Silver Venture 2005

Silver Venture 2005

For our Silver President's Award Venturewe went to the Lough Allen Adventure Centre situated on the lake at Ballinogera, Co. Leitrim. There was six of us from Donegal: Joni Donagher, Sarah Gallagher, Daire Diver and me, Shane Brogan as well as two past pupils who were in the process of finishing their Silver Award: Annette McGroary and Louise Grady. We were also joined by thirteen Bronze Award Participants from Lough Allen College from Drumkeeran, Co. Leitrim. There was four instructors: Joe, Ed, Hatim and Beenie and of course the centre's dog - Sheeba! We were there for three days and two nights and received training in camp-craft and open-boating which led to us spending two nights camping in the open. Everybody had great craic although there was a few exceptions!

Monday 28th March:

By eight o'clock we were on the road with Sarah's father behind the steering wheel, and arrived at the centre at about ten and the six of us were united for the first time. After being introduced to two of the instructors: Joe and Ed, it was of to the lake for our first exercise: kayaking. We were divided into two teams of three: Sarah, Annette and Louise verses Daire, Joni and I and played a version of water polo. The aim of the game was to pass the ball to all three team mates and then on to an instructor. Our team started well by going 1-0 up but after Joni and I capsized a total of three times the score was 2-1 and our behinds were well and truly kicked! We headed up to the centre but only after everyone else went for a dip in the lake! After we had dried off we met the other two instructors: Beenie and Hatim and we were now shown some basic survival skills such as navigation, erecting tents, lighting fires and cooking on triangias. Afterwards we all went for a walk along the edge of the lake. Joni, already getting used to being wet continued were she left of by almost falling into a stream and Sarah joined in by taking an unplanned footbath in the lake. Before heading back to the centre we had a skimming competition which I won of course! At three o'clock the rest of the group arrived, which consisted of thirteen girls in fourth year in a nearby school. After they had caught up with us, it was back to the wetsuits for an open boating lesson. We were shown how to go forward, reverse and steer from left to right. Just as dark was falling we had a race across the lake to the pontoon and which Daire, Sarah, Annette and Louis's team won! As everyone lined up along the pontoon, we were one by one forced to jump in to the freezing cold water, except for Joni! She managed for the best part of ten minutes to escape but alas it was not to be! She was grabbed by her hands and feet and sent crashing with all limbs spread into the water. Everyone watched as her shocked face emerged from the water before we all fell to stitches laughing! It was now back to the centre and into the tv room. We watched 'the O.C.' one of Sarah and Joni's favourite programmes but which Daire had never seen and so tried to find out what it was about but was lucky to escape from them with his life! After that we sat down to watch a horror: 'Freddy(aka Freddy Cruger) vs. Jason', perhaps not the scariest horror but it did the trick! When it had finished we were turfed out of the centre and had to make the journey through the dark and rain to our tent and then it really started! The tents all around us were full of 'singers', on another side was a river and not to forget the rain! Inside the tent things were not much better : Sarah felt a bit sleepless, there was an incident reguarding a renegade slug and Joni and I almost came to blows on countless occassions!!!

Tuesday 29th March:

At six o'clock the rooster went off but we were given a bit longer in bed until 8:30. Then it was time to take down the tents and load our food, clothes and the rest of our gear into water proof barrels. Then there was time to catch a quick breakfast of coco-pops before we changed and heahed to the lake. Sarah, Joni, Daire and I took one boat but we had bearly left land when we discovered that Sarah was up to her ancles in water! Just five minutes into our three hour journey to O'Connor's Island and already we had to begin bailing out the boat! For the remainder of the journey we took turns to sit in the sinking half of the boat and we had now christened our vessel: 'Titanic 2'! And so began a sequence of row, steer, bail with a small break half way through for lunch. We eventually reached the island and then had to set up camp, and it was now time for diner: pasta, tomato and bacon!!! Before long, everyone was changed, the fire was lit, the tents pitched and the shelter built - from ponchos and two fallen trees! While washing up, I happened to see the infamous goat of O'Connor's island, which nobody quite knew how it got there. Daire and Joni then set of on a wild goose or rather a wild goat chase and circumnavigated the island with Hatim but were unsucessful! That evening was spent chatting around the fire and at nine o'clock (sad or what?!) we went to bed but only Louise and Annette had the bottle to sleep in the shelter! That night it rained like no other and even the tent began to leak! Once again Joni and I managed to find something to argue about! The tent was pitched on a slope on some roots or rocks which meant another bad nights sleep and right on cue the singing started again!!!

Wednesday 30th March:

The next morning we were woken at nine and had to begin the dismantling of the camp once more, but only after our coco-pops and powdered milk! We then shared our 'survival stories' of the night before and prepared to reboard the Titanic 2 for the one hour row to Drumshanbo. But before then a fight broke out, a mud-fight to be precise! However, Joni, Sarah, Daire and I managed to escape it for a good while but we were all cought, no matter how far or fast we tried to run! With our soiled faces we set off but we soon found that the salvage work done on pur boat was unsucessful. The wind was now stronger and it was raining so it was almost impossible to go in a straight direction this, along with two bad nights sleep and the rest of it, meant all four of us were at each other's throats and this led to long periods of silence! At last we reached Drumshanbo Lock and we all piled out of our half sunken boat, all alive! We then took the twenty minute journey by road back to the centre were we waited for Daire's mother to arrive and take us home - back to the good old Hills of Donegal!!!