Sea kayaking and shelter building
before an early departure for survival island
Today has been a beautiful day, with just the lightest of breeze coming out of the east and high cloud parting for large parts of the day revealing blue skies for the first time in a couple of days. It has been warm, but certainly not the record-breaking temperature of the south.
We have been out on the water in sea kayaks today, the red teams this morning and the blue teams after lunch. Each team, working in three small pods with their instructors, have been exploring the small coves and bays of Loch A Chadh-Fi. The herring gull chicks on A Chadh-Fi island are easier to spot now, big balls of grey fluff and a lone common seal popped its head up now and again. A bit of a journey, a few new skills, some wildlife watching, seaweed flinging and some getting wet were all part of the process.
With the forecast looking poor for our planned night on the island (Thursday), we decided to put the Year 8’s onto survival island tonight, where the forecast was suggesting a dry evening with a good breeze. With that in mind, the other half of the day was spent looking at shelter building, learning the skills that the pupils will need to construct shelters from old yacht sails, ex-army bivvy tarps and hazel spars.
We sat down together for survival tea at four o’clock this afternoon. The teams then made final preparations before heading out in the boats for their night on the island. It is a chance to put their new skills into practice, and to take on a new level of responsibility, away from the guidance and support of teachers and instructors.
Early reports suggest four good camps have been established and all teams have a fire underway. It is the longest day of the year, and it won’t get dark tonight. There is a good breeze and warm albeit overcast, and there is a great view across Loch Laxford to Arkle, that we summited together yesterday. What a way to spend one of the last few nights as a year group together!
We will collect them at seven o’clock tomorrow morning and they will be back to the Adventure School for a cooked breakfast before we head to the beach.
