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Sixty-three young people from Sea Cadet units across London and Essex came together to receive Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Awards.

The event took place at the Great Hall, Kensington, on Sunday, and young people received medallions, a framed certificate and a cheque for £250. Cadets were nominated by their peers and leaders, winning awards for a variety of achievements and for always doing their best.

In addition, 13 adults were also celebrated with leader awards for demonstrating, in an outstanding way, an ability to motivate young people. They received a medallion and a framed certificate.

London Area Commander James Nisbet RNR, who presented the awards, said: “I am very humbled and proud. We have fantastic cadets and volunteers in the London Area and this afternoon has been the Oscars for our area.

"To be able to celebrate and recognise these cadets, who are exceptional and inspirational young people, is a real added bonus to what we are able to offer them. I thank the Jack Petchey Foundation for their support, and also the cadets, their parents and unit staff for making this afternoon happen.”

Sea Cadet Units in London and Essex have received funding of £1.63 million from the Jack Petchey Foundation since funding started in 2002.

Wakefield Sea Cadets has opened its newly-refurbished building, 15 months after it was flooded by Storm Eva.

The unit, part of national youth charity Sea Cadets, had to work hard to raise the funds to bring the building back into use after it was damaged on Boxing Day 2015.

Although forced to seek temporary accommodation and having no fit-for-purpose base for 15 months, Wakefield Sea Cadets hosted the West Yorkshire District Trafalgar Day Parade, was nominated for a national Sea Cadets trophy and represented the area at Sea Cadets' National Regatta.

The building was officially reopened on Friday 31 March, and also incorporated an awards night.

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