On the 7th of November 2009 (Saturday), 14 Beatty Beavers Scouts went on a Kayaking 1 Star Course at Sembawang Sea Sports Club located at Sembawang Park.
Now, let's talk abit about the place. Sembawang Park is a 15 hectare park situated in the north of Singapore facing the Straits of Johor overlooking Malaysia. It is located at the end of Sembawang Road, where the former Sembawang Road End Bus Terminal is. The place was also once the home to the British Air Base. Sembawang Park gets its name from Sembawang Tree Kayea ferruginea. if you're observant like a Scout should be, you would notice that there is a Sembawang tree at the centre of the car park C1 close to the Sembawang Bus terminal. The Sembawang Park has many interesting connections to Singapore's historical past. But hey, I'm ain't going to give you a history lesson today, so if you are keen in knowing more, check this link out. It's really interesting.
Mr. Vanga was our kayaking instructor. Incidentally, he is also a Rover Scout with our affliate unit, the Beaver's Rover Crew. He is an interesting guy who cracks lots of jokes to kickstart the day. As with all outdoor activities, we were briefed on safety as safety is never compromised in any activities. You'd rather be safe then to be sorry, won't ya? After a short and clear briefing on the dos and don'ts, we started carrying the kayaks to the shore from the shed at the Sea Sports Club. And here comes the Beavers for our Adventure through the mini expedition!And for those who think it's easy, it sure wasn't. Tiring it was, to carry kayaks down to thhe beach. But hey, we Scouts are courageos in all difficulties.
Rover Vanga first taught us how to enter the kayak in the proper manner so that we will not capsize even before we launch off. Thereafter, he taught us on the capsize drill. Well, why do we learn capsize drill? Simple! So that we know how to react and respond when it happens at the sea. Scouts are always ready, cos Be Prepared is our motto. It seemed to be quite easy task but it wasn't. It turned out to be quite scary, and almost all failed for the first time, except Glenn which he appeared to be proud. Eventually most of us passed the drills!
Thereafter, we started learning on how to paddle forward and backward; paddle left to turn right; paddle right to turn left; and gaining confidence in handling the kayak.G Vanga: Pitch up! ( Now that was the cue for something delicious...and no, it's not what you're thinking)
Soon, it was lunch and we went to wash up and gather at the ‘canteen’. We had a delicious meal, after the meal, we had lot of time to rest, so we end up lying on the floor, trying to sun dry ourselves. Reminded me of how my mom dried salted fish....which we seemed like. Haha
After lunch, we headed back to the sea to practise our new found skill of steering a sea craft, in this case a kayak. The day soon ended with us carrying the kayaks back and placing them on the floor, to dry it under the sun.
The whole Kayaking Course was an exciting and memorable experience for the Beavers! I just can't wait to get myself signed up for Kayaking 2 Star and 3 Star course to learn more new stuff in year 2010.The Sun, the Sand and the Sea will always be with us...
Signing off,
Koh Zhi Rong
Asst. Patrol Leader
(Tiger Patrol)
