The First Scout KonTiki event? Brynbach Kon-Tiki, 1951

Here's a report from page 200 of the 1951 Scout Annual - as far as I've been able to discover, the first Scouting 'Kon-Tiki' event.

Here is the article in it's entirety, with text and photographs by Maurice Dybeck and sketches by John Sweet: 

Brynbach Kon-Tiki

Emerson Park full speed ahead in the race

HAVE you ever slept in a floating tent? Deliberately, I mean. Not the sort of tent that becomes water-borne halfway through a thunderstorm, but one actually made to float? Inspired by the Kon-Tiki Expedition across the Pacific on a raft, we decided to run our own little expedition on the boating lake at Brynbach, the I.H.Q. camp site in North Wales. Somehow, a couple of rafts would be built, launched, set adrift, and camped upon, but as by no stretch of imagination could the lake be made to look like the South Pacific, we built up a story about backwoodsmen escaping from a forest fire. Here it is : 

" You are a party of trappers who have been traveling for many days through dense country. You have just discovered that a forest fire will soon be upon you. Your only hope of escape is to take to the water and remain there, as far as possible from the bank, until the fire has passed (noon to-morrow). The fire will reach you at 8 p.m. by which time you must be afloat—or perish. " The natives (your own Troop) are friendly and may assist you in the building of your raft, and you may borrow equipment, including spars, cans, and rope from the Brynbach Trading Post. " You will of course have to cook your supper and breakfast on the raft using an open fire. You will also sleep on the raft. " In order to pass away the time to morrow morning before the fire has passed, you will-1. Have a race round the lake with the other trappers at 11.30. (Arrange this between yourselves). 2 Fish for any items from the bottom of the pond (especially tin cans). All booty to be brought ashore at 12 noon. 3 Make a sketch survey of the lake including all items of interest. 4. If any spare time left, think up and perform any other useful or interesting activity. ' You must be able to swim. A log of your voyage must be kept in proper nautical style. You must not touch land between 7 p.m. and 12 noon, and you must not receive any assistance after 7 p.m. The islands in the centre of the lake are a blazing inferno throughout the voyage. " If the raft capsizes or disintegrates, you must choose between drowning and roasting. There is no alternative !" 

The Troops which accepted the challenge were the 8th Crosby Sea Scouts from Liverpool and the 1st Emerson Park from Hornchurch, Essex.

The start of the race with 8th Crosby in the lead

The lake side at 3 p.m. on the great day was a wonderful sight. Oil drums, tree trunks, corrugated iron, and even a tractor petrol tank had appeared from nowhere and were piled ready for use. The judges strode about with bits of paper in their hands, looking important. The sheep on the hill-side paused in their grazing to stare with glassy eyes. The competition was on. With quiet confidence the men of Emerson Park set about building what looked for all the world like an enormous low altar fireplace with knobs on. A number of five-gallon square oil drums were lashed fore and aft, and the hole in the middle—sorry ! the 'tween decks—was filled with a floor of Scout staffs big enough to take a hike tent. To add dignity a mast was erected, rigged and flagged, and, using this as one tent pole, a two-man hike tent was strung up facing for'ard. The problem of making a fireplace on this highly inflammable structure presented no difficulty to these intrepid backwoodsmen, who calmly laid out a nice lawn at the front door of the tent. Armfuls of bracken were taken aboard with the rest of the cargo, and with due ceremony the mighty vessel was committed to the water. The Sea Scouts meanwhile had been at work on a much lighter craft—built for speed, they declared. Two rows of cans had been lashed to a light framework of spars, with one large open-topped oil drum in the bow, the tractor tank in the stern, and a corrugated iron superstructure. Being Sea Scouts they had scorned the idea of a tent, and had rigged up a rakish looking tarpaulin shelter such as the de-signers of Kon-Tiki would have rejoiced to see. The finished craft had no mast and not much rigging, but it floated very well—and that, as the crew pointed out, was the main thing. After the launching the big oil drum, by accident or design, took on a gentle tilt and looked every bit like a liner's funnel. Rumour spread that there was an engine-room below, but in fact all the oil drum held was the breakfast for the crew and the night's bedding. By eight that night, punctual to the minute, the forest fire had enveloped the lake and both parties of backwoodsmen had taken to the water and were safely anchored in the middle. Loaded to the plimsoll as they were with bedding, cooking pots, fire-wood and provender, yet they rode the waters bravely. The Swiss Family Robinson could not have done better. Senior Scouts Geoffrey Parker and Derek Tyler were the crew of the Emerson Park raft, and like true men of Essex, despite the flaming forest around them their first thoughts afloat turned to the cooking of supper. It was a pity, perhaps, that the flames hadn't consumed the large crowd of spectators on the ' shore of the lake, who were extremely critical of everything they did. How would you like to cook your supper on a floating lawn the size of a pocket-handkerchief, practically surrounded by people whose only desire was to see you sink or drop something overboard? But Geoff and Derek bore up well and were enjoying a good supper with hot Oxo long before the sun had set. On the Sea Scout raft, David Carylon and David Pemberton, with but thirteen summers behind them, had youth on their side, and being considerably lighter in weight were warm favourites for the great race next day. Like all good Sea Scouts they decided to keep a watch all-night—though I honestly don't know what they were watching for. If a raft is going to sink in the middle of the night it will let you know, whether you are awake or not..

Side view of Emerson Park raft

Plan of Emerson Park raft

By midnight, with no greater mishap than a storm lantern overboard, they decided that all was well and turned in. The moon came up over Bryn Ocyn and laid a silver pathway across the lake where the two rafts rocked gently at anchor. An owl hooted in the wood. Derek Tyler snored. Apart from that all was peace. CAME the dawn, and to everyone's surprise the two rafts were still afloat. The crews emerged from dreamland after what must have been the strangest night of their lives. Breakfast, sketching and dredging kept them busy until the time of the great race. And then an unexpected complication arose. The Crosby craft, Robinson Crusoe, had apparently developed engine trouble. Neither of the two Davids could persuade her to move. Then, ten minutes before the race, when almost in despair, they dis-covered the source of the trouble. They had forgotten to haul up the anchor ! Quite a lot of the native tribesmen had survived the forest fire and turned up in force to watch the race. Big Chief Panther (Bailiff of Brynbach and one of the greatest living exponents of the art of producing fire by friction) arrived with stop-watch and starting-pistol. The long-suffering sheep on the hillside looked on with pained expressions on their drawn faces . . . BANG They were off. Almost at once Robinson Crusoe took a half-length lead over her opponent, Queen Mary. At the halfway mark it looked like a walk-over. Here the course narrowed and went sharply round an island. Robinson Crusoe took the bend in grand style and started confidently on the homeward beat. Then disaster overtook c her. A cable's-length from the winning post she ran aground and no amount of punt-poling would budge her. The Queen Mary bore slowly down upon them. Then, driven desperate by the frantic yells and screams from their supporters on the lakeside, the two Davids as one man jumped overboard, heaved the raft bodily clear of the reeds, and scrambled aboard again just in time to finish one length ahead of their rivals. Photographs, handshakes, speeches, and dry land again brought their adventure to a glorious conclusion. Sixteen hours afloat on their own raft ! The honours of the race went to the Sea Scouts of the 8th Crosby but for the rest the men of Emerson Park were declared the winners. A great race, and a great adventure — everyone was happy.

 

So ends the saga of the North Wales Kon-Tiki. But it may be that others will wish to emulate this great adventure, so let me conclude with a few tips from our own experience. Don't rely on wood alone for buoyancy. This may be all right for a " mess-about ' raft, but is no use at all if you want to keep dry. Use empty oil drums if you can get them—but do test them for leaks before-hand (nothing is more unsettling than to hear your raft going " glug-glug-glug " in the silent watches of the night !) and don't put- them in sideways. Bung-holes don't matter if you have them well above, or better still, believe it or not, right below water-level. Once you know what materials are available, rough out a plan in your note-book or on an odd piece of paper of the type of raft you are going to build, and then set about the job in a workmanlike manner. Finally, if you intend to cook your breakfast aboard, don't forget to take some water !

Eastern Cape Kontiki 2024

Rafts launching at Eastern Cape Kontiki 2024. Image credit: Marilize Bouwer

The Eastern Cape South region held their " Heroes & Villians" themed 2024 Kontiki event over 21-24 March just outside East London. Like the KwaZulu-Natal Scout Raft Race, the rafts were built as lightweight racing rafts, rather than 'floating campsites' like the Gauteng and Western Cape events.

Alongside the 12 raft teams, there was a supporters' "fringe" competition and a Cub competition. 1st Knysna Sea Scouts, from the Garden Route region of the neighbouring Western Cape, were the winners - congratulations!

Thanks to Caroline Boshoff and the Eastern Cape influencer team for competition information and photos.

Everything was awesome at KonTiki 2017

KonTiki 2017 took place recently, and was the coldest  and one of the stormiest KonTiki weekends in some time. In spite of the rain, wind, hail and frost, 55 teams arrived to camp, taking part on this year's theme of "Let's Play!"

 Friday afternoon saw a hail storm that sent many teams running for shelter, but by the time I was on site in the vening, construction was going ahead under lights along most of the shore.

This year, many teams had LEGO-themed decorations in their camp sites, from bricks and blocks to minifigs.

The poor weather continued on Saturday, and in the end about a dozen teams spent the hwole night on the water through the wind and rain - here they are the next morning, when the sun came out for a beautiful sunrise and morning.

Congratulations to the over all winners, 1st Eagles. The full, detailed resulsts scoresheet is available here.

I'll be taking a closer look at some of the campsite details from this weekend in the next few weeks.

Kontiki 2016 timelapse videos

The KonTiki organisers have launched the website for the 2017 competition, and along with it, a series of timelapse videos from last year's event. These videos give you an idea of the work that goes into the weekend (and also of the unseasonal rain we had last year).

 

56m suspension bridge at Manjedal Activity Centre, Western Australia

Greg from West Australian Scout Pioneering wrote in with photos and a description of the awesome bridge, supported by A frames on each end and a raft in the centre. Here's Gregs description:

Photo courtesy Greg Barbera

Project : Build a Rope bridge for the West Australian Cub Scout event – Enduro 

Location: Manjedal Activities Centre (M.A.C) – Lake Jones 

Depth: Varies from 4 meters to 15 meters Span: 56 m (40m over water) 

Water Temp: Very cold 

Weather: everything except snow 

Duration: 16 hrs to build

Photos courtesy Greg Barbera

To help celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Cubs, the Organizing team decided to go with a “Back to the Future” theme. They also want to surprise the cubs by having an activity based around the traditional methods of pioneering that have been with the movement for over 100yrs. The West Australian Scout Pioneering Crew (WASP) were asked to build a bridge across Lake Jones that would be sturdy enough to withstand a very large number of Cubs and Leaders using it.

Over the two days of Enduro approximately 800 Cubs and a small number of leaders made the crossing. To ensure the build met the requirements of pioneering in Australia, the walk rope was set at a height of 1.8m from the ground so that helmet & harness would not be required (anything over 2m). This meant that we had to install some form of support in the middle of the arc to keep the ropes & cubs out of the water. Several suggestions where made of a tower, but owing to the erratic shape of the bottom of the lake there would be no guarantee that a level section could be found. It was decided that a pontoon would work providing it could be securely moored and be able to support the bridge as it pass over it. It was decided that a 4m x 4 m pontoon made out 100mm dia. pine logs with 4 x 200ltr blue plastic drums and 6 x 140ltr white drums would both support it and stabilize the middle section. In addition 2 vertical poles where fitted so the bridge ropes could be attached to the pontoon using Carabiners, this would still allow the ropes to be tensioned without moving the pontoon from its moored position. 

We also fitted an arrival and departure deck which only covered the area under the bridge, a walkway was also fitted for a leader to use to assist those passing through the middle section. On the trial build of the pontoon we fitted guy ropes to the vertical posts but found that caused problems and a trip hazard for the leader, so this time we used 3 spars on each vertical and lashed them in place, to reduce the amount of rope required we made the first lashing a figure 8 and pulled the side poles out to create the angle brace. Then fitted one on the outside and lashed a horizontal spar in place so the walk rope could also be clipped onto the pontoon. For this span we fitted each line with 2:2 rope block combination and used the pontoon as a means to keep the lines tensioned as the combined weight totalled approx 350 kg. The main ropes where 20mm dia. sisal and to assist the hand rails to support the walk rope we fitted short lengths of rope which we refer to as stringers. Normally when we fit pulleys on to the main ropes to take up the tension, we used the prussic loop to attach the block, for this one we used the “Dog & Tail hitch”. This hitch does the job well and is easier to move when it is not under load. 

On the shore we used “A” frame assemblies that are self supported by guy ropes and thus allowed the main ropes to be tensioned freely. Carabiners were also tied to the frames to support the hand lines. To stop the main line travelling along the horizontal bar, we used a short length or rope and tied a clove hitch on both sides. Normally we would use a log & picket anchorage for our rope bridges, but in this case the ground on both sides was too soft to get a good footing. On one side the soil was too moist and on the other side there was a very large ant hill, which meant we had to contend with hollow ground owing to the nest. We therefore bound the trees with hessian to reduce any damage to them. 

To reduce the risk of the Cubs endangering themselves if they fell off, each person making the crossing was required to wear a life jacket and we had a rescue craft on standby (canoe). Out of the 800 cubs only 2 ended up in the water and 7 were rescued by the safety vessel as they held onto the hand rails.

Two-tent raft in Malta

 Sean from Mosta Scout Group in Malta shared these photographs with me- of a raft sitting in this stunning location against the cliffs in the Mediterranean.

Sean says:

"With 100 lashings, 40 staves, 30 barrels and 10 Marine Ply, a massive Double Floating Raft Camp served as our home for the past weekend. This is just a glimpse, from what Scouting is all about 😉"

(previously- pioneering from Mosta Venture Crew)

Cardboard box rafts- Akela 2016

At the recent Akela 2016 camp, I was involved in running outdoor activities for the Pack Scouters, alongside the community service and crafts bases that were run. Alongside a tensegrity cube, I ran this challenge- to build a raft using staves, light cord, cardboard boxes and dustbin bags, and float a member of their team across a swimming pool (around 10 metres/ 30 feet).

Photographs courtesy Marissa Rakic

The idea is to build the cardboard boxes up, then seal them in plastic bags, and use these boouyancy 'blocks' tp build a raft. In practice, of the three teams who attempted it, only one got their 'sailor' safely across the pool. Here are the two unsuccessful teams at their moment of immersion:

The first team built a raft that had good, solid boxes, well tied together. However, they built a narrow raft which had very poor stability, and despite a few attempts, the raft was unable to remain upright.

The second team distributed the bouyancy more evenly, but one of their boxes failed around halfway through:

 The third team, pictured at the top of the post, managed to get across without any incident. I allocated 45 minutes for this, and all three teams had sufficient time, even allowing for around half the team being unfamiliar with raft building. I can recommend this as a patrol challenge if the weather is good. I would suggest having a full set of boxes for each team- in the event that a box gets wet, it is almost impossible to re-use.

Kontiki 2016 Roundup and videos

KonTiki 2016 came to a close yesterday morning, after 60mm of unseasonal rain left the campsite waterlogged. The majority of rafts spent the night on the water, and the competition went ahead- congratulations to 1st Morningside who were all the overall winners!

Hennie Hamman, from Arrowe Park, has produced a series of videos summarising the weekend:
Friday night:

Saturday:

Sunday:

I'll be blogging some more about KonTiki once the full results spreadsheets are out, and once the organisers relsease some more photographs- there were a few timelapse cameras running over the weekend, and I'm looking forward to seeing them.

KonTiki 2016: Saturday- Rafts and Land activities

Saturday is the busiest day at KonTiki- rafts are completed, and after being checked for sea-worthiness, are launched and begin their competitions on the water. Meanwhile, on land, the Beaver Challenge competition has run for the Cubs and junior Scouts, campsites are being judged, and meals are competition meals are cooked.

Here are some of the rafts preparing for launch. Because of space limitations at the venue, rafts are built three rows deep from the shore. The theme for Kontiki 2016 is 'Jedi Knights', and you can see how some of the rafts have been decorated to match the theme.

Once the rafts launched,the weather (raining for most of the morning) improved briefly and I managed to get this photo of a rainbow. The organisers arranged for live GPS tracking of all the rafts this year, and this screen in the main tent shows the current location of all the rafts.

The Beaver Challenge is a series of challenge bases hosted for the Cubs and junior Scouts who visit Kontiki. Above are some of the bases from the challenge.

KonTiki 2016: Friday night raft construction

KonTiki 2016 is under way, with most teams well into building their rafts. Here are some photos of then shorefront. Teams build three rafts deep in most places, and once ready tomorrow, will help each other launch.

Floating School in Lagos, Nigeria: Rafts in architecture

Image courtesy of NLE via their Makoko Floating School press kit.

Makoko is a floating slum neighbourhood in Lagos, Nigeria, built on stilts and rafts across the Lagos Lagoon. NLÉ is a Nigerian architecture firm who designed this floating school in 2013, to provide a teaching and learning space in this very crowded area. The solution wouldn't look out of place at KonTiki.

All images courtesy of NLE via their Makoko Floating School press kit.

While this project doesn't use lashings, it does make use of round laths, plastic drums and plywood, like a Kontiki raft. Here's some information from their press kit:

 The 220sq.m A-­‐frame or pyramid building is 10m high with a 10m x 10m base. It is an ideal shape for a floating object on water due to its relatively low center of gravity, which provides stability and balance even in heavy winds. It also has a total capacity to safely support a hundred adults, even in extreme weather conditions.

The building has three levels. The 1st level is an open play area for school breaks and assembly, which also serves as a community space during after hours. The 2nd level is an enclosed space for two to four classrooms, providing enough space for sixty to a hundred pupils. A staircase on the side connects the open play area, the classrooms and a semi enclosed workshop space on the 3rd level.

The simple yet innovative structure adheres to ideal standards of sustainable development with its inclusive technologies for renewable energy, waste reduction, water and sewage treatment as well as the promotion of low-­‐carbon transport. Furthermore a team of eight Makoko based builders constructed it using eco-­‐ friendly, locally sourced bamboo and wood procured from a local sawmill.

Construction began in September 2012 with floatation mock-­‐ups and testing. Recycled empty plastic barrels found abundantly in Lagos were used for the building’s buoyancy system, which consists of 16 wooden modules, each containing 16 barrels. The modules were assembled on the water, creating the platform that provides buoyancy for the building and its users. Once this was assembled, construction of the A-­‐frame followed and was completed by March 2013. Makoko Floating School is now in regular use by the community as a social, cultural and economic center and recently welcomed its first pupils who now use it as a primary school.

All images courtesy of NLE via their Makoko Floating School press kit.

Kontiki raft mass calculator

Gauteng KonTiki is coming up next weekend, and the Gauteng Scout Water Activities Advisory  Council, along with Puddle Pirates Rover Crew, has developed this Excel spreadsheet which helps calculate the mass of a raft, and ultimately calculate how deep a raft sits in the water. It takes into account the weight of poles, ropes, barrels, decking boards, equipment and crew to arrive at the total load which it then compares against the buoyancy provided by the barrels.

This tool is being offered for download at the KonTiki website for use by entrants to KonTiki, but hsould be useful to any Scout raft designers. Note that KonTiki is held on sheltered, still, inland waters, so the buoyancy is calculated with that in mind.

The tool is metric, but for rough estimation purposes for Imperial units, 1kg = approximately 2 pounds, and 100mm = almost exactly 4 inches.

Release notes from the website:

Alan Ford has arranged this tool as a safety measure to ensure that the raft being built will have sufficient buoyancy provided for by barrels, before being launched. This will aid you and also ensure that the raft is sufficiently manoeuvrable should you need to be towed by a rescue vessel.  
If you have any questions or would like Alan to review it, please e-mail it to alanford@global.co.za when you have populated the final version or bring it to Kontiki on a memory stick, Alan will go through it at the event.

Raft Barrel Lashings

Kontiki season is picking up here in Southern Africa, with Windhoek, Namibia hosting their event this weekend, and the Western Cape hosting theirs next weekend.

The diagram above shows one way of fastening barrels that worked well for my troop. You can double up with a second rope starting at the opposite corners to make it really secure. Apart from the ropes, the spacing of your poles is really important to make sure that the barrel sits securely on the raft base.

 drawn on iPad Mini using Paper app and Just-Mobile AluPen

Kontiki 2014 Videos

Hennie Hamman, the manager at Arrowe Park, has compiled three videos from hours of footage taken at KonTiki 2014. Here they are- firstly, site preparation and raft construction, followed by the rafts seen by helicopter and from Arrowe Park, and finally the closing ceremony. Altogether, this is three-quarters of an hour of video, and gives a good feeling of what being at KonTiki is like.

Preparation and construction:

KonTiki seen from the air and on the ground:

Closing ceremony and awards:

KonTiki 2014 wrapup

KonTiki 2014 is over, and 1st Horison won both the raft competition and the overall competition - congratulations! 9th Benoni (my former group) won the overall supporter's (land) competition. Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting some details about some of the rafts, gadgets and techniques I saw over the weekend. In the mean time, here are the results as an Excel spreadsheet. For groups who attended, this spreadsheet is useful to figure out where you can pick up points next year to improve your position. But leaving the competitions aside, the most exciting thing about KonTiki this year for me, was seeing 4500 Cubs, Brownies, Scouts, Guides, Rovers and adult leaders camping side by side and really enjoying each other's company- like a World Jamboree on a smaller scale.

Here is a stitched 3d composite, made with Microsoft's Photosynth software, that gives a feel for the size of the campsite and the event. You can click around the edges of the photographs to zoom and pan around. The photos give a good view of the rafts on the water, and also the campsites on land. Jenny Hamman took these photos from a Robinson R44 helicopter (with video to follow later in the week)