National Water Kamp
NaWaKa '89

Dutch Sea Scout Jamboree

1. Introduction from Gert-Jan Bijnin (Camp leader).
2. A map of the site.
3. Camp events diary.
4. Subcamp events diary.
5. Troops in subcamp "Sloependek".
6. British Scouts/Guides at Nawaka.
7. List of attendees from 1st/72nd Reading.
8. What did we get up to?

9. Weather Forecasts
10. Daily Menus for the Camp
11. NaWaKa Newspaper - "Allemans Endje"
12. Reading Thameside in the papers
13. Videos of the Camp
14. Local Publications
15. Other Documentation
16. Friends made on camp

Introduction from Gert-Jan Bijnin (Camp leader)

A map of the site

Left is a map of the site. We were camped in Sub-camp "Sloependek". The Sub-camps were named as follows: Achterdek (Poopdeck) Bakboord (Port) Boeg (Bow) Hek (Stern) Sloependek (Boat Deck) Stuurboord (Starboard)

Camp events diary

Monday 24th July
From 10am     Arrival and building up of camp
From 4pm      Delivery first food packages
6.30 - 7.15pm Leaders meeting

Tuesday 25th July
From 10.50am  Departure for Roermond (Junior Sea Scouts)
From 1pm      Departure for Roermond (Senior Sea Scouts)
2.20 - 2.45pm Participants at Market Place
3 - 3.45pm    Opening Ceremony NAWAKA '89
7.30 - 9pm    Introductory night

Wednesday 26th July
From 8am      Departure (Junior Sea Scouts)
10 - 12.30pm  International Market (Senior Sea Scouts)
2.30 - 5pm    Games with international character (Senior Sea Scouts)
6.30 - 7.15pm Leaders meeting
7.30 - 9.30pm Recreative Market
7.30 - 9.30pm Treasure Hunt (Senior Sea Scouts)

Thursday 27th July
From 8am      Departure (Junior Sea Scouts)
From 1pm      Departure (Junior Sea Scouts)
From 1pm      Departure for Roermond (Senior Sea Scouts)
7.30 - 9.30pm Recreative Market

Friday 28th July
From 8.30am   Departure for Various Competitions (Junior Sea Scouts)
              9.30am  - rowing
              10am    - sailing
              11.30am - triathlon
              All day long -"Nautical Activities" at the Zuidplas (South Pond)
8.30am - 4pm  Activities taking place at camp site and Zuidplas (Senior Sea Scouts)
6.30 - 7.15pm Leaders meeting
8pm           Prize-giving ceremonies at the Sun Deck (Junior Sea Scouts)

Saturday 29th July
10am - 4pm    Parents' Day
From 5pm      Barbeque (Junior Sea Scouts)
From 7pm      Barbeque (Senior Sea Scouts)
From 7.30pm   NAWAKA Festivities (to be published in "Allemansendje)
From ??.??    "Splashing Show"

Sunday 30th July
7am - 10pm    Day's rest from NAWAKA
10 - 11am     Oecumenical Service
11am - 4pm    NAWAKA "On View"
1 - 4pm       Open Day for Roermond youth
1.30 - 5.30pm Recreative Market
From 1.30pm   Hike (Senior Sea Scouts)

Monday 31st July
12am - 9pm    Hike (Junior Sea Scouts)
From 8am      Departure (Junior Sea Scouts)
1.30 - 5.30pm Recreative Market
6.30 - 7.15   Leaders meeting

Tuesday 1st August
From 8am      Departure (Junior Sea Scouts)
10am - 5pm    Various Copmetitions (Senior Sea Scouts)
              From 4pm - attempt on the record on the Meuse river
7.30 - 9.30pm Recreative Market

Wednesday 2nd August
10am - 12pm   Preperations for Naval review and Gondola Flotilla
12.30pm       Departure for different sections (read Allemansendje)
2 - 4pm       NAWAKA 1989 Naval Review
5.15 - 6pm    Leaders meeting
9pm           Rowing trip to starting point for Gondola Flotilla beyond
              the Maasbrug (bridge on the Meuse river) in Roermond
9 - 11pm      Gondola Flotilla
11pm          Closing ceremonies NAWAKA 1989

Thursday 3rd August
From 7am      Evacuation and departure (moving out)

Subcamp events diary

	MORNING	AFTERNOON	EVENING
Tue 25th	Departure/Opening	Opening	Meeting
Wed 26th	Preliminary rounds sailing competition	Preliminary rounds sailing competition
Thu 27th	Activit. Jun. S.S. Excursion for foreign participants	Excursion for foreign participants
Fri 28th	Var. Compet. day Excursion for foreign participants	Var. Compet. day Excursion for foreign participants	Game Fair
Sat 29th	Parent's Day	Parent's Day	NAWAKA festivities
Sun 30th	Oecumenical service	NAWAKA "On View"
Mon 31st	Activit. Jun. S.S.	Activit. Jun. S.S.	Camp fire
Tue 1st	Sub Camp activities	Sub Camp activities	Recreative game in the Jolly Boats
Wed 2nd		Naval Review	Gondola Flotilla

Subcamp Staff: L. Freijser, H. Starrenburg, S. van Hulsen, H. Scholte

Troops in subcamp "Sloependek"

British Scouts/Guides at Nawaka

List of attendees from 1st/72nd Reading

Leaders

72nd Reading
Bob Spokes, Doug Prince, Tony Langford, John Langham

Ventures

Oliver Hunter, Mark Smith, Raymond Clyne, Craig Hill, Vicki Amor, Pauline Turner

1st Reading Scouts

Rupert, Peter "The Pain" Swain, "Ketchup", ???, ???, ???, ???

72nd Reading Scouts

Stephen "Maggot" Mason, Donald Clyne, Robert Booth, Mark Langford, Paul "Interesting" Clarke, Anthony "Sad" Holmes, ???

What did we get up to?

On the left you can see an aeriel photograph of the site. This was taken during the camp and then a copy distributed to everyone present. I have marked the location of 1^st & 72^nd Reading Sea Scouts. This was the first international Jamboree that I had attended and although it was not that large by World Jamboree standards I was awed and impressed by the huge scale of things - especially the Dutch Scouts' boats! I was also impressed by the friendliness of everyone there considering the number of different nationalities and faiths that were present.

We left Reading at 7.30pm on Sunday 23th July 1989 in two minibuses taking the 11.30pm ferry from Ramsgate to Calais and then driving along the coast road into Belgium. We passed through Brussels and then Eindhoven before arriving in Roermond at about 7.30am although it took us until 9.00am to find the campsite! On arrival we found we had to leave the minibuses about ¼ mile from the site and transfer all our equipment using hand carts. Then we started to set up our site; as it was a very hot day most of us wore t-shirts or went topless. Although we used warned the Scouts about the sun and used sunscreen some got mild sunburn and Donald Clyne's back in particular peeled like a sheet of clingfilm a few days later...

As tradition dictated, once we'd finished setting up the site, we had to try and erect the highest flag pole on our subcamp and quickly set about lashing a huge construction in place. A bit later a nearby troop put up one fractionally taller than ours so we had to send 'Maggot' up to lash a hike tent pole with a Nawaka Penant on it to the top, thus restoring the title to us.

That evening the Ventures went out exploring the site and making new friends. We sussed out where the other English Venture Scouts were, teamed up with some of them and continued exploring together. We found the Venture Unit from Anna Paulowna at the opposite end of the site who had traditional bell tents.

The next afternoon saw the Opening Ceremony which started with each subcamp raising the national flags of those troops present after which the whole jamboree moved onto the water in hundreds of boats to make a fairly short trip before marching into Roermond town square. The thousands of Scouts and Ventures watched a fairly lengthy ceremony which received local newspaper and TV coverage. First 'King Neptune' arrived in a procession and gave a greeting to everyone in all the languages necessary. Then a cannon was fired (very loud) and a representative from every country present came to the stand and gave a short welcoming speech. The rest of the day was spent making friends and swimming in the immense gravel pit. The camp crew had set up a diving board on the side of a huge gravel barge and we made sure that it got plenty of use.

Very early the next day, we were woken up by the sounds of 'King Neptune' setting up his 'court' in our subcamp. Apparently it is a Dutch Scout tradition for King Neptune to call all Scouts on their first jamboree to his court to be 'initiated' which involves being rolled in mud, baptised with cold water 'shot' in the head with mud and made to drink his 'special drink'... The Dutch Troop initiated quite a few 'virgin' campers including three of our own: Stephen "Maggot" Mason, Anthony "Sad" Holmes, and Peter "The Pain" Swain.

Pretty early on we (the Venture Scouts) discovered that the Amstel Brewery was within a feasible walking distance and we set up a kitty with the leaders and took it in turns to collect crates of beer. For some reason, I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time, everytime we drank a bottle of beer we threaded the top onto a length of string. By the end of the camp most of us had a bottle-top 'cosh' about 12 inches long...

We made many friends on the camp and one group in particular were especially kind to us, letting us borrow their rowing boats, as obviously we hadn't been able to bring any over from the UK. The picture shows some of the Scouts in that troop - "Suanablake" named after "Blake's 7", a British space sci-fi TV show from the 80's, that their leader was a fan of.

One day we went on a day trip to Maastricht which meant a very early start and a long trip by boat up the river Meuse. It was also the start of a two day expedition by many of the older Dutch Scouts so they were also on the water in their 'flattens' (sailing dinghies). We travelled with Suanablake on their troop boat: a 142 ton torpedo tender for submarines on loan from the Dutch Navy. As we were all going in the same direction for a while the crews of the unpowered flattens hitched a lift on the back of ours and others' boats. At one point we were towing 46 boats, some of which you can see in the photo.

We passed through 2 locks on the journey and the second one had a rise and fall of over 12 metres. When we arrived at the first lock it seemed rather full with all the boats of the Scouts on their expedition, as well as routine river traffic, as you can see in the photo. The skipper of our boat was in radio contact with the lock-keeper and he assured us that there was room and so we carried on in. It took nearly half an hour to get all the boats in, 15 minutes for the lock to fill up, and another 15 or 20 minutes for everyone to get out. The Scouts on their expedition then went off into Belgium while we continued on to Maastricht.

We took a bus into town and had a look around. In the afternoon we went on a tour around some limestone caves which had some wonderful carvings and pictures on the walls.

One day we had an international theme and all the 'foreign' troops had to offer something to all the others to represent their respective countries. Bob decided that we should serve 'tea and scones' which we did providing hundreds of cups of tea and scones with jam and cream to all those who visited our site.

Towards the end of Nawaka, Anthony Holmes, who we had constantly warned about playing on the flag pole, fell backwards off it from about 2ft and put his hands out behind him to break his fall and dislocated his wrist. I ran to get a paramedic and brought him back to our site. Bob went with Anthony to hospital where they plastered his wrist and gave him some tablets for the pain and swelling.

On the last day everyone attended the closing ceremony which included a 'sail past' with every Scout on the camp on the water in over 700 boats. We all saluted as we filed past a selection of dignitaries aboard a yacht. The ceremony culminated in a huge firework display and we joined in by lighting over a hundred night-light candles in glass jars, that we had been collecting over the camp, and suspending them from our flag pole.

On 3rd August, when Nawaka was finally over, we said our goodbyes, packed up and headed North to Anna Paulowna where we had arranged to spend three days in the Scout Hut of a troop who were also at the jamboree. One of the days we went on a trip to Harlingen and travelled across the "Afsluitdijk" - a 20 mile dyke seperating the Ijsselmeer from the North Sea which was very impressive. In the photos, the sea is obviously higher than the inland Ijsselmeer. It was taken from the bridge at the site where the dam was closed (on 28th May 1932) where we stopped to view the display explaining how it was built with pictures showing various stages of the construction including the final closure.

Another day we went to Medemblik and spent the day at the beach where some of the boys went swimming. Most of the Scouts were amused at the fact that the beach turned out to be partly nudist!

Sadly, all good things came to an end, and we had to make the long journey back home. So we packed up the minibuses, left Anna Paulowna and drove back to get the ferry and finally arrived back in Reading at about 9.00pm, where we had to unpack everything again. All in all, a fantastic camp!

Weather Forecasts

Camp Menu

NaWaKa Newspaper - 'Allemans Endje' / 'Everyone's End'

Reading Thameside in the papers

Videos of the Camp

Local Publications

Other Documentation

Friends made on camp