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An Event worthy of Scouting's Centenary
Kon-Tiki 2007 was blessed with an incredible spirit of brotherhood and
friendship and was enjoyed by all the Scouts and Guides that attended.
24 raft teams and 29 fringe teams took up the challenge and competed for the
various trophies on offer. A curve ball was thrown into the
competition on the Sunday morning when the teams were faced with accepting a
one-off "Centenary Challenge" or remaining focused on the task at hand - to
secure the Neville Coxon Trophy for 2007.
1st Durbanville and 1st Bergvliet made their intentions very clear during
the Tender race on Saturday when the two pairs raced to the jetty neck and neck, after
Durbanville had been leading for most of the race. The team from
Bergvliet won the race by a split second and that was going to set the tone
for these two Troops for the rest of the weekend. In the end, it was
1st Bergvliet that walked away with the Neville Coxon Trophy for the third
time in four years. They have managed to raise the bar year on year
and they have had various teams nipping at their heels. 2007 was
almost certainly Durbanville's year for the trophy but they were once again
overtaken on the finish line by a bunch of boys just a little more hungry
than they were. At the end of the weekend, they were separated by only 6 points.
Almost everyone involved with Kon-Tiki had their eyes and ears on the
weather leading up to the weekend. Sparks got more than one call
during the rainstorm on the previous Thursday night to find out why the competition
had moved from April to March. Peter Bosch passed Sparks the weather
forecast for the weekend and it proved to be the most accurate forecast we
have ever had to date.
The raft race was deliberately not held on Sunday morning, to make time for
the one-off Centenary Challenge where raft crews had to make their way to
various bases situated around the vlei to take part in some fun activities,
such as the survivor-type puzzle and the kite flying activity. The
kites were made as part of the STA competition and it was obvious by those
that were made that the crews had no idea they were going to be asked to fly
them. One Troop, 1st Durbanville, managed to hoist their kite for a
few minutes and took maximum points for that part of the competition.
The original idea was for the teams to move their rafts to the bases, but
the breeze that picked up on Sunday morning would have used the raft cabins
as sails and sent them down the vlei.
A couple of rafts drifted on their anchors in the early part of Saturday
night and thanks to the vigilance of the water safety crew and the correct
procedure followed by the raft crews, no serious situation occurred and the
rafts were secured for the night.
The teams had to make a supper consisting of a vegetarian dish of Tagliatelli,
a one world one promise birthday cake that they had to bake and decorate,
together with
a cup of lemon iced tea with real lemon and there had to be ice in the cup.
1st Durbanville won the John Stratton trophy by two points from 1st
Muizenberg.
The spare time activities consisted of making and decorating a kite (yes, it
was supposed to fly), a working anemometer, a plaster cast of the
fleur-de-lis and a model of an outrigger canoe. Again 1st Durbanville won
the trophy with 1st Bergvliet just three points behind.
The Daryl McEwan Trophy for raft construction was closely contested with 1st
Bergvliet taking the prize and 1st Durbanville second. Most of the
entrants overlooked the fact that the raft had to resemble Thor Heyerdahl's
original Kon-Tiki raft and threw away points for simple, obvious items.
1st Muizenberg were one of the few teams that had a steering oar.
Other items that were looked for was a top sail above the mainsail, splash
boards in the bow, the position of the cabin to the rear of the raft etc.
The Theme Dress competition proved a mammoth task for the selected judges.
There were teams representing various stages of Scouting through the years
and Polynesian style dress. The winning team, 1st Bergvliet, impressed
the judges and won the Theme Dress Trophy.
The fringe competition was just as closely contested by Durbanville and
Bergvliet, but the Monte Vista Guides sent a loud and clear message for 2008
by coming in joint second with Bergvliet for the Andrew "Dolphin" Lawson
trophy.
A unique activity at Kon-Tiki was the signing of a centenary flag.
Most of the uniformed members who were at the Base took the opportunity to
sign the flag and all going well it will be hoisted at the Jamboree in
England. The flag was specially made for Kon-Tiki 2007, bearing the
competition logo.
Pick 'n Pay also joined the Kon-Tiki party by not only sponsoring the
competition but also providing every raft crew with a 'green' Pick 'n Pay
goodie bag filled with all the really lekker things that mom didn't pack.
Each bag was accompanied by a letter from Suzanne Ackerman to the teams.
All in all, it was a good weekend with good weather and a great vibe amongst
the Scouts and Guides and that is all that matters. Congratulations to the
winner and may 2008 bring even greater challenges and more fun.
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The
Face of Kon - Tiki
Go well:
THE FUN OF 
