Two adventurous Sea Cadets and one Royal Marines Cadet from Redditch & Bromsgrove have recently voyaged offshore on T.S Jack Petchey, one of the Sea Cadet Corps power-training ships. Leaving harbour from Plymouth, the ship cruised along the south coast, with stops and various harbours before reaching its final destination at Weymouth.
Although the senior officers on board were adults, the rest of the crew are made up of Sea Cadets and Royal Marines Cadets from across the UK. The three Redditch & Bromsgrove cadets, PO Cadet Kieren, Leading Cadet Hannah and Marine Cadet Harry learned many of the essential maritime skills required when living and working on board ship.
‘My favourite part of the week was the steering of the ship into Weymouth harbour under the guidance of the ship’s Commanding Officer. We even had a 'dolphin escort' as a pod of dolphins joined us for our trip’ said PO Kieren. ‘Stopping in Dartmouth, home to the Britannia Royal Naval College, the Navy's Officer training college, was also an unforgettable experience. We docked alongside a functioning old Spanish Galleon trader ship, which we later got to tour.’
‘Our cadets have had an amazing time and have returned with increased confidence. They now really appreciate the value of teamwork when at sea’ added Sub Lieutenant Lisa Wood, Commanding Officer at TS Kingfisher. ‘As this is such a valuable experience for our young cadets, we plan to send many more offshore in the future.’
For more information of Redditch and Bromsgrove Sea Cadet and Royal Marine Cadet activities please visit www.sea-cadets.org/redditchbromsgrove
