a uniform which is unique to the Sea Scouts, a nice thick woolly jumper, Scout neckerchief and a white topped hat. That’s not to say we do all of our activities in uniform, we wear it whilst we raise and lower the flag and the rest of the time it is whatever is practical for the activity.
Teamwork – How else would they manage to successfully work in their patrols?
So much more… we couldn’t list everything we have ever done. So if you are interested please sign up and find out about what else we get up to.
What does Scouts teach young people?
We work really hard to ensure the Scouts get everything they can from every activity, so if they have done the activity before it can become a bit samey, boring, no longer a challenge… Scouting changes the challenge. The older and more experienced Scouts have the opportunity to be promoted to Assistant Patrol Leaders, Patrol Leaders and Senior Patrol Leaders, they are then given responsibility to look after the rest of their patrol, help run the meetings and activities. We see 13 and 14 year olds looking after 5 other people, making sure dinner is cooked, that they have tidied up, getting them to activities on time, running games, teaching skills and many more things, all under the distant supervision of leaders. There aren't many places that they would get this opportunity to learn, develop and demonstrate responsibility and leadership skills.
Highlights
The highlight of the year for us, and the culmination of lots of hard work from the Leaders and the Scouts, is the annual summer camp. We spend two weeks on the banks of a lake or the sea putting into practice all of the skills gained over the course of the year, whilst cooking, eating and sleeping in Patrols (the group of up to six Scouts in which they work during their time at Scouts) and many other activities. These include sailing, paddle sports, a two day expedition by either land or water or a combination of the two, cooking on fires, wide games and much, much more. Each year we visit a different site and offer a slightly different set of activities, but one thing that remains the same is how much fun the Scouts all have.
How do I join?
The first step to joining the Scout troop is to join our waiting list by clicking here and further information will be sent to you.