Page 68 - The Wish Stream Year of 2022

Expedition diary –
Exercise MARITIME CADET
OCdt Wood
Monday 18th April
Our trip started early on Monday morning in the JSATC Marina Gosport. Gathering on the pier we met our Instructor, Henry, who we would live and work with for the next week. After we had carefully packed away our (generously funded) supplies and our sailing gear, Henry began to familiarise us with the ‘White Knight 7’. Our first impressions were that this 36ft J109 was going to be an excellent vessel; the wind was in our favour and our instructor a capital chap.
Henry thoroughly familiarised us with the work- ings and various quirks of the White Knight 7 which he knew so well before moving into a meticulous safety brief. He used the opportunity to gauge our experience levels and theoretical knowledge with which he appeared to be con- tent. Before we knew it, it was 1100hrs and time
for a brew. We were shocked and disappointed to find that despite being a cavalry yacht, there was no cafetiere to be found – instead only a thing apparently named ‘instant coffee’. Our week of AT was going to be more of a chal- lenge than expected. Over ‘instant coffee’ and biscuits, we got to know Henry, and it appeared that he was as pleased to be setting out on a week of sailing with five good mates with simi- larly puerile humour and cheesy music taste, as we were to be setting out on a week with a very classic cavalry officer as professional as he was humorous.
After practising mooring alongside, refuelling, manoeuvring around the marina and basic crew- manship, we moored in Port Solent and whipped up an excellent lunch on deck. After coffee and cake, and a gander at HMS Queen Elizabeth and
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