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This year 17 of South Shields Sea Cadets and Marines attended the Sunnier climates of Weymouth and Portland for a week of fun filled activities and experiences.

Starting to week of by sending post cards home to family and even our unit!!

Gaining a total of 16 qualifications in Windsurfing, Kayaking/Conoeing, Sailing and Power.. along wish some taster sessions chucked in, the Cadets has a brilliant time expanding their skills and gaining new qualifications to be proud of (and an amazing total of over 200 boating hours gained!).

The staff who travelled to weymouth joined in on all of the fun as well, gaining qualifcations and skills that they can add to the list to improve activities back home at the unit.

Even when the weather didn't quite go our way there was something for us to do... THE SEASIDE CHALLENGE... All cadets had to follow a trail and find certain objects and take photos and navigate their way around. Joining in on the fun the adults even got a smashing photo with the local RNLI Lifeguard team on Weymouth Beach.

All in all an enjoyed week by all of our staff and cadets.

We hope to be back soon to gain some more amazing qualifications and skills with SCTC Weymouth!

A visit from some furrier protectors put our cadets on the edge of their seats tonight when Vin, Millie and Roxy came to TS Collingwood.

The officers explained what the police to protect us and where the dogs come in when they are needed, their abilities and how they are trained.

Taken in as pups, these three are highly trained in combat, sniffing and other duties that they may be tasked to, whilst also being extremely obedient to their handlers.

After a talk about the dogs and what they do, the cadets were asked if they would like to meet the three furry protectors and they were then quickly brought into the building.

Vin, a German Shepherd weighing 40+ kg, showed off his fearsome bark and quietened the cadets down for a short while, until Millie and Roxy were brought in for show! Millie a Spaniel and Roxy a Belgian Mallinois (in training) were all for cuddles when they seen the attention of cadets and quickly rolled over backwards for a tummy rub and a cuddle!

After all of the excitement of rolling around, the dogs were then taken away and the night finished of with some recreational games.

Enjoyed by EVERYONE.. we sure hope to see Vin, Millie and Roxy on patrol soon.

On Tuesday 13th of February, 8 of South Shields Junior, Sea and Marine Cadets took to the Sea onboard HMS Example.

The rain, cold and wind fought hard against our cadets, but it didn't stop them from having a great time onboard, and experience a small part of what a Life at Sea is all about.

We met on Newcastle Quay side, and were greeted by one of the ships company, soon after this we were invited onboard. Seated and ready for our brief, we were introduced to the ship XO and given a quick layout of the ship and what the plan for the day ahead would be.

Once finished, prepared and ready to go, we made our way up on the flight deck of the ship and bore of the quayside, starting our journey towards the harbour.

Once on our way, we split into groups, one on the bridge and one group of the flight deck. The CO then joined us on the flight deck for a talk about their equipment and some intuitive questions from our cadets like: "Do you ever see sharks when your out at sea?"..."What's it like when its snowing and your up here?" and "What's it like being in the Royal Navy?"... All great questions, some easier to answer than others.

We then swapped over and went to the bridge of the ship, where it was warm and cozy, compared to the windy raining conditions outside! Where we were shown how the ship runs from the inside. Radios, charts, plotters and radars were just a few of the technical instruments used on a day to day basis on board HMS Example, and the cadets had more questions to ask, but so did the crew!! The cadets were given the task of finding where they were positioned on a chart at that point, although not 100miles off (maybe 50!) they did manage to find their location, and were them given the task of tracking it as we ventured along the river Tyne.

Shortly after this we hit the docks, the CO gave our cadets a little history lesson on the docks, what had been previously built here like the HMS Ark Royal, HMS Illustrious and HMS Albion and quite a few Type 42 like HMS Glasgow, and he also added some history about the River Tyne itself.

As we approached the end of the River Tyne the cadets were then given a chance to drive... **GULP** reports back from the XO and CO were that they were very good.

The cadets then made their way back down the river towards HMS Calliope where they would berth for the evening.

They thanked the crew, CO and XO for their time and expressed their enjoyment for the day, hoping to see them again soon!

Another day as extraordinary cadets doing #NeverOrdinary things.