We hear much about Boot Camp but not much about Outward Bound School.
Outward Bound is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 30 countries which are attended by more than 150,000 people each year.
Outward Bound encourages individuals to test their physical and emotional limits in challenging outdoor adventure programs. The experiences are a means of building inner strength and a heightened awareness of human interdependence.
It was a prerequisite at HSBC in the 70’s for all Resident Officers In Training to attend the Outward Bound Standard Course, before they would be confirmed as Resident Officers. One Trainee who continuously declined to attend the Course was promoted many years late, then only because HSBC in later years changed compulsory Outward Bound attendance to voluntary participation. Earlier one attendee had died by lightning strike and one by over exertion.
The Standard Course was a 26 straight days outdoor training at the Outward Bound School situated in beautiful Sai Kung Peninsula of Hong Kong. It was a gruesome 26 days of hard physical and mental endurance, some participants could not endure and quitted midway. But surviving the course was a great triumph that had a positive impact for the rest of our lives.
One summer morning in 1972 with a small bag of clothing, boots and personal essentials, I set foot at the Outward Bound School in Tai Mong Tsai, Sai Kung, Course No. 17. The school was a two story concrete building on a large property by the sea shore. There were about 50 participants, mainly from large corporations as well as police officers and firefighters. After a thorough briefing, we were divided into 4 teams and directed to our dormitory modestly equipped with bunker beds and lockers.
While the police officers and firefighters were physically fit and seemed to have an advantage over the office people, they were particularly targeted and mentally pressured into submission. They were good to giving orders but not good at taking orders. One police officer, pushed to his mental limit, was heard saying that he was close to putting up a deadly fight with the instructors.
Our first taste of hardship arrived quickly on the first morning. At 6 a.m. before the cock crowed and still in darkness, we woke up to the frantic call of the instructors. We ran up and down and around the school building to warm up, before we were forced to plunge in the chilly water of the bay, that was the daily “morning dip”. Then we went to wash up, cleaned the lavatory and maintained the dormitory neat and spotless, to satisfy the stringent inspection by the School Principal. Breakfast was served in the dining room, the food was good, here we had a small window to mingle freely. Soon we were on our way to the great outdoor.
We climbed a lot of mountains and learned a lot about direction, map reading and teamwork. Sai Kung Peninsula provided a perfect environment for that. Everyday we were on the road, carrying heavy knapsacks on our back with essentials for two to three nights camping in the woods. We lived on canned food but cooked our own rice, the inviting aroma of freshly cooked rice was an incentive to get us through the day. Occasionally, we were feasted when we passed through remote villages. The village head, feeling sorry for us, invited us to some delicious home-cooked meal.
We participated in a variety of obstacle courses, including walking swinging rope bridge and climbing over a ten feet wall. We were also exposed to rock climbing as well as mountain rescue operation, I spontaneously volunteered to be the pretended injured person needed to be lowered from a cliff on a stretcher. Sounded scary but I was completely at ease as I had full trust in my fellow mates. I would not do it again though.
Activity on the water was an essential part of the training. We learned canoeing including what to do when the canoe capsized. Sai Kung Bay had clean and clear water, making canoeing a joyful experience. We also played “Viking”, sitting in tandem along the two sides of our cutter, we rowed with long heavy oars in unison. Then set up sail far out into the turbulent waves of the great sea, not returning till most of us had threw up.
We were told about the Solo program, where each participant was marooned incommunicado on a secluded island alone for three days and two nights. It scared the hell out of many of us. What if we were bitten by a snake, what if we had an accident, what if we were sick. But the “Solo” turned out to be a favourite program, for the simple reason that we were spared the harsh daily physical activities. It was a good three days of rest. After I disembarked on the island, I walked around to survey the area, and was taken aback when I bumped into an ancestral tomb, sending a shiver down my spine. We were given just a few match sticks to start a fire to cook rice. If the match got wet, raw rice was dinner. There were not a lot of spot to sleep for the night, the beach was littered with pebbles and the grass area could attract snakes. I slept instead on a rough boulder by the beach, five feet in diameter. In the middle of the first night thunder stroke, the wind intensified, then it poured heavy, leaving me completely cold and drenched. I had no choice but to curl and wrap myself head to toe, under my poncho. Unknowingly I felt asleep, probably one of my best sleep ever, no dream, no discomfort. When I woke up in early dawn, I was completely dry and refreshed. Amid the soothing sound of the waves breaking onto the shore, I watched serenely across the sea as the sun rose over the horizon and the peninsula slowly sprang back to life.
The course ended with a 25 miles walk, leaving the school early morning and returning late in the evening, climbing one mountain peak after another. This time it was just another walk, a piece of cake.
I returned home 26 days later, tanned to the core, barely recognizable, physically and mentally fit, and happy. I had enjoyed Outward Bound so much, that when a new 10 days Program was launched for Executives four years later, I immediately volunteered to participate, Course No. 59.
