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27/06/2014

After a four hour drive from Crosby I arrived in Scotland in plenty of time to get changed into boating rig and get to Grangemouth unit for 7.15PM.  There was a good breeze and sun so all the signs were good that we would have a great evening sailing.  TS Forth has exclusive access to a stretch of sheltered water owned by the port authority and it was soon busy with four dinghies, an ASC and a bunch of kayaks, plus a couple of safety boats.  I sailed with two of the Grangemouth cadets in Picos as they went around a triangular course, clocking up the miles.  The sailing was pretty tricky as the surrounding buildings caused sudden changes in strength and direction, but the Grangemouth team were used to this and were clearly experts at sailing in relatively confined areas.  The fun went on until around 9pm, by which time it was cooling off quickly but, as we were quite a long way north, still quite light. 

Thanks to everyone at Grangemouth for organising another great evening for me - I really am enjoying this tour of all six areas and have already clocked up over a thousand miles (by car!!). Keep up to date with Sail the UK here.

26/6/2014

The Royal Borough of Greenwich has officially confirmed Sea Cadets and Seafarers UK as the official charity partners for the Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Festival 2014.

From 5-9 September, the Royal Borough of Greenwich will  host the first Tall Ships Regatta since 1989. Over 50 Tall Ships from around the world will be moored along the Greenwich shoreline with daily sails up the River Thames to London Bridge, including Sea Cadets flagship, TS Royalist.

Read more here.

26/06/2014

I broke my long journey from Cornwall by spending the night at my house in Gloucestershire and set off for the North West Boating Centre at Crosby just after lunch on Wednesday. The offshore wind turbines were revolving slowly and it was immediately clear that conditions were going to be challenging and cadets would have to work hard to build their miles.  Luckily there were lots of cadets from four different units and, after a short ceremony to present a CSC Commendation to City of Liverpool Unit, we soon had 14 dinghies and four windsurfers out on the water, clocking up the miles.  Despite the light winds, which sometimes died away altogether, everyone completed at least two laps of the mile-long course, while most boats managed three, for a total of 77 cadet miles achieved - a great result given the difficult conditions!  Everyone had a brilliant time and there was a terrific turn-out of volunteers from across the area.

Thank you to everyone at Crosby for hosting this event - I really enjoyed it and it ran really smoothly.  My next blog will come from Scotland where I will be visiting Grangemouth Unit.

25/06/2014

Today Sea Cadets is 158 years old and to celebrate we are encouraging our volunteers and cadets to bake a cake and have a party at their unit. Since 1856, Sea Cadets have provided hundreds of thousands of young people the chance to experience the exhilaration of an offshore voyage, gain qualifications to boost their careers, learn a musical instrument and the opportunity to row, sail, canoe and kayak every weekend! Make a donation to Sea Cadets to ensure that we can carry on supporting young people, here! 

25/06/2014

Yesterday I set off from Weymouth for a the long drive to Cornwall Boating Station on Stithians lake near Redruth, to take part in Sail the UK with Falmouth and Penryn Sea Cadets!  I was watching all the wind turbines anxiously as I drove - would the wind be as feeble as it had been on Monday evening?  I needn't have worried as I arrived at the boat station to find ideal conditions; bright sunshine and a good breeze!  A team of cadets from Falmouth and Penryn were just coming ashore for lunch so once they had eaten they were eager to get back out on the water and POC Charlie was kind enough to take me out in a Laser 2000.  A half-mile long course had been marked with buoys and we had great fun tacking up the lake and then hoisting the spinnaker and running back down.  By the time we stopped at around 3.30pm a total of 170 miles had been sailed. A great effort!  The end of the day was marked by me presenting the CO of Falmouth and Penryn Sea Cadets with the unit's Burgee for 2014 - well done to all!

Tomorrow I’ll be at the North West Area Boat Station at Crosby. Keep up to date with Sail the UK here