News

Three Sea Cadets volunteers have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Eileen Buchan, Chairwoman at Peterhead Unit, Teresa Smith, Chairwoman at Sheffield Unit, and Lieutenant Commander (SCC) Cliff Burns RNR, District Officer in Northern Ireland, were among the inspirational people honoured.

Eileen and Teresa were awarded a British Empire Medal for voluntary services to young people, while Cliff will receive the same honour for services to the community in Newtownards, County Down.

The list was unveiled on Friday night, with Sir Paul McCartney and J K Rowling among the famous faces to appear on it.

Sea Cadets’ flag ship, TS Royalist, will be taking part in its first race this summer, giving dozens of young people the opportunity of a lifetime as they visit new countries and experience life at sea.

Cadets will take part in Sail Training International’s Tall Ships Races 2017, with the first leg setting off from Halmstad, Sweden. It is the first time the new TS Royalist will have taken part in a tall ships race since its commissioning in 2015.

In between racing, cadets will have the opportunity to explore new places, meet cadets from other countries and go aboard other tall ships.

Angela Morris, Captain of TS Royalist, said: “We are looking forward to taking the ship into the Baltic to race for the first time, and taking cadets that are joining us for the races.

“It’s a long time to be away for, but it should be a fantastic experience for the cadets. Many of the crew, including myself, have never been to some of the countries on the route, so it’s a first for all of us. We’re all ready to go racing now.”

TS Royalist has been in South Quay, London, ahead of the races to prepare and carry out vital maintenance. It is due to leave on Sunday 18 June for Den Helder in the Netherlands.

The race’s three legs will take cadets to countries including Finland, Lithuania and Poland throughout the summer, with different groups of cadets joining at various stages.

The first donation from a fund set up in memory of a former Sea Cadets volunteer has been handed over to MSSC (Marine Society and Sea Cadets).

A cheque for £1,560 from the Derek Login Offshore Trust was presented to the charity earlier this month in Gosport after TS Royalist berthed. The trust was set up in memory of Commander (SCC) Derek Login MBE RNR, who was the Senior Staff Officer for the Southern Area until shortly before his death last year.

Cdr Login was also the Area Staff Officer for Offshore and Navigation and had a great passion for encouraging cadets to enjoy adventure at sea. In tribute to his work, his wife, Brenda, and children Richard, Craig and Nicola set up the trust to provide bursaries for cadets in the Southern Area to go to sea for the first time.

Deputy Offshore Commander Andy Giles was honoured to receive the donation on behalf of MSSC, and said Cdr Login gave him the "offshore bug" when they worked together.  

To find out more about the trust, visit: www.derekloginoffshoretrust.com

As Volunteers' Week comes to a close, Sea Cadets would like to thank its amazing 9,000 volunteers.

We offer land-based and water-based adventure for 10- to 18-year-olds – but without volunteers, this would not be possible. That is why we wanted to mark Volunteers’ Week 2017, which ran from 1 June to 7 June and recognised the thousands of people across the country helping out in their communities.

At Sea Cadets, volunteers put in 4.21 million hours between them every year. They receive full support, as well as training and an induction, with roles available in a variety of areas, from managing finances and budgets, fundraising for the unit and organising events, to teaching cadets first aid, navigation, drill, sailing, powerboating, kayaking and windsurfing.

Volunteers include those who have just left Sea Cadets aged 18, to people in their 80s and 90s – such as Colin Marshall. Colin, who turns 90 on 8 June, helps at Peterborough Unit, which he joined as a cadet in 1942. He is due to be featured on BBC Look East on the same day.

The unit’s chairman, Andy Tannock, said: “He has been a role model for both adults and cadets alike and has a great knowledge of all of his subjects, the Sea Cadet Corps and the local history of Peterborough.

“Colin attends most parade evenings and he attends every civic parade in uniform. He is very proud of his association with the unit and the affiliation with Peterborough.

“We are very proud of him and feel that Colin deserves recognition for his hard work, commitment and loyalty to the Sea Cadet Corps, and the city of Peterborough.”

The naming and commissioning of TS City of London took place on Saturday 3 June at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club in Falmouth, following a £400,000 fundraising appeal.

The yacht – a Rustler 42 –  can take up to six cadets, along with a skipper and mate. Young people from Falmouth and Penryn Sea Cadets Unit and Torpoint Sea Cadets Unit were present at the commissioning, along with Lord and Lady Mountevans, who lent their support to last year’s Lord Mayor’s Appeal, for which Sea Cadets was a joint charity partner. 

Sea Cadets’ CEO, Martin Coles, said: “We are delighted to launch our new yacht, TS City of London, which will allow us to get even more young people out to sea, boosting their confidence and self-belief.

“I would like to thank everyone who attended the naming and commissioning, and in particular Lord and Lady Mountevans, whose support during last year’s Lord Mayor’s Appeal was instrumental in raising the £400,000 needed to fund this fantastic asset.”

Sea Cadets is fundraising for a second yacht and has so far raised £225,000. If you would like to donate, visit: www.sea-cadets.org/donate or call 020 7654 7018.