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C B 3 RD 3rd Chalkwell Bay Sea Scout Group Annual Report 2017/18

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3rd Chalkwell BaySea Scout Group

Annual Report

2017/18

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3rd Chalkwell Bay Sea Scouts Annual Report 2017/18

Group Scout Leader’s ReportThe past year has been good, with youth numbers remaining high and near capacity across the whole age range high. This is due in no small part to the well planned and interesting programmes that run almost every night of the week throughout the year.

Over the past year the Beavers and Cubs joined the Scouts and Explorers for the Group Summer Camp in Suffolk, along with a number of other camps and trips away, including the Alice in Wonderland activity day for Beavers, Mega Camp for Cubs, a week’s hillwalking & activities in Derbyshire for Scouts, and an Easter camp for the Explorers at our old favourite Haughley Park.

Activities on the water continue as always to be very successful, with an increasing number of Scouts & Explorers coming to The Den for courses and open boating at weekends; thanks to our team of RYA Instructors for the arduous task of keeping these running throughout the summer. Huge thanks also to our

in-house engineers Andy Middleton and Lyle Wheeler who work tirelessly behind the scenes maintaining the Group’s power boats, without which there would be no activities afloat of any form.

As I said last year I was hoping to have some new RS Quest sailing boats dinghies to replace our aging Wanderers. I pleased to say they arrived last September and have been used all season for training in, surpassing our expectations. I have to say a very big thanks to Anne-Marie Bates for all her work in raising over £7,000 towards the cost of the boats.

Finally, I would like thank the dedicated team of leaders, their assistants, helpers and Explorer Scout Young Leaders who make Scouting happen on a daily basis. Thank you also to the Group Executive who manage the Group’s finances and buildings, as well as Janine Fraser for the hours she gives on managing the subs.

We are one of the busiest Sea Scout Groups in the county, and this shows no signs of abating. Many thanks to all!

Ian Johnson MBEGroup Scout Leader

Principle OfficersHonorary MembersPresident Les Davis Vice Presidents Angela Cruiks Mike Regan Carol Tissington

Ex-Officio MembersGroup Scout Leader Ian Johnson MBEAssistant Group Scout Leader Matthew AylingBeaver Scout Leader Laura Gordon-RustCub Scout Leader Tricia SmithSea Scout Leader (Renown) Jon WhiteleySea Scout Leader (Solebay) Karen CruiksExplorer Scout Leader (Endeavour) Matthew Ayling

Nominated MembersChairman Colin Fraser

Elected MembersTreasurer Brenda AylingSecretary Sarah HodderBeaver Colony Parent Rep vacantCub Pack Parent Rep Kerry WestwellRenown Troop Parent Rep John BlackburnSolebay Troop Parent Rep Ross GerrieExplorer Unit Parent Rep Sue MiddletonBuilding Rep Paul CottrellQuartermaster Peter Jacob

Co-opted MembersBoating Rep Chris McHughDofE Award Scheme Rep Anne-Marie BatesCo-opted Member Roger PickfordCo-opted Member Paul Johnson

Registered Charity Number 302078Scout Headquarters Registration Number 12350

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3rd Chalkwell Bay Sea Scouts Annual Report 2017/18

Beaver Scout ColonyThis year has been a very busy year for the youngest section of 3rd Chalkwell Bay. We have had lots of new members joining in our weekly fun, as well as some new leaders and some great new activities too.

A new visit this year for the Beavers (and leaders) was the Alice in Wonderland day at Belchamps. Ably run by the District team, it allowed the Beavers to meet new friends from other Colonies and take part in different activities. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and wore out the leaders just as much as the Beavers!

On Friday evenings we have focussed a lot on arts & crafts, making things that the Beavers can take home. We have made Easter & Mother’s Day cards, as well as bunting for Presentation Evening and potato flour ornaments. In addition to the hands on - and often messy - activities, we have also worked on the Beavers’ reading skills and shared lots of our favourite books, as well as learning about guide dogs and how crucial they are in helping different people. We have had a number of evenings on the beach and

in the paddling pool when the weather is nice, learning about the dangers of the beach and the water around where we live & the Big Orange Boats that come and help people in distress (thank you Southend RNLI).

Some of the older Beavers attended the Group’s Summer Camp this year in Suffolk, camping with the Cubs. All of the Beavers thoroughly enjoyed this; interacting with the Cubs, Scouts and Explorers and building their sense of the adventure that sleeping under canvas and drinking hot chocolate brought! For many it was their first time away from home and their parents and they did really well.

We are hoping for an even busier year next year, with lots of outside activities planned to tame their wild energy levels, as well as getting involved in more events with the rest of the District. It has been a pleasure watching the Beavers grow and develop this year and we look forward to welcoming new Beavers to the pack and sadly saying goodbye to our older Beavers moving up to Cubs!

Laura Gordon-RustKit Beaver Scout Leader

Group Chairman’s Report3rd Chalkwell Bay has enjoyed yet another successful year and membership of all sections remains very strong. This strength of interest in the Group results from the full programme of Sea Scouting within the Group across the whole age range. As well as weekly meetings throughout the year, many camps are run and sailing activities are available most weekends throughout the season, tide and weather permitting. In addition, we now are fortunate enough to be able to run the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme within the Group, which is proving to be a great success going into its second year.

All of these activities rely upon the continuing dedicated efforts of the strong team of uniformed leaders. The young people, their parents and

the Group Executive remain most grateful to them all for their continued dedication.

Project New Build continues, and we are hopeful that stage one of the amended plans will start commencement in the new year, with supporting groups for general fundraising and boating equipment all helping to boost the coffers and support the day to day running of 3rdCB. During the coming months, both these groups will be asking you to support in fund raising activities of various guises, and I hope that we will all look to support as much as possible for the benefit of our children and generations to come. Areas of particular note that have raised significant funds over the past year include carol singing, a Chinese meal social, support from the Co-Op Community Fund, Christmas bag packing at Morrison’s, the HARP 24 hour race and Leigh Regatta; not to mention the various other donations, sponsored runs, rides and other sporting events. A huge thank you to all of our young people, parents and leaders who have supported theses events and made them so successful.

This coming year looks to be just as ambitious and fun packed as previous years, with a calendar full of various Sea Scouting activities, both on the water and on land. Once again, I would like to thank Ian and his team for having the dedication, foresight and time, to put all these events into place.

Colin FraserGroup Chairman

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3rd Chalkwell Bay Sea Scouts Annual Report 2017/18

To the parents, thank you for letting us look after your children, while we try to teach them the ethos of Scouting.

Tricia SmithAkelaCub Scout Leader

Renown Sea Scout TroopRenown Troop has continued its busy programme of activities and training over the past year, running at capacity with 65 boys in the Troop learning new skills every week.

Friday nights focus on a mix of activities working towards challenge and activity badges, with an emphasis on teamwork, learning skills such as how to light fires and use axes safely, as well as games (both in and out of The Den) and how our community works, with visits to Southend Fire Station and an entertaining mock trial evening learning about how courts work. There’s also been plenty of creative activities including cooking, making stop-motion videos, and building (then burning) Guys for bonfire night.

Easter saw our return to Derbyshire Peak District for a week of hill walking and adventurous activities in Castleton. This year we went hiking, mountain biking, caving, swimming, explored the village, had a massive snowball fight and build (half) an igloo. The centre is only a 15 minute walk from the village so the Scouts can walk down to buy essential sweets. Despite experiencing four seasons of weather in a week, from snow to brilliant sunshine, this has still gone down as one of the best trips yet. Whilst there, the PLs group managed to complete their Expedition challenge, two days of hiking and navigating on their own, sleeping in tents, and cooking their own dinner over portable stoves (we did let them use the showers and toilets though).

In June our Patrol Leaders and their assistants had a weekend of camping skills training at Thriftwood. On the programme were camp skills, setting up a site, cooking, axe work, gadget making and more, to prepare the 13-14 year olds for our summer camp in a few weeks’ time, plus camp fire and some fun & games thrown in for good measure.

Cub Scout PackThe past year seems to have flown by, so much so that it takes my diary to remind me of the things that we have done!

Along with our normal Wednesday evening Pack nights where the Cubs learn new skills, work towards badges and play games we try to get outside as much as possible. We had a great evening at Hadleigh mountain bike track, and enjoyed a meeting at Belchamps where they Cubs practiced putting up tents ready for camp, then ending with a wide game. We also ran a quiz around Old Leigh, which the Cubs enjoyed. It is difficult to run as many outdoor activities as we’d like with a pack our size, as we have to adhere to adult children ratios as laid down by the Scout Association, this requires every leader we have to be present, which is not always possible due to other commitments.

In June this year we joined the rest of the county at Screens Park for the Cub Mega Camp, based on Knights of the Round Table. The Cubs had a great time camping with others from around the county, although it was a crazy

noisy event. The Cubs had a chance to experience lots of different activities, though not a sleep was had!

Summer camp this year was with the rest of the Group at Euston Hall, it gives the Cubs an opportunity to see how the Scouts run camp and what they have to look forward to as they get older. Considering the weather, the Cubs were amazing coping with the heat extremely well, at times it was stifling, fortunately we had the woods, which we were able to use for a lot of the badge work.

Over the summer we had 2 sailing days for Cubs during the school holidays, for those that attended I think they had a great time sailing along the sea front to the beach for ice creams. My thanks go to Chris Daly and the team he organized for making this possible.

We are able to award 7 Silver Chief Scout Awards this year; this is the highest award Cubs can achieve, and takes a lot of hard work, challenges and regular attendance, so they should all feel very proud of themselves.

A BIG thank you must go to my team of leaders and Young leaders, I could not run such a great pack without their help and commitment.

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3rd Chalkwell Bay Sea Scouts Annual Report 2017/18

Over the past year the Scouts have thrown themselves into fundraising activities for the Group, which are key to keeping The Den running, our equipment serviceable and subsidising activities. Leigh Regatta is our biggest event of the year, and the Scouts spend the day in Old Leigh setting up the event, running games and stalls for the public during the day, handing out programmes, and competing in the pentathlon – a series of races against 4th/6th Leigh Scouts (we won!). Other fundraising activities to name but a few have included singing Christmas carols to commuters at Leigh Station, racing rubber ducks down the creek and bag packing at Morrison’s – not the most exciting event but it does raise us a lot of money, and we get so many compliments from shoppers about how smart and helpful the Scouts are that they can rightly be proud of themselves.

On the water the Scouts have been making good use of our new sailing dinghies; the fleet of RS Quests seem to be a big hit and are out every weekend that tide and weather allow for courses, practise or excursions around Two Tree Island. It’s great to see so many Scouts coming down at the weekends to use the facilities and

learn new skills.

For the first time in a few years we’ve been able to award a number Gold Chief Scout’s Awards. This is the highest award in the Scout section, and seven of the patrol leaders have completed a number of challenges during their time in Scouts, including trying new activities, learning new skills, leading teams and carrying out an expedition away from home. Congratulations to all the boys who achieved this award, and I wish them well as they move on up to Explorers.

Finally, I’d like to thank the dedicated and hard-working team of leaders and Explorer Scout Young Leaders that make Renown both the most active section of 3rdCB and the most fun - they’re involved in virtually every activity the Group runs. I’d also like to thank the numerous parents

This year’s Summer Camp was a Group camp with all 5 sections camping together on the Euston Estate in Suffolk. We had beautiful hot weather all week, with the exception of the last night where a thunder storm hit and “Club Solebay” went into full party mode as the Scouts hid from the rain and had a rave. Our excursion this year was to the Army Air Corps base at Wattisham Airfield; we were able to take a look at unit’s weaponry, have a tour of their Apache attack helicopters, and have a go with the fire hose from the station’s fire engine! As always there was badge work on the programme, the younger Scouts focussed on camping skills whilst the PLs and APLs learned survival skills, gutting and cooking a fish as well as sleeping out in the woods in bivvy bags.

On the Sunday evening the Troop had a break from cooking and had a hog roast, eating together as a Group. To cool off from the heat we were invited to use the Duke of Grafton’s private bathing lake for a swim; a beautiful location giving everyone the chance to relax, sunbathe, swim & cool off. The first afternoon we were even treated to a fly by from the RAF, including the Red Arrows and a Typhoon.

In November 2017 it was time for the Group’s biennial review by the Royal Navy, and we were visited by one of the Staff Officers to ensure we meet the standards required for RN Recognition. There has been a change in format from previous years with no formal inspection – instead the Scouts from Renown and Solebay Troops moved around a number of bases learning about seamanship, the Group’s boats, map work and first aid to name but a few, with instruction by the leaders and Explorer Scouts. It was quite a squeeze in the hall with over 100 Scouts, Explorers and leaders, but the reviewing officer was clearly impressed with what he saw, and delighted to renew our recognition & affiliation to the Royal Navy.

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3rd Chalkwell Bay Sea Scouts Annual Report 2017/18

June saw the PL and APL training camp at Thriftwood, a chance for the girls to brush up on their camping and leadership skills before Summer Camp. This year Renown were camping on the adjoining site and training was given from leaders from both sections to both Troops and allowed for the girls and boys to enjoy joint volleyball games during down time in the evening. An enjoyable weekend was had by all.

July saw camp prep in full swing however we were lucky to have a glorious evening for a hike to Hadleigh Castle. We have just returned from Summer Camp at Euston Hall; I can honestly say this was the hottest camp I have ever been on in all my years with 3rd CB. I am so proud of how the girls coped with the extreme heat, completing their camp tasks and activities, all be it at a slower pace than normal, however always with a smile. We enjoyed a very good day out at the Army Air Corps’ Wattisham Air Station, two afternoons swimming in the private river in the grounds

of the estate and an air display from the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, a Typhoon and the Red Arrows, which seemed as though it had been put on for our benefit it was so close (right above our heads).

Once again a big thank you goes to my fellow Leaders and Young Leaders for all the time and dedication they give to making Solebay the successful Troop it is. Thank you also to the same parents that regularly offer assistance in a variety of ways (you know who you are) your support is always welcomed.

Karen CruiksSkipperSea Scout Leader

that support us in our activities, and especially the few that are always there to lend a hand, it makes a big difference! The next year will be challenging for us as leaders’ home, work and education commitments take several key members of the team away, but we still have a full programme planned with lots of new activities to keep the Scouts occupied, learning new skills and having fun.

Jon WhiteleyChiefSea Scout Leader

Solebay Sea Scout TroopThis year has, as usual, been very busy for Solebay Troop. We arranged the Monday night programme around working towards various activity and challenge badges.

The girls have worked hard throughout the year, with many achieving their Adventure and Outdoor Challenge Badges and elements of a number of activity badges. Two of the girls have also completed their Gold Chief Scout Award, congratulations to Daisy and Lucy.

Cooking nights have seen the girls cooking on a £5 budget, pancake nights and MasterChef evenings, with some very… interesting creations! We again celebrated the patron Saints of Great Britain and the girls had to write and perform a rap using cockney rhyming slang to celebrate St. Georges Day. For St. Andrews Day the girls made their own Scottish thistles, which took lots of patience and care resulting in some very good results.

Various patrol challenges had the girls working together as a team to solve tasks, problems and scenarios. Some of the favourites were Pringle Ringle, Chair Challenge, Spagmellow Towers and Build a Boat. For Father’s Day we held a Rounder’s Night and even though England had a World Cup match on the same night, we had a really good turn out and a very enjoyable evening. Some of the Dads became VERY competitive – no names will be mentioned!

The girls have represented the Group at various parades and events throughout the year and as usual have been extremely smart and well behaved, showing that they are all excellent ambassadors for the Scout Movement.

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3rd Chalkwell Bay Sea Scouts Annual Report 2017/18

trip was particularly memorable for the diverse weather conditions, with snow one day and sun the next. The week proved to be an excellent opportunity for the Explorers to gain crucial leadership skills by aiding the leaders with the running of the week, both on the hills and in the galley.

Summer camp is always highlight of the year. This year we camped with the rest of the Group, from Beavers up, at the Euston Estate in Suffolk. As always there were many different activities on the programme, including a trip to Go Ape, a day trip to the beach (and shops) at Aldeburgh, as well as a trip with the rest of the Group to the Duke of Grafton’s private bathing lake. Despite these excellent activities the favourite was the absolute craziness of the Explorers in playing Volleyball in their swimming shorts and bikinis during the thunder storm on the final night!

Matt AylingExplorer Scout Leader

Water ActivitiesIt’s been another busy year for the boating team at 3rd CB, with courses running every weekend where there have been appropriate weather and tides. As always, the demand outweighs what we can supply, and we apologise to those who didn’t manage to get onto a course this year. Again, we have had a fully packed water activities programme running this year with the normal array of courses, general boating and sailing trips, with a bit of racing thrown in as

well this year.

In addition to the courses and general boating in the last twelve months we have run boating days for outside cub groups, participated in the Leigh Regatta, provided safety boat cover for Essex cadet week, helped to get the 4th/6th Leigh Explorers afloat, and managed to run an overnight expedition for the PL’s and Explorers to Yantlet creek, where they slept on the beach in bivvi bags around the fire; which was one of the highlights of the season.

Chris Grover completed his Senior Instructor qualification last year, and Chris Daly, Chris Grover and Megan Richardson also completed Keelboat Instructor endorsements in the last year, not only bolstering the qualifications and experience of

Endeavour Explorer Sea Scout Unit2017/2018 has been an excellent year for Endeavour ESU. We have continued with our varied programme of events which this year has been dictated much more by the Explorers themselves.

To start off we were fortunate enough for one of our Explorers to organise an evening of Water Polo at Leigh North Street School; this was incredibly popular with the Unit and is definitely one for the programme again! As always, another popular activity is sailing - we have been on the water whenever there has been a tide ensuring the phenomenal kit that we are so lucky to have is put to good use on a regular basis! Another highlight of the year was a new evening run under the title of ‘Cardboard Castle Making.’ The amount of cardboard accumulated in the den was rather

impressive, as were the structures created, not to mention the storming of the castles at the end!

In October we took the Explorers to the Lee Valley White Water Centre to try their hand at white water rafting. An experience thoroughly enjoyed by all and the sheer force and power of the water managed to tip a fair few of the Explorers (& leaders!) out of the rafts!!

At Easter 5 Explorers joined the Scouts in the annual hill walking trip to Castleton in Derbyshire. This year’s

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3rd Chalkwell Bay Sea Scouts Annual Report 2017/18

through our own fundraising events – the band night, the regatta, the Easter ball, jumble sales, bag packing, curry nights and carol singing to name but a few. So a big thanks to all of you that helped run, organise and participate in these events, and a special thank you to Anne-Marie Bates for her time and effort put in to raising a significant amount from external funders.

Finally, I just want to say my normal thank yous to all the instructors who give up a lot of hours and weekends to run the boating, to Lyle and Andy for their ongoing commitment to fixing things, and to all of you for helping run, organise and participate in the fund-raising efforts, which help to improve the equipment and opportunities available for all group members.

Chris McHughRYA Chief Instructor

Treasurer’s ReportThe past year has seen an increase in overall expenditure. This is mainly due to the purchase of 4 new boats (Quests). We continue to build reserves for the future building projects in the coming year.

The Capital investment has reduced by just under £10,000, due to low risk investment and thus lower return. Dividend income, though reduced, has proved to be a reliable and key component of the group’s ability to meets its commitment to provide activities for young people. Donations and fundraising activities continue to be important in allowing the group to carry out all activities as well as to repair and replace equipment as it becomes necessary. Jill Pickford has continued her sterling work this year to maintain the subscription records. We would like to take this opportunity to thank her for her many years of dedication to the group. She is now taking a well-deserved rest and Janice Fraser has agreed to now take on this task for the group which is really appreciated.

Brenda AylingGroup Treasurer

the instructor team, but also helping to increase the number and type of courses we can run for the group.

However, the most exciting news for late 2017, has to be that we took delivery of our four brand new RS Quests, which have been purpose built for youth sail training. The instructor team spent a weekend rigging the boats, and took a couple out for a test sail, and as a team we were really impressed with how the boats handled and sailed, and have been excited to be teaching your young people how to sail in them through the season. In addition to being lighter, faster and more modern than our previous fleet, the boats also come with removable, and packable foredecks. This makes them ideal for expedition sailing, with plans to use them for DofE expeditions in the future. Two of the boats also come with Asymmetric spinnakers, which on top of making the boats fast and a lot of fun, again increases the skills and courses we can provide to our group members. The new boats are also set up in a similar manner to the popular Topaz’s which the group already own, so the skills learnt on the RYA courses should be more easily transferred to more of the boats across our fleet. Again, as instructors we are really excited by the increased possibilities that the new boats bring, but this was only made possible by generous donations of external funders, but more so by the fundraising efforts made by the group, and those of you who helped and participated in the fundraising events. Of the £22,000 which the new boats cost, over £12,000 was raised in-house

Registered Charity Number 302078

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