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09/07/2014

On Tuesday 8 July 350 Royal Marines Cadets and 100 volunteers attended the RM350 Foundation Parade at Buckingham Palace, for cadets to celebrate the 350th Royal Marines birthday! They were joined by Combined Cadet Forces and Volunteers Cadet Corps.

Cadets were on parade from Horse Guards, down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, led by HM The Royal Marines Band Service. Check out the photos on the Sea Cadets UK Facebook page.

08/07/2014

On Saturday 28 June, Cardiff Sea Cadets were treated to a rare  conversation with the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas KCB DSC ADC DL.

They were at an Armed Forces parade when Sir George chatted with Junior Cadet Tyrell about the unit. Later that afternoon Tyrell again met with the First Sea Lord but introduced the rest of the volunteers and cadets to him. A once in a life time opportunity!

Sea Cadets from across Scotland had an amazing day as they joined HM The Queen and First Sea Lord for the naming ceremony for the new aircraft carrier, Queen Elizabeth, today in Rosyth.

Over 100 cadets took part in this historic occasion with over 3,500 guests. At 65,000 tonnes it's three times larger than any other UK carrier and can accommodate up to 48 aircraft and it's been designed to last 50 years.

The Queen oversaw the ceremony and pressed a button to release the Islay malt whisky that was smashed against the hull - it's the first time in 15 years The Queen has  christened a Royal Navy warship.

29/06/2014

The final leg of my 'Sail the UK' odyssey was at Twickenham Sea Cadets!  I arrived at 11am to find that everything was ready and the rain of Saturday was just a memory.  I was offered the choice of sailing in a Pico or the unit's ASC (Admiralty Sailing Craft) and after the excitement of the high-speed action on Saturday I was in the mood for something rather more sedate so chose the ASC and joined four Juniors and Chief Petty Officer Peter Gallon. 

But, with a good wind, an ASC can be very exciting on a busy River Thames on a Sunday morning and we had great fun whizzing up and down the river for an hour and a half before it was time to come back alongside for a barbecue lunch. 

In the afternoon I helped out in one of the safety boats and we were reasonably busy shepherding the dinghies as the wind strengthened.  Unfortunately I had to leave just after 3pm and left cadets practising capsize drills. 

Thank you to CO Petty Officer David Morris and UMC Chair Tom Lee and everyone at Twickenham for a great day's sailing.

28/06/2014

I set off from Tyneside at around 8.30am for the long drive to Thrapston Boating Station, where I was welcomed by Lt Neil Hartwell, the CO.  I arrived just in time to see cadets coming off the water for a delicious lunch of pizza, sandwiches and fruit. 

It was a great turnout with cadets from 10 different units from Eastern Area, most of whom were either sailing or windsurfing.  There was a short delay getting on the water after lunch as we waited for a thunderstorm to pass, but soon after I was heading out in a Laser 2000 under the watchful eye of Jarvis, who showed me the potential of this great stretch of water and we had great fun tacking up the lake and then running back down with the spinnaker set. 

The weather improved steadily as the afternoon progressed and by the time 4pm came round the rain had stopped and the sun had come out.  Unfortunately I had to leave at this point but there was lots more fun in prospect as there were plans to hold some races in the evening.

Tomorrow will be my last visit during the 'Sail the UK' week and I will be joining the team at Twickenham.