Sgt Ellen Seymour, a cadet from 485 (Harborne and Quinton) Sqn, recently swapped services to take part in the Ocean Youth Trust expedition, and it turned out to be a very wet, and exhausting time.

Sgt Seymour had been selected to sail on the Alba Venturer earlier in the year. The Alba is a 70ft yacht and the cadets soon found themselves formed into two watches. She had to carry out duties such as sail preparation and sail raising and lowering, and they were all soon classed as competent crew.

The cadets were also taught activities such as knot work, meteorology, emergency drills and fire fighting. Ellen was amazed to learn that whistling is not allowed onboard a vessel as it is thought to be bad luck. The only exception to this rule was the cook, who had to whistle to prove he wasn't eating the rations.

The living space on the yacht was very cramped and this along with the weather, proved to be very challenging! A particular highlight for the crew was when they spotted seals and dolphins close to the yacht.

The week culminated in challenge day, this involved the watches taking complete control of the yacht. Duties such as skipper, watch leader and sail master were all expected to be carried out, and Ellen was selected to be the Green Watch lead navigator for the challenge. This demanding role involved Ellen planning the passage for the yacht as well as keeping control of the route and checking for hazards, both visually, on radar, and finally on the charts. Sea navigation is different in many ways to land navigation, mainly because the movement of the sea continually attempts to push the boat of course.

Sgt Seymour greatly enjoyed the course and would highly recommend it to other cadets within the wing.

Fg Off Simon Jennings , OIC 485 Sqn commented “Sgt Seymour recently attended a CMOI course and for her presentation she talked to us about this sailing course and she was extremely enthusiastic about the week's activities. Sailing is an extremely complex sport, particularly when raising large sails and also learning how to actually navigate a large yacht safely! Opportunities for sailing in the ATC are few and far between, but like Ellen, I would recommend cadets apply for these courses”.