Will they sink or swim? Scarborough Scouts to replicate Kon-Tiki expedition on Peasholm Lake

Scarborough Scouts building their own raft in 2014's raft race. (Credit: 49 Eastfield Scouts)

Inspired by Norwegian expedition explorers who travelled along the South Pacific on a raft in the 1950s, the Scouts will be creating their own rafts and racing around Peasholm Island.

The event will start at 9am, where the 5 teams will start building their rafts from wooden poles, rope and barrels. Then at 11am, the teams will take their barrels out onto the lake and proceed to light a fire, and cook an English breakfast before returning to the shore for the breakfasts to be judged.

Following this, the rafts will be raced around Peasholm Island and there will be a prize awarded at the end.

The event gives competing Scouts an opportunity to practise a wide range of skills, including pioneering, knots, team building, construction, fire making, and cooking.

Damian Kelly, Scout Leader, said: “It's a great event and always attracts a lot of interest, and apart from the brilliant spectacle of scouts demonstrating numerous skills, the rafts also sometimes collapse, Scouts go overboard, breakfast's are burned or dropped in the lake but it's all part of scouting fun and adventure. All of our volunteers make it possible for our young people to do amazing life skill activities. One of which is the Kon-Tiki raft race at Peasholm Lake.”

The Scouts are always recruiting for the volunteers. They welcome adults of any age and with a wide range of skills. Email:[email protected] for more information.