Republic Polytechnic 3-Day Expedition ~ Finale to Lazarus Island
CAMP CHALLENGE successfully delivered a 3-Day Adventure Learning Programme with a sea expedition finale for Republic Polytechnic with the full support from SeaOPS, making sure that safety was all in place.
The Adventure started on Day 1 with a mission based land expedition known as “The GoldMine Challenge” where the students had to complete challenges such as building a stretcher with the materials they had to gain from the ‘golds’ during the journey. The golds ‘mined’ were also critical in the planning of the students’ meals during the finale sea expedition
The group welcomed Day 2 with some exercises on the kayaks and SUP to Pulau Palawan from Mempari Beach where they familiarised themselves with drills on the crafts they needed for the final expedition. We were glad that we were able to engage Grace, a nature biologist despite her busy schedule to advocate about nature and sustainability.
Sasi, COO from our sister company (FOCUS Adventure) who led this 3 day programme organised a session on sea navigation which provided the students with a set of skills that they can apply during their planning of the sea expedition. The group ended Day 2 with their big plan for their final expedition on Day 3!
Seeing showers in the morning, all the students were feeling jittery about the final expedition. Encouraging one another, they prepared for their launch from mempari beach as soon as the rain stopped. By 10am, all the kayakers were out in the sea on their journey to Lazarus island!
Spirits were high and energy was great as everyone approached Lazarus island. The experience was meaningful and productive as the participants were well prepared physically and mentally; mainly due to the preparations and modules prior to the expedition. There were only a couple of incidents, such as capsizes amongst the fleet, but everyone reacted well and decisively to assist one another. Everyone was proactive during the entire journey, as they know that the safety of everyone is the utmost priority. Once the group arrived on Lazarus island, many of them were worn out; some had motion sickness.
Plans in which these situations were already being considered during the planning stage were briefed to the group and executed. Thus, those who were not feeling well could also carry on after some reshuffling of paddlers to support one another and everyone completed the journey together!.
Every participant was new to the expedition planning and participation on this expedition. But this expedition to Lazarus island was a success with credits to the individuals as they took charge and executed it smoothly.
One of the success factors that everyone agreed and to apply for any future expeditions will be the C3I (Command, Control, Communication of Information) system that we had introduced and enforced since Day 1. With information, you are able to communicate, command and control the expedition. This involves critical decision making such as crossing channels during an expedition.
To conclude, the 3 day programme had equipped the participants with a certain skill set that had broadened their horizons to be able to learn and understand the right decisions and executions to run expeditions while enjoying every moment of the journey.
