HMCS Acadia Cadets participate in boat training courses
Summer is a busy time as cadets participate in courses at the HMCS Acadia Cadet Training Centre in Cornwallis.
On July 28 many cadets took part in Small Craft Operator Program training (SCOP) module three training.
Cadets preformed several tasks on a boat, all aimed at displaying to an instructor that they can safely operate a boat.
Cadets took part in travelling at wake and no-wake speeds in the water, as well as running man overboard drills.
“We’re teaching cadets to control and manage a power boat safely. This course helps prepare them for anything that could happen on the water,” says Cadet Petty Officer Noah Starzomski from the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
The SCOP training is part of the Ship’s Boat Operator Course. This is a six-week advanced specialty training course that includes activities such as first aid training, rope work and marine navigation, in addition to the small craft operator training.
Before starting the course the cadets usually don’t have experience operating boats.
“Now I feel comfortable enough to operate it on my own,” said Cadet Robyn Knickle, from RCSWCC 290 in Fortune, N.L.
Knickle is happy she decided to come to HMCS Acadia and hopes to come back again next summer.
“It’s a really good experience and we learned a lot. Time flew by so fast,” she said. Cadet Robyn Knickle from Fortune, N.L, gets ready at participate in a man overboard drill.
LEFT: Cadet Petty Officer Noah Starzomski, left, instructs Cadet Ryan Hiltz.