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Woking & District Sea Cadets |
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PREVIOUS BULLETINS
Round the Island Race 2005
Sunday 20 June 2005
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Staff from TS Dianthus Woking Sea Cadets, aboard the aptly named "Spring breeze" (a yacht of some 42ft), were in the thick of it. With 80 boats in our class "ICS Rating Sys Group C (Division L)", we finished a very respectable seventh, taking 10hrs 17mins to complete the course. |
The members of Woking Rotary Club have come to the aid of Woking Sea Cadets by sponsoring a brand new luggage trailer.
The trailer, costing over £1000, will be used every time the cadets travel away on camps, training weekends or to displays. We are very grateful to Woking Rotary. This piece of equipment will be put to good use.
Woking
Sea Cadets have been recognised as a RYA Teaching Centre. All the staff
that were involved in the application are delighted at the outcome. It
means that we can now award a nationally recognised qualification in both
powerboat and sailing skills to our cadets. All the hard work that went
into achieving this was well worth it.
Well done to all concerned!
Janette Butler of Procter and Gamble handed over a cheque today for £1000 to Sub/Lt Andrew Bray Royal Navy for Woking Sea Cadets.
The money is sponsorship towards the running cost of the Unit's Mini Bus for the year.
The Unit’s Commanding officer, Lt (SCC) John Bray RNR said: “We are very
grateful to Procter and Gamble for this sponsorship. It cost’s on average
£7000 per year just to run this operation and this money will go
a long way towards keeping a vital piece of equipment going."
Woking
Sea Cadets saluted a new standard on Monday 11th April, when they were
presented with the new colours at their annual RN inspection.
The blue ensign with the cadets' emblem was a gift from the Woking branch of the Royal Naval Association. Shipmate Ian Fraser of the Association presented the standard to his grandson, Ord Cadet Ben Fraser, 14.
RFA Fort Victoria is a handy ship to have around, as the cadets and staff from TS Dianthus found out this weekend on a visit to her on Plymouth Sound.
The Cadets were treated to a busy two days taking in every part of the ship from the engine room to the bridge, finishing with NBCD training with members of the ship's company on the Saturday.
The Unit Commanding Officer Lt Bray said: “ With the constant increasing demand being placed on ships of the RFA and RN, chances to get Cadets onboard for a few days are rare, so we were delighted to be given the opportunity for the cadets to see first hand what living on board a ship of this size is like. All the cadets had a great time and are looking forward to a return visit.
Cadets from Woking got to grips with Fire Fighting procedures and what it feels like to have 200 tonnes of seawater dumped on them.
Lt Cdr (SCC) Ray Mitchell RNR has taken over as the new District Officer
for Surrey. The Officers and ships company of TS Dianthus Woking Sea Cadet
Unit wish him well in his new appointment, Lt Cdr Mitchell takes over
from Lt Cdr M Cruse.
Surrey District covers a large area which include another 8 units in addition
to Woking.
Chief
Petty Officer Brian James was honoured by the Lord Lt of Surrey at an
awards ceremony held at the TA Centre Redhill.
CPO James was awarded the Lord Lt's Meritorious Service Certificate
for Long Service to the Sea Cadet Corps in Woking.
The Committee and staff together with the cadets would like to offer their
most sincere congratulations to Brian.
Bravo Zulu
Family
and friends of Woking Staff member Bugler Christopher Bray (Bandmaster
Woking Sea Cadets) attended the ceremony of Beating Retreat. This was
Christopher's first big parade since he joined the Royal Marine Band Service
back in Septemberlast year. Chris continues to support his home Sea Cadet
Unit whenever he can. All the staff at TS Dianthus are very proud of him
and wish him all the very best for the future.
The picture shows him on parade at Portsmouth Guildhall in full ceremonial
rig.
Woking Sea Cadets are to get a new patron, following talks with 96.4 The Eagle’s very own Mr Peter Gordon. Peter he has agreed to join the crew of Woking Sea Cadets as its latest Patron. Lt John Bray, the unit commanding officer, said: “We are delighted that Peter Gordon has agreed to become a patron for the Sea Cadets in Woking. Peter is very popular in the area and will raise the profile in the borough of this very proactive youth group. I know he is looking forward to learning the ropes in his new role.”
Senior
Officers of the Royal Navy and the Sea Cadet Corps, together with Cllr
Mr Richard Sanderson (The Mayor of Woking), Cllr Mrs Shelia Gruselle (Chairman
Surrey County Council) and Mr Mike Cornish (Chief Executive of the Sea
Cadet Association), joined Mr Malcolm Gibbins (Project Manager) and Mr
Reg DeBoltz (Deputy Project Manager) of AMEC Group Ltd today to open a
new training facility at T. S. Dianthus Woking Sea Cadets.
The
new facility, which consists of classrooms and Conference room, has been
made possible by the generous donation of surplus Portacabins left over
from the completed TAG McLaren project on the former Mizens farm site.
The
Commanding Officer of Woking Sea Cadets, Lt (SCC) John Bray RNR, said:
“I was put in contact with Malcolm Gibbins and Reg DeBoltz of AMEC, thanks
to the Buckley family - the parents of a young member of staff here at
Woking Sea Cadets. I was made the offer of having this facility at Woking
Sea Cadets, as AMEC had surplus cabins available and they wanted them
to go to a local charity in the Woking area. The finished product has
left the teaching staff here at T. S. Dianthus overwhelmed; this additional
facility means that we can offer our Sea Cadet training to a much greater
number of local young people. I cannot thank them enough”.
Malcolm
Gibbins went on to say: “AMEC were due to release three surplus cabins
that did not fit with our future use, and thanks to Jerry Buckley, AMEC
were able to support a very worthy charity within the local area and,
with the sea cadets, a long and fruitful use of the new training and conference
facility”.
Following
a successful bid to the local committee of Surrey County Council, the
Council has agreed to fully fund the purchase of a modern fully equipped
Safety Boat for Woking Sea Cadets. This new piece of equipment will soon
be put through its paces on the lake at Goldsworth Park, providing safety
cover for the ‘afloat training’ of the cadets in Woking and for any other
organisation that needs this service.
Lt
John Bray said, “We are very grateful to the County Council Local Committee
for their continued support. We are hoping for RYA teaching status later
this year and having this piece of equipment is a big ‘tick in the box’
towards this. Without the help and support of the local committee, raising
the £3800 needed to purchase this vessel would have been a huge undertaking
for the staff, cadets and committee.”
Surrey
district has won the “Best District” trophy at this year’s Southern Area
Conference held at HMS Collingwood today. The Area Officer, Commander
Josh Binns RN, presented the award. BZ Surrey District.
Woking
and District Sea Cadets are off to a great start to 2004. TS Dianthus
has won two awards for Training and Efficiency.
We
are delighted to have been presented with these awards - one at district
and the other at national level. The district award is for the most
improved unit in the Surrey District; the other is an award at Sea
Cadet National Level. Both awards recognize the level and standard of
training given at TS Dianthus, along with recognition of the commitment
of the staff here at the Unit.
The awards also recognise the level of awards achieved by the cadets in the unit. I would like to pass on my own congratulations to the cadets and staff at the unit who have achieved this.
