11 cadets from Sea Cadets Wells-next-the-Sea, accompanied by 2 adult volunteers spent their October half term on board The Faramir, a 22 mtr sailing ketch owned and operated by The Cirdan Sailing Trust.
The cadets, aged between 12 and 14 years, set off from Ipswich Haven Marina and, braving the very changeable weather, made their way down the coast towards Chatham. During their time on board, they were fully involved in crewing the boat, learning new skills and developing their knowledge of navigation, helming, sail setting as well as taking turns to prepare and cook meals for the 16 crew on board. The experience of living and working together in such a confined space helped build the team spirit and during the week several cadets were able to show off their new-found leadership skills. Cadet Oliver was chosen to helm the Faramir “It was brilliant fun rigging the sails, helming and even at the end getting a chance to skipper the boat…”
The group also enjoyed some shore leave with a visit to Chatham Historical Dockyard – taking the opportunity to learn a little bit about our nation’s maritime heritage.
On the 5th day of the voyage. the skipper and crew stepped back and left the cadets in charge, letting them show off the skills they had gained during the week
Cadet Ziggi commented – “It was truly an amazing experience….while I was at sea I learnt many new skills and talents (like) sail adjusting, ropework and helming”.
Cadet Ellie said “thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to go on such an amazing boat. We’ve all had an awesome time and have learnt so much ……I feel some of us have come back a bit more mature”.
Commander (SCC) Noel Wheatley MBE RNR – Commanding Officer of Wells Sea Cadets said “the trip was an obvious success. The cadets thoroughly enjoyed themselves and gained RYA sailing qualifications but more importantly they also learnt to live and work together as a team, built up their self-confidence and took turns to lead whilst also supporting their peers.”
The voyage was made possible with the assistance of The Ulysses Trust, The Norfolk Boat and The Cirdan Sailing Trust who, together helped make the trip available for any cadet wanting to take part.
