Reviewing the past 12 months at the Rye Sea Cadet AGM last Friday, Steve Smith the Officer in Charge gave an upbeat account of progress and attainment by all concerned during the year.
The cadets meet every week and have taken part in rowing, kayaking, adventure training, seamanship, football and other sports under the guidance of the nine volunteer instructors. Over 90 separate qualifications have been gained by over 30 cadets including the Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme.
Taking part in competitions against other Units is part of the attraction of joining the Sea Cadets. During the past year success has been gained by the Rye unit in swimming, football, first aid and paddlesports.
Every year the Mayors of Rye and Winchelsea each adopt two Cadets from the unit to be their Mayor Cadets. They take part in Mayor making ceremonies, Remembrance Day parades and other ceremonial activities. The Unit is especially proud that Cadet Sarah Trundle was appointed by the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex as his Cadet for the year. She has accompanied him on many royal occasions throughout the county.
Future plans for the coming year will see the opening of a Royal Marine Cadet section within the unit. The section will provide more land based activities, including living in the field, camp craft and map reading. The section will be able to take up to eight new entrants.
The unit welcomes young people aged of 10 – 18 to come along on a Monday and Friday evening and enjoy the friendship and the chance to learn new skills. Full details can be found on the Sea Cadets website
The unit management team’s role is to provide finance and maintain the running of the facilities. Although very little money is provided by the Navy, local trusts, charities and businesses have generously sponsored improvements and repairs which have been carried out during the year.
Without volunteers it would be impossible to continue, all of the Officers, staff and the management committee give their time freely to make this possible. Finally, the management team is looking for a volunteer to attend our monthly meetings to take notes to keep us on track. If anybody can help on this it would spread the workload of the committee and be much appreciated. Contact details are on the website.
Photo: Rye Sea Cadets