News

A huge TS GANNET thank-you to RJ MacLeod, a team of contractors working at the under-construction Ardrossan Community Campus, who donated their time today to help fill some skips and give our volunteers' backs a bit of a rest during OPERATION REFIT!

In addition, another thank-you to LOWMAC Alloys, who provided an 8yd skip free of charge for our rubble waste!

With their help, the effort today marked the end of current major demolition operations and the start of ground prep for our new surfaced yard!

We've still got a lot of work to do - if you're a local business or contractor and willing to follow RJ MacLeod & LOWMAC Alloy's sterling example, please get in contact! We'd love to hear from surfacing contractors in particular!

OPERATION REFIT is the ongoing efforts from Ardrossan & Largs Sea Cadets to modernise, refurbish and revamp their space at Ardrossan! We've been working hard all year to demolish our ageing portacabins and prepare the ground for surfacing works - as well as that, we've got a shiny new fence! With other fundraising options going well, it's time to announce our JustGiving campaign.

We've already raised £70,000 and got a ton of work done, but this is only a small part of our current costed total of £300,000! Find out more at the link below!

We've set our initial goal at an ambitious £50,000, but every single penny gets us closer to our total goal. Keep an eye on our social media feeds for updates, milestones and special announcements over the coming months!

If you think you or your organisation can help in any way, please get in contact using the information found on our page.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/oprefit

Glasgow Nautical College is about to receive yet another one of Ardrossan ex-cadets, Robbie 'Chop' Lambie will be starting his course in Nautical Science to become a Deck officer in the Merchant Navy. This is great news to us in Ardrossan as it is great to see our cadets getting on a following a career that they have shown an interest in from a young age. Glasgow is also the college that Ross 'Rose' Campbell attends currently doing the same course under sponsorship from Gulf Offshore and from speaking to Rose he is loving every minute at college as well as the sea phases he has undertaken. 

Deck Cadets have to spend 3 years to complete their studies, they must spend at least 12 months of that 3 years at sea. At the end of their course they will have attained an HNC in Nautical Science, subject to passing the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) Oral examination they will have a Certificate of Competency in Deck Operations and a Officer Of the Watch Ticket.

Glasgow also takes Engineer cadets who will work towards a Qualification in Marine Engineering, as well as the other MCA Tickets, however engineers are only required to spend 8 months at sea to gain their qualification. 

We all wish Chop and Rose the best of luck with their careers and we know they will both go far in their chosen fields. 

Officer Cadet Ryan Kean, our units Admin officer will be setting off for Bahrain where he will join his first ever ship, RFA Wave Ruler. Ryan will be spending 4 months on board this ship carrying out important roles when required by the Royal Navy. Ryan Passed out of Britannia Royal Naval College in November last year, which many of our cadets have had a recent chance to visit on the trip to HMS Raleigh, and has been studying Marine Engineering at Fleetwood Nautical College for the past six months. This is his first practical ship where he will be working with a team of other engineers on board to see how his college phase relates to the working environment. 

The Unit wish O/C Kean good luck on his travels and we all hope he has a fantastic time. 

At a recent fund raising bag pack at the Local ASDA in Ardrossan, our Sea Cadets managed to raise well over £400. This has been a great boost to the units funds and will enable us to continue to deliver a varied training programme to the cadets over the coming weeks. The Unit would like to say a huge thanks to the ASDA Ardrossan store for their continued support as they have contributed on a number of occasions to the unit and continually allow us to bag pack in their store.