Winter boat drill on the Maindeck

 

Boats crews at the Intermediate Oars Charge Cert.in Malahide

Boats may be in for the winter and being sanded ,but boat drill goes on,as this years Oars Intermediate Charge Cert begins. A class of 16 take up this challenging Nautical programme.

The course now in its 23rd year prepares scouts and ventures for the coming boating season.The programme is both, a theory and practical course.For the first eight weeks classes are run on a Sunday evening for one and half hours. Here the scouts and ventures learn about water safety,boating guidelines.International regulations for prevention of collision at sea ,safety and emergency equipment,boat maintenance,anchoring & mooring, emergency procedures (man over board drill),Meteorology,Local knowledge,Currents and tides,Boat drill and rope work. Every year guests speakers are invited along to talk about their nautical speciality.

Winter boat drill

A very comprehensive programme but the emphasis is always on being competent and carrying out the activity in  safety.Each scout and is given a log book and records when a module is completed and must be signed off by the instructor.In April the practical end of the course is over a weekend .Here you must be  competent in taking charge of a muti-oared rowing boat, taking part as a crew member,reacting in an emergency(loss of a rudder,oar etc).

On completion scouts and ventures are presented with their Oars Intermediate Charge Certificate and a  nautical Charge Cert. badge.

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