June 2006 see picture library here
St Albans Sea Cadet Hugo Oakley, 12, of Verulam School, secured a place on a training weekend with the TS Rebel Offshore Group. In their 34” Westerly Oceanquest Sloop, TS Leopold Muller.
He joined late on Friday night at Walton on the Naze railway station and was driven to the yacht in Titchmarsh Marina, which was to be his home for the next two days. There were three other boys, aged 12 to 14 and two staff.
On Saturday after an early fried breakfast onboard and a hot shower ashore they set off up the backwaters. A few seals were spotted which was an unexpected surprise, but there’s a colony of them there. Once past the moorings, the engine was stopped and sail raised. It was thrilling to have the wind heel them over and speed them on their way, more quietly and faster than the motor. They enjoyed some very tasty German burgers, cooked while underway, for lunch.
They went past Harwich and into the River Orwell where they anchored at 16.00hrs for the night. There was then some theory work and fun sailing quizzes. Despite the coldness of the water it was a magnet on the cadets who enjoyed some wet skylarking, swimming in the sea but only momentarily as it was freezing!
Hugo was fully equipped with his fishing line but in the evening only caught seaweed. One of his shipmates convinced him banana skins were fantastic bait. So he left his line over the side all night with one on the hook. In the morning he pulled it in to gales of laughter, yes they’d been winding him up!
After another fine fry up they set sail at 08.00hrs and enjoyed some great sailing in a sunny force 3 to 4 breeze. There were more fun quizzes to check their theory. Plus a very realistic man overboard drill, for which a fender was substituted for a cadet!
They arrived back at their mooring at noon and carried out cleaning stations and had lunch. Finally, after the staff had convened in private, the cadets were awarded Sea Cadet Offshore Hand One and had RYA Start Yachting signed off.
Start Yachting is the start of the RYA’s offshore training programme and includes eight basic components including: ropework; rules of the road; meteorology; man overboard drill; emergency procedures; yacht parts and points of sail.
Hugo really enjoyed his week and said, “After sailing in dinghies it was great to be in something so much bigger but to find so much was similar.”
There's no time to be bored with St Albans Sea Cadets, see www.seacadetfun.com . It offers many fun opportunities and is open to boys and girls for 10 to 17 years and very inexpensive. The unit always welcomes new faces, just turn up at 7pm on a Tuesday or Friday night, at the unit, which is just behind Westminster Lodge swimming pool. Why not give it a try and make new friends and learn new skills, you've nothing to lose!