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Two adventurous Sea Cadets and one Royal Marines Cadet from Redditch & Bromsgrove have recently voyaged offshore on T.S Jack Petchey, one of the Sea Cadet Corps power-training ships.  Leaving harbour from Plymouth, the ship cruised along the south coast, with stops and various harbours before reaching its final destination at Weymouth.

Although the senior officers on board were adults, the rest of the crew are made up of Sea Cadets and Royal Marines Cadets from across the UK.   The three Redditch & Bromsgrove cadets, PO Cadet Kieren, Leading Cadet Hannah and Marine Cadet Harry learned many of the essential maritime skills required when living and working on board ship.

‘My favourite part of the week was the steering of the ship into Weymouth harbour under the guidance of the ship’s Commanding Officer.  We even had a 'dolphin escort' as a pod of dolphins joined us for our trip’ said PO Kieren.  ‘Stopping in Dartmouth, home to the Britannia Royal Naval College, the Navy's Officer training college, was also an unforgettable experience. We docked alongside a functioning old Spanish Galleon trader ship, which we later got to tour.’

‘Our cadets have had an amazing time and have returned with increased confidence. They now really appreciate the value of teamwork when at sea’ added Sub Lieutenant Lisa Wood, Commanding Officer at TS Kingfisher.   ‘As this is such a valuable experience for our young cadets, we plan to send many more offshore in the future.’

For more information of Redditch and Bromsgrove Sea Cadet and Royal Marine Cadet activities please visit www.sea-cadets.org/redditchbromsgrove

Cadets from Redditch & Bromsgrove competed this weekend in the District Swimming Competition.

This was the first swimming competition we have attended in a number of years and it was great to see our cadets competing. And they won some medals!

The medal results were:

GOLD - Cadets Junior Girls - Freestyle - Cdt Hannah

GOLD - Cadets Senior Boys - Freestyle - OC Matt

SILVER - Cadets Junior Girls - Backstroke - Cdt Hannah

BRONZE - Junior Sea Cadets - Backstroke - Able Junior Cadet Katy

Congratulation also to all other cadets who participated but didn't quite make medal positions.

Redditch & Bromsgrove Sea Cadets and Royal Marine Cadets, based on Park Farm Industrial Estate provide young people (aged 10 to 18) in the Redditch and Bromsgrove area with exciting waterborne and land-based training and experiences.    ‘We are absolutely delighted that Translift Bendi have decided to support us’ said Sub-Lieutenant Lisa Wood, Commanding Officer of TS Kingfisher (Redditch & Bromsgrove Sea Cadets) ‘The Hoodies that have been provided are brilliant for when the cadets and volunteers travel away from the unit, as they give us a real sense of identity.’

Translift Bendi, are a renowned company specialising in innovative material handling solutions and very narrow aisle forklifts. With a proven track record of excellence, they pride themselves on providing cutting-edge technology and services that optimise warehouse operations across the UK & Europe.

‘In addition to our commitment to innovation and industry leadership, we are also passionate about giving back to our community. As part of our corporate social responsibility initiative, we are thrilled to have sponsored the most wonderful charity, the Redditch & Bromsgrove Sea Cadets and Royal Marine Cadets. In support of their ongoing work in nurturing young leaders and promoting maritime skills, we provided custom hoodies that will hopefully keep the cadets warm but also instil a sense of unity and belonging. This collaboration reflects our core values of empowerment, community engagement, and making a positive impact beyond the business realm. We can’t wait to see our relationship blossom with the Sea Cadets and we are grateful for Margaret and Karen’s kindness and cooperation thus far’ – Paul Berrow CEO

Redditch Sea Cadets is run by a team of dedicated volunteers who receive invaluable training from Sea Cadets UK. 

Redditch & Bromsgrove Sea Cadets have recently launched a business engagement programme.  ‘Managing a thriving charity has many similarities to running a successful business and we know that it is mutually beneficial to build a network with local businesses’ explained Chair of Trustees, Margaret Blizzard. ‘We can learn so much from the local business community and the ‘Sea Cadet Experience’ helps local young people gain essential work skills, confidence and resilience - key attributes that all local employers are looking for.  We are looking forward to a long relationship with Paul, Ellie and the Translift Bendi Team.'

Another fabulous weekend for TS Kingfisher as the junior boys rowing team did an amazing job at the National Combined Regatta. 

But first, a little about their journey. 

There are over 400 units within the sea cadets across the UK, with each Unit belonging to one of nine Districts. 

Each District belongs to one of six geographical Areas to enable the next level of management and support by the wider organisation. 

Training and selection, starts at unit level and prepares cadets for the District Regatta/competition , each unit within their District competes to become the District Champion, and to represent their District at the Area Combined Regatta. 

If a team is successful at the Area Competition,  they will then represent their respective Area, competing against other Area champions. 

Still with me? 

In short, the winning team has become the best team in the whole of the UK beating over 400 other units. 

So how did our team do? 

Exceptionally well! 

Not withstanding problems which Mother Nature caused (blue/green algae), hampering our training programme immensely, and even suffering problems on race day with a buoy rope getting tangled around the rudder, the team came back, showed true courage and sportsmanship, and smashed the last race earning Bronze medals for their outstanding effort. 

We could not have been prouder of the team as they behaved impeccably throughout the ‘buoy incident’ and whilst clearly very disappointed that it had happened, they showed true grit and determination. 

We will be celebrating for a while!