Scouts and Guides
Harbour Challenge Outdoor Education Centre
is a water activities centre based on Brownsea Island the birth place of
Scouting and Guiding. Each year it enables over 2000 young people from
all over the country to experience the thrill and sense of adventure
that sailing, kayaking and power boating can offer through two hour
taster sessions.
We hope you find this page a useful introduction to
what Harbour Challenge can offer, but if you have any
further questions please don't hesitate to
contact us for more details.
We look forward to seeing you in the near future!
What's Available During Taster Sessions!
·
Sailing in one of our dinghies, either
accompanied with one of our trained helms or own your own.
·
Kayaking in closed cockpit kayaks, lead by
one of our trained instructors, for a fun session afloat.
·
Cruising
around
the Harbour in one of our powerboats with a qualified member of staff on
board..JPG)
· You could also try building your own raft or windsurfing
·
Why not book the day with us and we can
guide you to Long Island for a lunch time picnic.
These taster sessions can be booked direct with us or through the
National Trust on Brownsea. All sessions are for two hours and can also
be arranged for evening, or weekend and are available from the start of
April to the end of October. Bookable as a single session or a series of
sessions, they allow participants to try a sport for the first time, or
develop existing skills & gain experience. While all activities are
supervised by our qualified instructors. We welcome own group lead
sessions providing your group leaders meet our required standard.
Activity
sessions can be booked by any group and is not depended on group size we
work in ratios of 1 instructor to 8 students and therefore our charging
is per group of eight. Maximum numbers depend on availability of
equipment, staff, tidal & weather conditions and other bookings, but the
centre can accommodate up to 60 people at weekends and 30 people during
an evening.
Obviously, bad weather conditions can prevent the planned water
activities from taking place. However, the centre has developed a number
of shore-based activities which can be easily run at short notice.
As an certified
RYA (Royal Yachting Association) and affiliated BCU (British Canoe
Union) training establishment, we are able to run courses in sailing,
kayak canoeing and powerboating.
Courses
for these are arranged throughout the year, and a schedule of course
prices are available. However, it is also possible to arrange extra
courses if the group is large enough - please
contact us
for more details.
Instruction of these courses consists of practical, water-based activities. However, many of the courses contain a theoretical element, best taught on dry land. For this purpose, our building contains a warm, sizeable training area with whiteboard, as well as other areas in which to practice skills such as knotting and reefing..
Qualification
Training
Sailing courses
are available for RYA awards for both adults and juniors. Direct
Assessment can also be arranged if you feel you are already competent to
the level required.
Canoeing courses
can be arranged for BCU Stars 1-3 and the Kayak Safety Test. Direct
Assessment is also available..jpg)
Powerboat
courses are available at RYA Levels 1 and 2 (The National Powerboat
Certificate), and the RYA Safety Boat course. Direct Assessment is
available for all of these.
Scout and Guide Proficiency
Badges
We recognise
that many Scouts and Guides who participate in the courses are doing so
to meet the requirements of the various watersports proficiency badges.
Many badges only require the completion of the relevant RYA/BCU training
course, however sometimes there are additional requirements. Therefore
we are happy to offer courses designed to include all the aspects of
these badges.