Kontiki 2024!
June 1st saw the return of the Scout and Explorer section water event Kontiki. Down at Leybourne Lakes everyone was treated to a good day in terms of weather and fun on the water as well as some healthy competition!
All the young people managed plenty of time on the water throughout the day, making the most of all the vessels on offer, from canoes and kayaks, to SUP Boards and bellboats.
Throughout the day a great series of events were also held alongside the general time on the water.
The Scouts got to take part in traditional raft building and then racing, there were novelty rafts (built on various themes), a kayak relay race and the epic kayak marathon race around the lake.
The traditional raft event showcased a range of knots (some with actual names and others that might have been questionable!). Once on the water and racing there were mixed levels of success, some rafts sadly didn’t stay together long and others took the strain – including one that ended up with a Scout between barrels still paddling, rather than sat on top! There were even rafts that sat perfectly on the water and didn’t fall apart (surprising we know!). From the actual race of the rafts, 1st Northfleet were proudly crowned winners with a speedy time of 1m58s, and 10 points for their build! (Full results at the bottom).
The Novelty raft competition was entered by two groups, C&V and Higham, both with fantastic efforts. Higham took to the water in a one-man vessel with a ‘Ben 10’ theme, which (to their surprise) stayed afloat and successful completed its time on the water. C&V were a tad more ambitious with a ‘Shaun the Sheep’ themed tractor raft, with all the crew dressed as sheep and arrived with the theme song playing (not quite reminiscent of a WWE entrance but close enough). Unsurprisingly the robust build also stood the test and completed the time on water without any issues. In the end it was a close called race with C&V winning by just 0.1 of a second!
The kayak relay was a competition with teams of 3 on the water, a test of speed and accuracy. Accuracy may have been questionable at points, with some interesting trajectories being taken but overall, all 6 teams that entered completed the race with varying times, 1st Northfleet taking their second trophy of the day with a time of 3m07s.
Finally, was the epic kayak marathon event, undertaken by 3 challengers, a gruelling long-distance paddle with Eva George of C&V recording a fantastic winning time of 11m13s!
The Explorers also had the same set of events, but with a higher expectation on them to not end up in the water as opposed to on it!
The traditional raft race was a straight up battle between Apollo and Sputnik both with matching race times of 1m46s, meaning the winners were decided upon the build of their vessels… Apollo piping it by 1 single point!
The Novelty raft race, like the Scout section race with a theme of ‘Children’s TV’, with Apollo and Kipling battling it out on the water this time. Apollos raft had a Teletubbies theme, complete with sun baby, and Kipling had a Cat in the Hat theme. In the end the race finished in a dead heat with both teams getting a race time of 2m23s.
Sputnik and Kipling both entered teams into the relay race, with the team of Callum, Katie and Ted of Sputnik tearing away from the Kipling team of Ben, Ember and Megan for a winning time of 2m10s.
The final Explorer event was the kayak marathon, 4 Explorers from 2 of the Units in a race around the Lake. The odds were in Sputniks favour with 3 of the 4 competitors being from the Unit, with Daisy representing Apollo. At end of a hard fought race we had the joint winners of Callum Fooks and Daisy Drewett – both achieving a time of 11m12s!
Overall, the day was a fantastic combination of fun, challenge and competition! Huge well done to all that took part, tried any particular activity for the first time or competed to the best of their ability in the events.
Thank you to all the amazing volunteers on and off the water that made the day happen!
See all the photos from the Kontiki and Cubs on Water 2024 here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/T3EeYEv21u7sGwxJ7
Gravesham Scouts Kontiki Results 2024
Scouts Traditional Raft Race
Troop | Building Points | Race Time (mins) | Race Points | Total Score | |
1 | 1st Northfleet | 5 | 1.58 | 10 | 15 |
2 | Culverstone & Vigo B | 5 | 2.15 | 9 | 14 |
3 | Higham | 6 | 3.10 | 6 | 12* |
4 | Culverstone & Vigo C | 5 | 3.09 | 7 | 12 |
5 | Riverview Park | 2 | 2.36 | 8 | 10 |
6 | 5th Northfleet | 3 | 3.39 | 5 | 8 |
7 | Culverstone & Vigo A | 4 | Abandoned | 0 | 4 |
8 | Windmill Hill | 2 | Abandoned | 0 | 2 |
*placed 3rd because of higher build score
Scouts Novelty Raft Race (Children’s TV Programmes)
Troop | Theme | Time (mins) | |
1 | Culverstone & Vigo | Shaun the Sheep | 2.20 |
2 | Higham | Ben 10 | 2.10 |
Scouts Kayak Relay
Troop | Team Names | Time (mins) | |
1 | 1st Northfleet A | Carlyle, Sophia & Philip | 3.07 |
2 | Culverstone & Vigo | Logan, Molly & Luke | 3.09 |
3 | 5th Northfleet B | Toby, Ashley & Toby | 4.04 |
4 | 5th Northfleet A | Callum, Blake & Anto | 4.15 |
5 | Higham | Josh, Ella & Sam | 4.46 |
6 | 1st Northfleet B | Sergio, Tristan & Markus | 5.20 |
Scouts Kayak Marathon
Name | Troop | Time (mins) | |
1 | Eva George | Culverstone & Vigo | 11.13 |
2 | Sam Donnell | Higham | 16.49 |
3 | Josh Roberts | Higham | 16.50 |
Explorer Scouts Traditional Raft Race
Unit | Building Points | Race Time (mins) | Race Points | Total Score | |
1 | Apollo | 6 | 1.46 | 10 | 16 |
2 | Sputnik | 4 | 1.46 | 9 | 13 |
Explorer Scouts Novelty Raft Race (Children’s TV Programmes)
Unit | Time (mins) | ||
1 | Apollo | Telly Tubbies | 2.23 |
2 | Kipling | Cat in the Hat | 2.23 |
Explorer Scouts Kayak Relay
Unit | Team | Time (mins) | |
1 | Sputnik | Callum, Katie & Ted | 2.10 |
2 | Kipling | Ben, Ember & Megan | 2.36 |
Explorer Scouts Kayak Marathon
Name | Unit | Time (mins) | |
1 | Callum Fooks | Sputnik | 11.12 |
2 | Daisy Drewett | Apollo | 11.12 |
3 | Ted Jackson | Sputnik | 13.45 |
4 | Katie Sawyer | Sputnik | 13.46 |
David Norris
Activity Team
Kontiki 2024!
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