An appeal to former 35th Bournemouth Scouts from Jeremy Sullivan Asst Scout Leader:

I hope many ex-Scouts remember the enjoyment and badges they obtained whilst boating. For me this meant “Sea Tern”, a 27 ft Montague Whaler in Poole Harbour and on her retirement “Sea Scout” a Scoutcraft16 double-banked pulling boat. “Sea Scout” with a glass-fibre hull and wooden gunwale and thwarts at approximately 15 years old, is still going strong.

In the summer the Group currently meets at the Bournemouth Town Camp Site Perch Pool on the river Stour in Christchurch on Friday evenings but lacks sufficient boating seats to put all Scouts & Explorers on the water at one time. The task of locating a boatyards producing Scout-suitable gigs is next to impossible and I was therefore extremely pleased to hear about “The Future Gig Project”.

This project, lead by a team of Sea Scout Leaders and including Mark Edwards – Master Boat Builder – is redesigning certain aspects of the classic Home Counties Gig to ensure a saving in weight, reduced maintenance costs and a lighter sailing rig as well as obtaining funding to produce a new shaping mould. It is estimated that a pulling/sailing version including trailer of the Home Counties Gig (currently our boats are stored on land) would cost £18,000 making this the most expensive purchase the Group has ever made. However, as some Home Counties Gigs from the 1960’s are only now approaching retirement this does represent good value for money for our current Scouts and future generations.

Over the last two to three years we have raised £6,500 towards the purchase of a gig. In the long term we would like to purchase additional gigs both to increase the number of Scouts (boys & girls now from BSG) we can put on the water and so we can have pulling races.

If any ex-Scouts can help with a donation to the gig fund please send cheques payable to Bournemouth School Sea Scouts C/O Mr B Cudmore, Scout Leader, Bournemouth School, East Way, Bournemouth BH8 9PY.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Jeremy Sullivan