Wednesday 3:45 p.m.

Wednesday is always a bit of a drag -- on our stamina, that is. When it comes to having fun, though, everyone is still having a blast. The special leader's coffee service came to the campsite at 6:00 a.m. Mr. Tsung slept right through the coffee delivery, but he did get a few extra minutes of rest, which is a good thing, too.
Brownsea boys worked on more advancement requirements, learning to use saws, practiced knot tying, first aid, and map and compass. They also went to the rifle range and were able to each take five shots after receiving all their safety instructions and carefully following the rules of the range. At the same time, Mr. Frank was also helping on the shotgun range, again. And Mr. Whalen ran two archery merit badge sessions, including teaching boys how to make bow strings on the crazy contraption he had to deal with yesterday.
Aquaman activities continue to be popular, and some of the boys have been working on recovering capsized canoes in the Marshyhope Creek. Jack and Tom report that the small craft sailing classes are "the best!" They are also continuing to work on the final requirements left for their advancement to first class. Mark, Chris, and Connor are also working on lashings and first aid requirements, and we expect them to all complete first class requirements this week.
Tonight will be a busy night. The big Gladiator campwide game takes place this evening, and each of our patrols is entered. At 9:30 p.m. we will have the pool all to ourselves for a Troop 1 swim. And our cooking team has been discussing plans for the big Iron Chef Henson competition tomorrow night. They have requisitioned their cooking equipment and are discussing various possible scenarios for the "fowl" and other mystery ingredients they may get.
The weather today is hot, still sticky, and we have felt a few drops of rain and heard thunder in the distance. We actually wouldn't mind a bit of rain to help with the dust situation. Henson sand is very powdery, and it's everywhere. Whenever people walk, a cloud of dust rises up to about waist level, and it settles onto everything. It's actually a little strange, since everyone looks like "Pig Pen" from the Charlie Brown comics when they walk around camp.
If the night isn't too busy, we'll be back here later with notes home to parents. A notebook is in the campsite now, and the boys are writing messages to be posted to the blog. Stop back and check them out.