Last weekend we went over the hill to Taipa for a raft race.
It had been organised as a way to bring together all the local church youth groups. What a good idea!
I think that this is the third year that the race has been held. It is the first time that we were involved.
It was a typical Far North event and most enjoyable for that.
No fuss, advertised by word of mouth, looked like it was not going to happen, seemingly crazy to a safety obsessed ex-Englishman. And in spite of all those things, thought had gone into it. There were 2 safety boats. The course was about 4 km down a pretty wild estuary with limited road access. The rafts ranged from the ramshackle to pretty seaworthy. In fact one girl swam the whole way holding onto a piece of bamboo. The kids themselves were fully involved in the whole thing as they had built the rafts and most crews were all under 18's. What is more, they all reached the finishing point, some needing a bit of a tow from the boats to make sure that we were not waiting too long at the finishing point. They all enjoyed themselves and were all stretched mentally and physically.
Despite all these good things, I am pretty certain that if the same event had been proposed in England, it would have been banned - or made so cumbersome with safety regulations that everyone would have been tied up in knots! And yet all the positives came out and no-one has drowned yet.
That is why I like living here!
Stuart was our family representative as he is most active in the youth group and had helped to build the raft. His friend Lance completed the great voayge as well.
We finished up at Taipa Sailing Club, with the obligatory sausage sizzle and spot prizes followed by some beach games. Choice!
