The River Thames in Molesey provides the ideal environment to introduce young people to water activities.
It’s not just about learning to paddle, sail or row
By providing opportunities to get afloat, we help children develop skills that they will keep with them and use throughout their working life and beyond – leadership, teamwork, problem solving and flexibility.
During the summer months we kayak, row, sail and learn to drive powerboats… it’s great fun!
Powerboating
1st Molesey is one of a handful of Scout Groups in the UK that holds status Royal Yachting Association recognised training centre and several of our volunteers are qualified RYA Powerboat Instructors.
We are able to run RYA Powerboat courses for our young people and adult volunteers.
Sailing
We make use of the excellent facilities at Island Barn reservoir for our sailing activities. Sailing is an activity that we introduce many of our young people to for the first time.
Sailing is an area we are keen to further develop so please get in touch if this is something you would be able to support us with.
Paddlesports
Kayaking, canoeing and paddle boarding are some of our favourite activities!
Our Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers all get the opportunity to take part in kayaking activities and our weir adventures, pool sessions and paddle expeditions are always very popular!
Royal Navy recognised
There are around 350 Sea Scout groups in the UK and 103 are officially recognised by the Royal Navy. We are super proud to be one of these groups.
The RN Scheme was created to say thank you for the role that Sea Scout Groups played in support of the coastal watch efforts during the Second World War.
The support of the Royal Navy helps us extend adventure afloat and we are proud to wear the blue admiralty badge on our uniforms and fly a special Red Ensign flag defaced with the Admiralty Crown. Our last review was in 2019 and we passed with flying colours.
St Ayles Skiff
Fara was built from scratch in our boatshed by our volunteers. We believe her to be the first St Ayles Skiff to be built for use on the Thames and is the first to be used by a Scout Group.
We started building in October 2016 and many of our young people were involved along the way. You can see a time-lapse video of the build below.
The name Fara is Scottish Gaelic for “Fair Isle”, where this design of skiff was predominantly used as a fishing boat.
Fara will help us get more young people enjoying the Thames and participating in activities afloat such as the Great River Race, London’s 21 mile river marathon!
Learning to respect the water
It’s important that young people growing up in Molesey’s riverside community learn how to use the river safely.
We teach young people how to keep them self safe around water, and what they should do if they get into trouble or need to help someone else.
Water safety awareness and first aid are just an example of two of the life skills young people will develop during their time with us.
