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A Northampton Sea Cadets volunteer was part of a three-man crew that sailed 5,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic.

Acting Petty Officer (SCC) Alistair Mansfield, 19, made the journey from La Rochelle in France to Fort Lauderdale in Florida. The six-week 5,000-nautical-mile (5,754-mile) adventure included stops in Lisbon and Madeira in Portugal and was the first such voyage that Alistair – an instructor at Northampton Sea Cadets – has made. The furthest he had sailed previously was across the English Channel.

“Sea Cadets is how I got into sailing. I went offshore quite a few times, and really enjoyed that. I would encourage my cadets to do the same,” he said.

“With Sea Cadets, I have earned lots of qualifications, and it improved me as a person. I was quite shy before.”

Alistair accompanied two experienced sailors, one of whom has crossed the Atlantic 36 times, in delivering the 44-foot catamaran to its new American owner. He was given just six days’ notice after one of the original crew members dropped out.

“I really enjoyed it, although obviously there isn’t much to do in the middle of the ocean," he added. "I listened to a lot of music.”

Alistair arrived in Florida on 19 March and will fly home next week.

Submit a video that shows your Sea Cadets unit off, and you could win recognition and a prize!

BFBS is looking for short, 10- to 60-second videos for the #CadetTakeover, which aims to raise the profile of local units and show the benefits of being part of a cadet force. 

Videos can be shot on mobile phones and entrants can submit any content they like. Examples could include parades, cadet tutorials, or footage of weekly activities and excursions. Capture something that makes your unit stand out, or show off a particular skill.

Videos should be submitted as below:

1. Go to www.wetransfer.com
2. Click on 'add your files' and upload your video
3. In the 'email to' box, type cadets@bfbs.com
4. When your file has finished uploading, Click on 'transfer'

There is a prize for the winner, and a selection of the videos will be published by BFBS, using the #CadetTakeover hashtag, online and on Twitter and Facebook.

You can find out more about the competition, including tips for shooting the perfect video and consent forms, here: http://www.bfbs.com/radio/articles/12605

Chesterfield Sea Cadets featured on Channel 5's The Great British Benefits Handout, in which a couple who have launched a gardening business created a vegetable patch at the unit.

The documentary, which aired last night, follows people as they start up their own small businesses from scratch with the help of a grant given to them by the show's producers.

Adam and Leanne were among those featured on the show, and filmed at Chesterfield Sea Cadets in January, where they created a vegetable garden. 

The patch is now ready to be planted, and the unit hopes when the vegetables are ready they can be sold to parents to raise funds and be used for cook steward training.

Petty Officer (SCC) Gareth Oughton, 1st/Lt at Chesterfield Sea Cadets, said: "This was a fantastic opportunity for the cadets to take part in something different. They thoroughly enjoyed the full day filming and really did themselves proud.  

"The cadets were fully immersive into what was needed from both the crew and the participants of the show. The film crew enjoyed a tour of the unit and were amazed by the amount of courses and opportunities that cadets offer. They even stayed at the unit to enjoy stew with us for dinner."

The episode was shown yesterday, and can be watched again here: https://www.my5.tv/the-great-british-benefits-handout/season-2/episode-6

Former cadet Nikki Henderson will be the youngest skipper in Clipper Race history when she sets sail this August.

The 23-year-old, who will lead a team in the 40,000-nautical-mile Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race, spoke to Sea Cadets about the challenge ahead.

Life at sea runs in Nikki's family. Her family are keen sailors, while one of her uncles is in the Merchant Navy. Nikki herself even considered a career in the Royal Navy at one point. 

"I was involved with cadets for about a year," she said. "I enjoyed the fact that everyone was equal. Everyone is on a level playing field. Everyone gets to do everything.

"I enjoyed getting outdoors and seeing something different. It's so exciting to see a different side of life; when you're at school, it's so academic."

Born on 26 July 1993, Nikki will have just turned 24 when the race gets under way, taking the record of youngest skipper from recent Vendee Globe runner-up Alex Thomson, who won the 1997-98 Clipper Race, aged 26. 

"I have always enjoyed showing people that it doesn't matter what your background is, what your age is, what sex you are," said Nikki, of Guildford, Surrey. 

"I'm excited about leading by example and showing that you can go for it, and you can achieve it.

"It's exciting, and a big step in my career. I'm really looking forward to getting going." 

Speaking about what lies ahead, she admitted: "It's a big challenge. I'm young, so that may be an advantage for me, as I don't have a huge number of ties back home."

Of the 12 selected skippers, Nikki is one of two females, the other being Wendy Tuck, 52, from Australia, who also competed in the last edition of the Clipper Race. 

The 11-month challenge starts with a race across the Atlantic to South America, followed by the South Atlantic to Cape Town, South Africa; across the Southern Ocean’s Roaring Forties to Western Australia; around to East Australia taking in the famous Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race en route; back into the Northern Hemisphere to Qingdao, China via Sanya; across the mighty North Pacific to West Coast USA; to New York via the famous Panama Canal; and then a final Atlantic crossing before arriving back to the UK in summer 2018.

Offshore bursary awards were given to seven cadets ahead of the Shipwrights Dinner at Fishmongers Hall, London, last week. 

Certificates and money were handed to the seven cadets from London Area when the Livery Court of Shipwrights met before the dinner.

The cadets are: Marine Cadet 1st Class James, Able Cadet Sam, Marine Cadet 1st Class Max and Cadet Corporal Ted from Bexley Unit; Cadet 1st Class Louie from Greenwich Unit; Ordinary Cadet Emma from Sutton Unit; and Cadet 1st Class Ben from Southwark Unit.

Bursaries are crucial to Sea Cadets, offering all young people the chance to be part of the adventure and sail offshore.

The charity believes sailing, being part of a team and pulling together to navigate Britain’s coastal waters is a great way for young people to find new confidence and reach new heights for the best possible head start in life.