After raising the funds which was required for the cadets to go offshore in the month of April it was eventually time. The cadets worked hard to raise money as well as receiving bursaries from the Ulysses Trust which has helped massively towards the cost of their offshore voyage. All cadets were excited as only 1 cadet had been offshore before and knew what to expect. On Friday 9th June, the cadets met with PO (Petty Officer) Longstaff at Carlisle train station to embark in their journey to France. PO Longstaff double checked that we all had our passports and T1 Cards – (a card with parent details on) and then went and checked us in. She was given our cabin and boarding passes and also the information about breakfast. At 21:50 we headed to the gate to go through onto the ferry. We had our bags checked and passports checked and away onto the ferry we went. When we got on the ferry we were given some down time to have a look around explore the shop and then where informed what time we had to be at the information point for breakfast. Breakfast was at 04:15!! This was far too early, cadets explored the ship and then off to their cabins. We then arrived in Ouistreham for 05:30BST.
Day 1 – Ouistreham: Once we arrived at Caen’s we made our way to TS John Jerwood to embark on our offshore voyage. Once we arrived, we were put straight to work. Cadets were sent to their cabins to unpack and make their beds whilst the other cadets were getting their tour around the ship. We then were allowed shore leave to go and explore in Ouistreham, where, of course, we had to find MacDonalds! When we got back to the ship we met the Coxswain and the Captain and got changed into our number 4’s Uniform to start our lesson in navigation, to learn how to plot our coordinates on a chart of the course we were following.
Day 2 – Ouistreham: We had to get up early to get the ship ready to leave the moor. The captain had planned a visit to the Memorial Pegasus Museum. This was an amazing experience we got to see the old bridge which soldiers landed on during D-Day – we could even see the shrapnel damage caused on the bridge. We had a look around the gift shop, bought some souvenirs, then it was back to the ship as we had to dock up for the evening outside of the loch due to the tides. Once back on board we took to our stations and were ready to let go of the ropes in order of the captains’ orders. Then it was back to our watches when we were underway. Some of us went up to the bridge to navigate the ship, some down in the engine rooms with the engineering and some of us were learning about the buoyage we may see along our journey back to the UK. After dinne,r we left the ship to get our passport stamped so we were able to return to the UK and we were even treated to ice cream too!
Day 3 – Ouistreham – Poole: Today was another early start as we were heading back to the UK; we were back into our duty watches and away we went. We had different roles whilst up in the bridge, so we have a helmsman who oversees steering the ship. We have the navigation role which ensures we are staying on course on our way to the UK and we also have our 2 lookouts, port lookout and starboard lookout. Their job is to ensure that if there any ships or objects are in the water, the captain is aware so we can alter the course if needed. It was a very long journey to Poole, and cadets not in the bridge chilled at the bow (front) of the ship listening to music, whilst learning to tie the knots in which they needed to use throughout the voyage.
Day 4 Poole – Lymington: Today was a short voyage from Poole to Lymington Spa; cadets had their breakfast and then were underway, passing HMS Tyne on our journey. Cadets were being tested on their knowledge about everything they had learned throughout the week, such as navigation, buoyage system, signal flags and seamanship. When we arrived in Lymington it was time to get squared away and to have lunch. The 1st Lt went and paid for us to go to the aqua park as it was a hot day and we had arrived in plenty of time to have some fun. We had a lot of fun playing on the inflatables as it was something different to what we have ever done before. After we had finished the engineer treated us all to an ice cream and it was back to the ship to learn the remainder of the theory which we needed to know. Dinner time came around then it was up to the weather deck to do evening colours before heading to get showers.
Day 5 Lymington – Cowes: Today we had breakfast and were underway. During our voyage today we were learning about anchoring and how we know if we were anchored. We also passed the sister ship TS Jack Petchey, waved hello and off we went to the Isle of Wight. This was our cadets’ first time at the Isle of Wight, and they were excited to arrive there. They were also getting the last few things signed off in their logbooks for the week and were being quizzed by the Coxswain on the knowledge they had learned over the week with regards to keeping the ship tidy, colours and evening colours routine, different ships we may pass and what they look like as well as the different types of flags. When arriving in Cowes the cadets stowed the ship away and then got changed for some well-deserved shore leave. Tomorrow would be our last voyage and all cadets were making their last memories on the bow (front) taking photos and were all excited for the day ahead.
Day 6 Cowes – Gosport: Today was our last voyage before we got off the ship on Friday. The cadets woke up for breakfast and got straight into their uniform and, after breakfast, they started preparing the lines for departure. Cadets did not need assistance from the adult supervisors at this point and asked to let go of the lines on their own, then went and chilled on the front of the bow while we were underway. They even had a dance to the cha, cha slide as spirits were so high. All cadets had made such amazing friendships and they weren’t ready to say goodbye to everyone. Upon arrival, they tied the ship up for the last time. Then clean ship began, cadets got the music ready and were given their areas to clean. As this was the last voyage of the season, the cadets wanted to make sure it was the cleanest the ship had ever been. After this it was to the cadet mess for lunch and the duty messmen started tidying up and making sure all plates and cups were stowed away. Then it was to presentations! 3 of our cadets had never been offshore before and 1 went on TS Jack Petchey last year so was going for the next qualification. Over the course of the week Ordinary cadets Jess and Owen managed to achieve the offshore hand 1 qualification and Cadet First Class Ethan and Ordinary Cadet Riley managed to achieve their offshore hand 2 qualification. This is a massive achievement for all cadets as it is something they are not able to do within the unit.
Day 7 Gosport – Carlisle: It was now time to depart the ship and head home, we had many trains to catch to get us back to Carlisle as well as a ferry from Gosport to Portsmouth. We all safely arrived back in Carlisle and cadets could not wait to tell their parents and other cadets all about their experiences they had encountered on their week offshore.
All cadets had a fantastic time on board and without the help from the Ulysses Trust we would not have been able to make the memories and friendships we did on this voyage. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them and show them what we got up to on our week offshore. This expedition has developed our cadets in many ways by showing them they can be independent, show leadership qualities and work well in a team. This week is a week our cadets will never forget, and it would not have been possible without your help and support! We can’t wait to get booked on voyages in 2024. Thank you!
