06/20/2009
The last day of school was Friday, June 19, so we were all really excited to be starting our summer vacation. Our canoe trip was the perfect start to the summer!
We met outside of Deer Hill School by the Scout Locker at 8 am. Scouts who participated: Nick Rosen, Andrew Leighton, Derek Benson, Adam Benson, Jack O’Brien, Luke O’Brien, Evan Ackley, Sam Greenip, Robbie Hillman, Reagan Butler, Jacob Gainey, Ethan Avotins, Hugh Murphy, Tucker Oddleifson, Dylan Marat, John Clay, Wyatt Dominguez
Mr. Murphy and Mr. Thomae reviewed the different parts of the canoe. They talked about how to pick up a canoe, how to carry it, what materials it can be made from. They then led a discussion about some of the things you NEVER do in a canoe, like standing up. Then we had a demonstration of various paddling strokes, like the J-stroke. We divided up into teams, mixing up the new scouts from Pack 38 that had recently crossed over to scouting and the senior scouts. We then loaded the canoes onto a boat trailer and we all headed off to Stanton Road in Cohasset.
Mr. Murphy and Mr. Thomae had organized the trip. Other adults on the trip were: Kim Ackley, Kevin Butler, Tim O’Brien, and Rob Hillman. Some of the houses on Stanton Road, which is off of South Main Street on the way to Scituate — Mr. Thomae took the scenic route! Some of the homes back up to the Gulf River, which is nice and quiet and no strong current. One of the home owners was a friend of Mr. Murphy and he gave the troop permission to cross his property with the canoes and launch off of his really nice dock.
We took the canoes off the trailer and walked them the distance through back yards down to water. When all the canoes were in the water, we handed out water bottles, put on bug spray and sunscreen and set off up stream. After we got comfortable paddling around, we had a little race but when one of the canoes flipped, we stopped racing. After that, we practiced maneuvering on a little course set up by Mr. Thomae. The course consisted of two buoys and you had to maneuver your canoe around the buoys faster than the other canoe. Once we were finished with practicing maneuvering the canoes we headed back. It was a warm and sunny day and we were paddling for about two hours. It took us a bit of time to get our canoes up on the dock because we could only do one at a time. Eventually we all carried the canoes up to the cars and trailer then drove back home in time to have lunch.
Respectfully submitted,
Derek Benson