Nautical Skills Stage 5 Badge

How to earn your badge:

• Develop your skills in one water based activity to a level where you can operate the watercraft safely.
  • You could demonstrate this by gaining a personal permit or the relevant national governing body personal competency award.
• Show how you would use your watercraft to recover others from the water by taking part in a simple rescue exercise.
• Demonstrate knowledge of pilotage, navigation lights, sound signals, tides, currents and eddies, depending on what’s relevant to your local waterways.
• Demonstrate that you can tie a figure-of-eight knot, clove hitch, and a round turn and two half-hitches.
  • Tie an additional three knots: sheet bend, rolling hitch and bowline, then describe their uses.
• Explain the different types of ropes used in water activities, their advantages and disadvantages and how to care for them.
• Complete one of these:
  • Make a rope fender or other piece of decorative rope work, such as a lanyard or a decorative knot.
  • Demonstrate three calls made on a Bosun’s pipe, other than ‘still’ and ‘carry on’.
  • Hoist the colours for a Sea Scout ceremonial or nautical themed ceremony.
• Plan and take part in a one-day expedition or exercise afloat with others.
• Learn how different boats communicate with each other in your location.
• Take on the helm or cox role in a watercraft or help prepare a team for a competition.
• Learn how to get local weather forecasts, understand their importance and be able to recognise signs of changing weather.
• Learn how to safeguard against the effects of cold, and how to recognise and treat hypothermia.