Cadets All At Sea

Gosport Sea Cadets

The Commanding Officer of Gosport Sea Cadets, CPO Tony Salmon, Civilian Instructor Renee Smith and 7 Cadets from TS Hornet tested their sea legs on Thursday after a trip to sea in HMS Blazer was co-ordinated by Mike Highwood, Secretary of the Solent Branch of the Royal Institute of Navigation and by kind permission of the ship’s captain, Lt Amie Jackson, RN.

HMS Blazer

The Cadets mustered on Fieldhouse Pontoon at the Joint Services Association Sailing Centre, Haslar at 0915 to watch HMS Blazer come alongside in very difficult windy conditions. However, being Cadets, their watching soon turned into actions as willing hands caught the mooring lines heaved ashore by members of the crew. Once the ship was safely moored alongside, the Cadets mustered for photographs on the upperdeck and then adjourned to the dining area for a safety brief by the Executive Officer and the Captain.

Lt Jackson apologised for the fact that, due to the gale force conditions in the Channel, they probably wouldn’t be able to spend as much time at sea as she would have liked but that they would ‘poke the ship’s nose’ out into the Solent and see how things went. Details were given on what the Cadets should do in the event of ‘mal de mare’!

Sea Cadets onboard HMS Blazer

As it turned out, all the Cadets proved to be true sailors and, despite really lumpy seas, no-one was seasick. Lt Jackson gave them her hearty congratulations, followed by a very informative tour of the ship and some light refreshments.

All in all, everyone agreed, it had been a very enjoyable day.

The names of those who attended are:-

CPO Tony Salmon

C/I Renee Smith

OC Amie Varndell

Cdt James Williams

OC Kelsey Palmer

OC Matthew Pipe

OC Amelia Frasle

OC James Kirwal

Cdt James Potter   This is the order from left to right of the Cadets in the photographs.

For more information on the Sea Cadets please visit : http://www.sea-cadets.org/

Sea Cadets carry out Community Service

Gosport Sea Cadets

That’s not ‘community service’ in the legal sense but as part of the Cadets’ training programme where Cadets are encouraged to go out into the community and help other people. On this occasion, Nicola Hepple, Assistant Manager at the Discovery Centre, had asked for the Cadets to help in moving the extensive stock of library books from the Discovery Centre, down three flights of stairs and across the road to the Community Centre where the new library will be located.

As arranged, 9 Cadets and 2 adults mustered at the Discovery Centre at 1030 on Saturday morning and were briefed by Nicola, the best part of which was where the Cadets were informed that, on completion of the task, the Cadets would be supplied with ‘tea and stickies’ in the best Naval tradition. The Discovery Centre staff also entered into the spirit of the event by dressing up as pirates.

Nicola briefing the Cadets

Nicola then lead her team of enthusiastic Cadets away to begin the task and, in very short order, the books were flying off the shelves and were on their way to the Community Centre.

When the task was successfully completed to Nicola’s satisfaction she thanked the Cadets for all their effort and good humour and, true to her word, the promised ‘tea and stickies’ materialised, which all the Cadets agreed was the best part of the event.

The Cadets swing into action

The Cadets taking part were:-

Petty Officer Cadet Rich, Ordinary Cadet Killeen, OC Barry, OC Sherman, Cdt. Kitcherman, Cdt. A Frasle, Cdt. F Frasle, Cdt Sherman, Cdts. J and J King and Junior Cdt. First Class Hatch.

Gosport Sea Cadets meet every Tuesday and Friday evening at their headquarters in Berkley Hall, Royal Clarence Yard between 1900 and 2100. Young people aged 10 to 18 are taught life skills such as teamwork, leadership and socialising as well as practical skills such as sailing, power boating, expedition training and firefighting amongst many other things. E-mail gosportscc@googlemail.com or telephone 02392 580772 for further information.