Survival skills and raft build and race

Sunny spells and stiff winds

The Adventure School is reasonably sheltered from the strong southwesterly winds that have accompanied the otherwise warm and sunny weather today.  We stayed low today anyway as the pupils learned survival skills and then competed in their teams in a raft build and race on the sea loch in front of the school.

In survival skills we looked at sourcing and treating natural water supplies, collecting graded tinder and kindling for a campfire, lighting it with a striking flint, and cooking a simple bread curled over sticks (which we call damper) and bog myrtle tea from the bushes that grow around us. We also built shelters from tarpaulins, yacht sails and hazel spars, learning to use the natural topography to our advantage.

In the raft build and race this morning the Blue Moons took on the Red Arrows and after lunch, it was the turn of the Blue Whales and Red Snappers. Using wooden poles, mussel farm barrels and ropes the teams used a standard design to build their raft, for maximum racing potential.

The Red Arrows failed to keep hold of Mr Bagley in the wind allowing the Blue Moons and Mr Watt to romp to victory this morning, with the Blue Whales pipping the Red Snappers by only a few seconds this afternoon.

With the strong south-westerly winds due to continue until the early hours of the morning, we will depart for the mountain after an early breakfast rather than wild camping tonight. It really would be wild!

Winds easing tomorrow. Further news will follow late on Monday evening.