Zeilen with the Zeescouts

 

On the banks of the Scheldt River in Belgium, it being midweek and not a Zaterdag (Saturday) it was a school day and the Zeescouts boats were covered and not taking part in any adventures like this one for

"The Day of the Seascouts", and there was I thinking it was just messing about in boats when really there was potential for piratical adventures.  No hint of this on the thin sign outside the Zeescout hut

 

(which did not photograph too well in the light) but does have a question at the bottom which made me take this photo.  If it had been in Flemish I would not have seen the whimsy of it but it was in English and said

" are you waterproof".  The answer would seem to  be yes.  It also had a hand (which is the symbol of Antwerp) and the message the group was a partner with MAS

which means the new Museum Aan de Stroom on the other side of the river from the Sea-scouts base and seen  back left of this photo.  It houses a wonderful maritime history of Antwerp along with art, design and a panoramic view of the city from the top.  Its a superb attraction to visit. 

Scouting started in Belgium in 1910, the girl guides in 1915 followed in 1916 by the sea scouts, all using the Baden Powell name, as in the banner shown above today. I did a double take on those last two dates slap bang in the middle of World War 1 when fighting was going on in Belgium but they are dates quoted in more than one source.  The Belgians obviously didn't let a little local difficulty stand in the way

 UK WW1 poster

of scouting adventures.  Baden Powell's older brother Warington wrote the manual of seamanship for the sea scouts, he was an experienced sailor who paddled a sail canoe around the Baltic Sea in 1871 for fun.   

Time to set sail/zeil?. (to use one of the many wonderful Dutch words starting with Z.

An entry to ABC Wednesday. A journey through the alphabet that has reached the Z.