News

On 30^th July 2014, Belfast Eagle were given a tour of the sailing vessel TS Royalist before it embarked on its final voyage leaving from Belfast by cadets from Dundonald Sea Cadets . TS Royalist has been the cadets sailing vessel for over 40 years and is being replaced later on this year by a new and better vessel.

During this visit, Eagle was shown the Chart Room, Galley, Cadet Mess, Cadet Cabin, Captain’s Cabin and the upper deck. The cadets were surprised at how small the vessel was and how little people it takes to sail it. This was the last time that they cadets will ever see inside Royalist before it gets decommissioned. From this visit, the cadets are excited about the introduction of the new vessel and have all said that they would like to get onto it in summer 2015. Here’s hoping that Eagle cadets will get onto the new ship!  

Between the 16^th July and the 21^st July 2014, two staff and six cadets from Eagle attended the Northern Area Summer Camp. This camp has been running for 10 years and was held in Garelochhead Training Camp, Scotland. Each year the camp has an overall theme and this year was camp Disney and the camp song was Hakuna Matata. There were four divisions which included Frozen, Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast and Dumbo.

Before the fun could begin, both staff and cadets from Northern Ireland had to travel from Northern Ireland over to Troon where they were picked up by mini bus and taken to camp. After getting settled, the cadets were then able to get involved in their activities. During this week, cadets were able to participant in two activities and gain a qualification in each. The activities that they could get involved in included archery, power boating, sailing, kayaking, rowing, slide seat rowing and adventure training. LC Amy Kingston went to camp as a Cadet Rowing Instructor and was praised for her mature effort and commitment throughout the week, a true asset to Eagle. LC Patrick Bingham gained his Cadet Rowing Instructor, CDT1 James Smith got his Rowing Coxswain, AC Connie Dalton gained her Supervise Rowing Instructors, CDT Daniel Gibson and CDT Robyn Hammond gained their competent crew and all cadets got their stage one in slide seat rowing. Congratulations to all cadets involved this will contribute towards future advancements. 

At the end of the week, the cadets were able to relax and all participated in a Sods Opera. During this, cadets rein-acted memories during the week. Following this, the staff had a competition for the best dressed Disney character. The costumes included characters from Pirates of the Caribbean, 101 Dalmatians, Toy Story and many more. To finish off the camp, the cadets and staff had their annual water fight.

This week was a highly enjoyable by both cadets and staff. The cadets have already stated that they will be attending next year and have decided what activities that they are going to get involved in. Eagle would like to thank all those people that made the camp what it was and hope that next year camp will be just as successful. 

On the 5^th July – 11^th July 2014, cadets and staff from Eagle attended the annual district summer camp at Magilligan Army Training Base. The camp was made up of the 11 units from all across Northern Ireland.

During this week, the cadets got up to many activities including kayaking, mountain biking, Archery, Shooting and many more activities. These activities were setup to allow the cadets to get a taste of what they would have to do on a course that lasts a weekend. After spending the week together, the cadets got the opportunity to get their own back on the staff members in participating in a Sods Opera. They had to create scripts, create costumes and perform them in front of everyone at the camp. The scripts were creative and the cadets were able to act staff members very well.

Overall, the cadets enjoyed their week and the camp was the most successful one to date. The staff were impressed by how well the cadets behaved and are looking for camp next year. 

The time has finally arrived, Belfast Eagle has received their two new Trinities!

These boats are going to replace the out of date ASCs that the unit currently hold. They are lighter, more cadet friendly, easier to train our rookies and require little maintenance. This purchase follows the funding which the unit received and from the collections the cadets carried out throughout the year. Now what is left is for the bespoke trailer to be made. This is once again another milestone for the unit and is an example of what is to come.