Despite stormy seas, cadets from 1350 (Portchester) Detached Flight managed to steer the state of the art Royal Navy Destroyer HMS Consort into parallel position alongside one of the fleets’ aircraft carriers.

The event which took place during one of the recent cadet parade nights wasn’t as dangerous as it sounds as it was performed in the multi million pound navigational simulator at HMS Collingwood near Fareham which on a day to day basis is used to train student navigators prior to their departure on active duty.

During the course of the evening the cadets were taught the basic principles of guiding a 5000 tonne warship and then took turns at performing the major command roles on the bridges of HMS Consort and HMS London. The cadets also undertook a series of combat exercises alongside the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible.

The visit to the facility was arranged by its Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Gazzard RN who is also the parent of one of the Portchester cadets. In thanking him the Commanding Officer of 1350DF, Flying Officer Robert Westerberg said “The cadets were extremely impressed by the quality and realism of the simulators. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves although the time passed far too quickly”.