Sea Scouts

Welcome to the Sea Scouts programme!

NEW!!

Level 1 Kayak Instructor Training Course

New Special Offers at Ocean Youth Trust Ireland - Updated

Our involvement in the Volvo Ocean race in Galway

Click on the link above for this article...

New Sea scout groups and mid west Special interest Group

Diarmuid O'Briain is running a Special Interest Group based on Sea Scour Program at the water activities centre at Killaloe. Having visited all the surrounding troops and informed them of the sea scout program and Supplementary program being run by the National water activity centre they launched the SIG on 6th December. They plan on Meeting once a month in winter and then a few times during the boating season. This is a great support especially to surrounding troops so contact Diarmuid if interested. Diarmuid.OBriain@wateractivities.ie

Looking for something different for your winter Programme or to supplement Swimming or Lifesaving training? On the 19th November CFT Youth Snorkelling programme was launched in Great Outdoors along with Local Councils ,youth workers and Diving Clubs. This is a great initiative which Scouts can easily get involved in throughout the country. If you are interested you can contact Eoin Peacock c/o CFT. ( Info at: http://www.cft.ie/index.htm ) . Please let us know how you get on and if you need more info or contacts please email us at seascouts@scouts.ie

If you are interested in helping out let us know at seascouts@scouts.ie

Stephen Taylor (PC Sea Scouts and Water Activities)

A new resource document has been produced by the Water Activities Team with comprehensive information for all Water Activities.

To download go to the Sea Scout Information Documents page

Sea Scout Troops are similar to other Scout Troops: we have the same aim but use a special emphasis on water activities and maritime training within our programme to achieve that aim. Water activities can provide the adventure and adrenaline rush that young people are looking for. Sailing boats virtually force Scouts to work as a team, with the penalty of getting wet if they don't. Water activities are an area where skills and age do not necessarily correlate and provide an ideal opportunity for Scouts to teach and learn from each other.

Education - Learning by doing!
Sea Scouts Photograph The Sea Scout programme includes all of the activities which scouts are involved in: hiking, camping, mountain biking, orienteering and other activities and then adds water based and maritime activities such as sailing, canoeing, rowing, rafting, power boating and marine navigation. Such a wide variety of adventure sports provides an enjoyable means for self development and the acquisition of leadership skills. In Sea Scouting, the emphasis is on the Scouts going out and organising activities.

Sea Scouts Photograph Sea Scout Troops
Sea Scout troops are made up of a number of watches. These groups of five to eight scouts are the building blocks of the troop. Each of them is lead by a Watch Leader, with an Assistant Watch Leader to provide assistance. A watch is the ideal size to crew a boat, go hillwalking together or go on a weekend camping expedition. Within the watch, younger scouts learn from the more experienced ones and gain skills to take on leadership roles at a later stage.

Training and Development
Training is an essential part of Sea Scouting. All of the activities we take part in, while easy to take up, require experienced people to ensure their safe running. Therefore a detailed training scheme allows scouts to acquire the skills needed to helm a boat, lead a hike, drive a power boat or lead a canoeing river trip.

Sea Scouting Adventure Afloat Sea Scouts Photograph
Most troops have a regular weekly meeting to plan activities, organise training, and play games. During the summer, activities take place most weekends and often on evenings during the week while during the winter, the shorter hours of daylight tend to constrain activities to the weekends. The highlight of the Sea Scouting year is summer camp. This trip away lasts between one and two weeks and can take Sea Scouts anywhere from Lough Erne to Cumbria to the North of Spain or even to Jamborees futher afield. Sea Scouts Photograph Many Sea Scout troops have moving camps, often along rivers where every day or couple of days they pack all their gear into the boats and sail on to their next campsite. In the past Irish Sea Scouts have spent their entire summer camp afloat on large sailing vessels. Wherever it is, summer camp allows Sea Scouts to make use of the skills they have acquired over the past year and put them to practical use.
There are Sea Scout troops all around the country. While many are concentrated around the coast, there are several based on the Shannon and on other large expanses of water.

To find out about joining a Sea Scout troop in your area, contact national office:
By email at seascouts@scouts.ie
or by phone on 01-4956300