Outward Bound Diary - 3/3/87 - 26/3/87...Cook Watch
269Outward Bound Diary - 3/3/87 - 26/3/87...Cook Watch
269
Way back in 1987 (at the tender age of 20) the thoughtful company (yeah right) I worked for at the time, sent me to Outward Bound..for those unfamiliar with OB, it's where you go to endure copious amounts of torture in the great outdoors, which builds you into a stronger person or a blithering idiot..depends how tough you are I guess. I did not come back as the same person I was when I left. The things that I endured there helped to make me the person I am today, and for that I am eternally grateful.
Timetable of Events: (click on the event to see the diary entry)
3rd March - Arrival, intro, PT
4th March - PT, ropers course, jetty swim, wall climb, 4 hr tramp, first aid course
5th March - PT, navigation, rope bridge, flying fox, sailing lessons, first aid course
6th March - PT, 1st scheme:3 day, 2 night tramp
9th March - PT, 2nd scheme:3 day, 2 night sailing
11th March - 2nd scheme, blindfold game, wall climb
12th March - PT, rock climbing, school service, forest fire instruction, PT
13 th March - PT, 3rd scheme:community service, 2 day, 1 night
14 th March - PT, 3rd scheme, 4th scheme:solo, 3 nights, 3 days
18th March - PT, discussions, 13 on a drum, kayaking practice, on duty
19th March - PT, 5th scheme:kayaking, 3 day, 2 night
21st March - 5th scheme, abseiling, PT
22nd March - PT, 6th scheme:bush2,3 days,2nights
24th March - PT, sea kayaking, games
25th March - Marathon, clean up, concert
26th March - PT, tree planting, badge ceremony, home
The words to our concert songs
Caught the 5am train to Wellington and then the Ferry to Picton. Mild seas. Sorted into watches of 12 (I'm in the only all girl watch) at Picton. Launch then took us to Anakiwa and we were dumped in the rain on the jetty. Introduced to our instructor, Ross Merrett, and then had a group (2 mixed, 1 female, 3 male watches) and watch photo taken. Taken to bunk house to dump gear and then had a look around the school. Then dumped in the deep end and told to get changed and ready for PT (PT = physical torture). PT was in the rain and hard going. After PT, had shower, intro to staff and signed course conditions. Then dinner.
After dinner, lectures til 10pm and then bed. Watch members are: Chrissy, Vanessa, Debbie, Claire, Fua, Tania, Carolyn, Rochelle, Debbie, Marilyn, Evonne, Ronnie, Sharon (and me).
Up at 6am for PT, 2 mile jog, dip in sea and cold shower....a morning ritual to continue throughout our stay....Breakfast 7.30..appetite HUGE. Ropes course was a height orientated thing and very scary if heights doesnt do it for you. Wall climb involved getting all members over wall as best you can. We managed to only get 5 over and ran out of time. The we had a swim around the jetty as a group. Kinda choppy and not much fun. 4hr tramp after lunch to learn navigational skills and the diff between a spur and a ridge. Wasps were a problem and most people got stung...1st aid lecture after dinner.
PT again (groan)..after breakfast navigation, compass and map reading lessons. 47ft rope bridge followed and flying fox. Sailing lessons after lunch..including learning about knots...and then a brief sail in the cutter...none of us had a clue what we were doing. After dinner Ross tells us that our first scheme -Bush 1 , starts in the morning. More first aid..but we were all so tired it sent us to sleep.
PT, straight after brekky went on the tramp. The truck took us to our starting point...packs felt very heavy. Towards the end of the afternoon, Sharon had an epileptic fit and passed out. Ross was with us and took off out of the bush to go back to camp and get help, leaving us to look after Sharon. Carolyn's nursing skills were put to good use and we were all very scared of what might happen. Ross arrived back about 11pm that night with help.
Sharon was taken out the next day (we never saw her again) and Ross informed us her dosages were not right. Marilyn was also feeling unwell, so she went out with Ross and we were left to negotiate the rest of the scheme on our own. We reached the bottom of Mt Cullen that night.
Climbed to the top of Mt Cullen (our high point) and headed for home. Debbie collapsed near the end and we had to carry her. We were all pretty stressed out by the time we got back to Anakiwa.....but still had to do PT..and then got informed we start our 2nd scheme, sailing...tomorrow..up til 12.30 packing for that.
PT, then headed of sailing. Ross left us to sail the cutter on our own and followed behind us in the Lady Fisher. We slept in Double Bay and had to do an all night watch on the cutter..Chrissy and i got the 1-3 am shift.....in the pouring rain and wind..I wanted to go home very badly at this time.
Sailing again this morning was pleasant and warm. I navigated most of the way. Unfortunately after lunch the seas got rougher as we headed out of the sheltered sounds and more into Cook Strait. We hit some bad rollers and i started to feel really ill....I was far from being the only one....we wondered if there would be enough able seamen to sail the boat at one point. 20 knot winds were the highest we encountered. I never threw up...but i was a lovely shade of green for quite some time. Eventually we got back into calm water and ended back in Double Bay. We had to sleep on the boat this time..and still needed to keep an all night vigil over the boat. We all vowed and declared to never eat luncheon meat again as that was the last thing we ate before the sea sickness set in....took me about 5 years before i could eat it without thinking of OB!
Weather was much better for the homeward sail. We goosewinged most of the way and even got to doze off a little. Once back at Anakiwa, Ross informed us that he thought we were going to capsize the cutter at one point on the previous day ....i was took sick to remember...although yelling "trim port" comes to mind a number of times. Apparently the cutter has been tipped before....Anyways, after lunch, and back on dry land, we played some games and later that night found out we would be going rock climbing, and community service the next day
PT and then rock climbing....How i hated this...whilst others displayed mountain goat tendencies..I displayed something nothing akin to that. I hated every minute of it. After lunch we did work around the school, had a forest fire talk , did PT and packed for community service.
Being Friday the 13th, we knew something would go wrong...and it certainly did.
PT as normal and then we went in the truck to Blenheim for community service. We worked on the IHC farm there. 2 of our watch went into town to do some gardening at one of the IHC houses for an old lady...they discovered her dead! and had to clean her and her flat up...not the most pleasant of jobs. About 5pm we got in the truck and headed for the beach for the night. Ross decided to take a short cut and got the truck stuck...took about an hour to get it freed with the help of passing motorists. Thankfully this meant we didnt have to do PT but we did have to setup camp in the dark.
PT..woohoo and then off to the IHC hostel to paint a fence and do some gardening. Had an enjoyable time and got back to camp about 4pm..in time for PT and a 4km run. Once that was over Ross informed us we would be going on solo in 2 hours time. This news created a slight panic amongst us. Anyway, spent 2 hours on the boat getting to the first of the drop off points for solo. It was completely dark and very difficult to see where we were getting dropped off. Chrissy was dropped off first. Ross told us that our camp sites would be fairly easy to find (even in the dark) but I had difficulty locating mine and ended up spending a rather uncomfortable night perched on a slope. A lot of animal noises kept me awake most of the night, that and the thought that I might roll down the hill into the sea!. Can see the lights of Picton from here though...reassuring. Rations consist of: 1 candle, box of matches, 2 apples, 1/2 loaf brown bread, 4 flap jacks, 25g butter and cheese, 3 carrots, sultanas, 1 bottle of water. All that to last 3 days.
Next morning I hunted around for a better camp site and found a flat spot, fairly close to the water. Put up the tent and ate some rations. Observed the Ferry go past so that gave me an idea of the time. Nothing to do but sit around and think. The ferry went past again later on..... bed by 5pm!
Another noisy night with possums keeping me awake. Stayed in bed til lunchtime until the tide went out. Didn't see the Ferry today, so no idea of the time. Found some crabs on the beach to play with. Looking forward to getting back to camp tomorrow and having a shower...
Last day of solo, finally. Didn't sleep well last night, due, in part I think to not doing enough to be tired. Weka's also a nuisance during the night. Got packed up and ready way to early I think. Ferry went past....so still mid morning. Ross finally came and picked us up mid afternoon. We were not allowed to talk to each other until the last of us were on the boat.....agony..but once we were allowed to talk we made up for it big time. Apparently the ferrys were on strike yesterday, which explains why I didnt see them go past at all. Did PT when we got back, which was a killer after 3 days of sitting around doing nothing. Tomorrow we stay home as we are on duty. 7 days left until its all over.
After PT, and being on duty we found ourselves dishing up and doing dishes for 100 or so people......not an easy task. Played games most of the morning and attempted to get 13 people on a drum. Suceeded, but Ross said he had never seen a watch do it quite like us!. After lunch, and a pile more dishes we did kayak training, learning how to roll out etc. Very tired and cold after that. Dinner dishes again....took til 9 to get them finished. TOmorrow we go on our 3 day kayak scheme. Bed at 12 AM..alarm set for 5am!
PT and then packed for kayaking by 9.30am. Set off in the truck until we reached Havelock which is where we are camping. We've got a hut to sleep in, a long drop loo and a cook house....real luxury! The rivers to be paddled on are the Pelorus and the Rai. Did some practice on the water, learning about getting in and out of eddys. Lunch about 2.30pm and then back on the water. While doing trust rolls in the afternoon we did one on Ross first. Unfortunately we didnt roll him properly and he nearly drowned!..he came up coughing and spluttering and all red in the face and informed us that was the first time he had got wet whilst kayaking in 3yrs. We were all cold and miserable once we finished. Had to do more practice rolling out til we all could do it. Made more difficult by the fact that we were using spray skirts as well. Bed by 10.45pm.
Up at 6.30am and had our first hot breakfast on a scheme. A real luxury - Chrissy makes the best porridge. Loaded up into the truck and set off. Dropped lunch off at one point and then continued on. Wetsuited up at destination and got going. Our first rapid was the worst one and nearly everyone fell out except me and Marilyn. The only thing that stopped me from falling out was fear!. Enjoyed kayaking by the end of the day. Ended up back at the tearooms, got changed into our PT gear and had to run the 3 miles back to the truck. Ronnie, Debs and Claire had dinner ready when the last of us stragglers arrived back.
Up at 6am, packed by 8. Kayaked over a waterfall first thing this morning. I went over first and sucessfully managed to stay upright. Went down the Rai river today. Average rapids even though the water was low. Finished kayaking about lunchtime. Headed back to camp in the truck, cleaned up the gear and then had a go at abseiling. This was much more enjoyable than the rock climbing. Final scheme starts tomorrow - Bush2.
Last PT run this morning. Left on the truck for our last scheme, Bush 2, at 9am with Shackleton watch, one of the all male watches. Started off with enthusiasm with new packs, which felt a lot heavier than the old ones. Half way up the first hill Rochelle collapsed because of her pack size. After some juggling around with packs we set off again but for some reason most of us could not rally much enthusiasm and only managed to walk half as far as we should have. We had to make some fairly important decisions about what we were going to do and settled on finding somewhere to camp, getting a good nights sleep and walking out the next day without completing out scheme.
Up at 6 and feeling a lot better. Some of us were better up hill and some down....it wasnt going to work. We decided to at least tramp ot the high point, Benbown, which was about as high as Mt Cullen. We got back to our start point at 6.30pm and rang Ross, who was rather surprised to hear from us, and came to pick us up in the truck about an hour later. We got in the truck and all burst into tears. We has a good talk, moan, cry and hug and after 2 hours of that headed home to camp feeling miserable and disappointed. Home at 10, cooked tea and wetn to bed bout 11.30pm. No idea what Ross has in store for us tomorrow, he would not say how he felt about us coming out early.
Up at 6.30 for PT....that will teach us for coming back early! then went for a run around Davies Bay. No other watches at camp, so we had to make our own breakfast using our scheme rations. After that we went to the beach and made designs that reflected how we felt about the previous 2 days. Ross finally confessed that he was pleased with our decisions and this perked us up no end. Then he hit us with some bad news....the ferries are on strike until Friday, which means we can't leave on Thursday. This was greeted with mixed results, including tears by some. Played some blindfold games and then Ross decided we would kayak over to Aussie Bay and have a picnic lunch. It was fun and we played some kayaking games. Later on we played games with Martha, a trainee instructor and then Ross let us have the rest of the day to prepare for the concert tomorrow night. We organised songs for the concert and then after tea we watched a video on kayaking and climbing in the States.
Marathon Day!. Orange juice for breakfast only and the next meal isnt til 1pm..damn!. The half marathon wasnt too painful (15 miles). Ran the first half but conked out on the second with a mix of walking and running. Finished in 3 hrs 19 minutes. Spent the rest of the day packing. Concert that night went well, a real laugh. When we got back to the watch, Ross had baked us a cake saying "Cook 269 - a very special watch"
Found out this morning that the ferries are running after all, so we are going home today. Oddly enough this was met with more tears. It seems that we are not keen to seperate as a group now and return to the real world. We planted a tree in honor of our time here and received our badge and certificate. Trip home on the ferry was uneventful.
The 6 Schemes of Cook Watch (sung to the tune of 12 days of christmas)
On the 1st scheme of Cook watch we had some casualties, 2 fell ill on bush one, we traversed a gully and debs had wobbly knees
Chorus: we climbed the rocks, abseiled down, tangled with the ropes and got stung by wasps and bees
On the 2nd scheme of cook watch we all sailed out to sea, everyones a flutter, nearly sank the cutter and we were only in calm seas
On the 3rd scheme of cook watch we worked at IHC, weeded and painted, service with a smile, scones for morning tea
On the 4th scheme of cook watch was solo, me, me, me, flapjacks and carrots, possums and weta make awful company
On the 5th scheme of cook watch we tried some kayaking.Boat full of water, drowned our instructor, left Ross gasping breathlessly
On the 6th scheme of cook watch bush 2 was set to be, gorse, heat were to much, we came we saw we conked out, retreated early
Now its all over we've reached day 23, Not to our liking bloody ferries striking, stuck here endlessly
BUT
No more PT, no more runs, no cold swims, and a weka in a pine tree.
Fua's song:
Savalivali means go for a walk, Tautalatala means to much talk, Alofa a te oe means I love you. Take it easy fai failemu
Vanessa's Duck song
Cest la danse des canards, que en sortant de la mare,se secouent le bas des reins
Say la dance day carnar, key or sorton duh la mar, suh suh coo luh bar day rung
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