Sea cadet returns from Quest program in BC

TWILLILNGATE - "I'd go back in a heart beat!"

PO1 Zachary Hull of RCSCC Briton, the sea cadet corps at Twillingate, had just returned from a Quest training program on the Pacific Coast and was still enthralled with the experience.

"The only thing I really didn't fully appreciate," he told The Pilot in an interview on the regular Tuesday cadet night on April 7, "was having to get up at 5:30 each morning to prepare for the day and be at the dock by 7 a.m. But after a couple of days even that wasn't too bad."

His training along with nine others from the province and a total of some 40 cadets from Eastern Canada was mainly on the training ship PCT Raven 56 (Patrol Craft Training), a vessel of some 108 feet in length and of the Orca class patrol boats, one of eight such boats used by the Canadian Navy for seamanship training purposes. Training included such items as safety drills afloat, what to do if fire should break out and general seamanship exercises.

They did have time ashore, he explained, with the third day taken up with a sightseeing tour of Vancouver, and a "flag hoist" competition on day six. The last night of the nine-day experience was at a resort with an outdoor spa. "It was our time to relax," he said, "and it was fantastic."

Their last day, however, was spent on board the Raven at sea where they were required to make sure everything was shipshape in readiness for another group that would follow. Travel to and from B.C was by air.

This was not the first training experience for PO1 Hull. His first summer in the cadet movement had him involved in a two-week general training summer camp at HMCS Cornwallis in Nova Scotia. The next summer he started his trade group training with a three-week sailing course at the same venue. Then last summer he underwent Trade Group 2 with a six-week Boatswain course. This summer he hopes to continue with Trade Group 3 Boatswain, again at Cornwallis. At 16 years of age and in grade 10 at New World Island Academy, he has a couple of summers to go to access further cadet training hoping to be able to latch on to a staff position for his final year and take advantage of the financial benefits involved. His plans for the future are aimed at a career in the Navy as an engineer.

The exposure at B.C., he explained, was meant for training to learn new things but at the same time to experience fun with cadets from other parts of the region. That was certainly the case, said PO1 Hull. "It was lots of fun!" His special buddy with whom he has made many contacts via internet since returning is from Cape Breton.

His advice for any cadet having the opportunity to take a Quest trip?

"Take it," said PO1 Hull, "it's a great experience."