Battleship 137 Rockets into Klondike History!

The 5 boys and 3 adults had an excellent Klondike experience, Saturday January 17, where Adam B., Peter D., David M., Evan O., and Mike V. boarded Battleship 137 for a chilly, winter wonderland adventure. After scoring 100% for required equipment at check-in, the boys shoved off for a whirlwind 9-station, 5-point per station, tour where they scored 36 out of a possible 45 points. Considering that the 5th point at each station was a discretionary bonus point based on the judges thoughts on the patrol's efforts, they boys did very, very well. The final tally was three perfect 5s, three 4s, and 3 threes. Great job boys!

Highlights:
* After watching the previous troop miss the 50-foot safety rope toss about 50 times, Adam B. connected on his first try and the boys pulled Evan O. to safety very quickly! 5 points!
* The boys constructed a tarp liter and carried Evan O. blind-folded around the course for another 5 point score!
* For animal track identification, the boys only reversed two out of nine animal tracks and got the bonus moose track for 5 points! All the boys were very knowledgeable about paw prints. Who knew?

Areas for improvement:
* Fire-building: Nice attempt by Peter D., David M. and Adam B. who had a brief flame going in the 5-minute time limit. It really is easy when you have the right tinder, so we need to brush up on our tinder choices.
* Knot tying: Adam B. saved the day here, but we need to teach all the boys the ropes and how to tie things up in three easy steps: tie, dress, and seat.
* Lashing: Knot tying on steroids, need I say more? Adam B. and David M. did a fine job getting the poles to lash together long enough to carry Mike V. around the track and back to the starting point, where everything fell apart into a pile of laughing boys.

Other fun areas:
* All the boys had fun tipping the scales to finally balance the sled and patrol on the platform beam trick.
* David M. instructed his blind-folded helpers Peter D. and Evan O. to put up a tent within 10 minutes! Great job!
* Mike V. had two near misses in the sling-shot contest and the instructor pointed out his technique for others to follow.

Scout spirit:
* The boys worked hard and fast to earn the Klondike patch, not only for performing the station events, but for showing their team work and scout spirit, which was especially noteworthy on this very cold day.