'A lot and a lot of fun,” says Ordinary Cadet Dominic Hahunga, enthusing about sea cadets.
‘Ordinary' by rank only because the 14-year-old cuts a fine dash in his naval sailor's pie hat emblazoned with TS Chatham, tunic with white land yard, the traditional bellbottoms and those shoes buffed to an official military glare.
What's there not to like about it? It's part of the reason Leading Cadet Caitlyn Ward joined the sea cadets. 'I love the uniform. But really I just wanted to be in the defence forces,” says the 15-year-old Otumoetai College student.
And Dominic, at this stage, has a half an eye on a being a navy diver. So for both these teenagers the sea cadets is not just adventure-filled weekends but a conduit to a military career. Perhaps.
But what is ‘a lot and a lot of fun'? 'Well, we go out sailing pretty much every fortnight, we go camping a lot; great fun, great chats, great friendships and we are contributing to a group situation.”
Dominic joined as an army cadet last year. He was part of the Western Bay of Plenty cadet unit. 'But army life wasn't really my thing so I thought I would give the navy style a go.” He wears that style well and is now as happy as…well, a sailor at sea.
Except TS Chatham is a land-based sea cadet unit and if the uniform and adventure isn't an attraction, the setting should be.
It's housed in the Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club at the extremity of Sulphur Point with million-dollar views of Tauranga Harbour and Mauao – probably multi-million dollar views on the open market. It spills over onto a boat ramp, a white sandy beach and the vast sparkling expanse of Tauranga Harbour. Idyllic, and ideal for launching the unit's fleet of four sailing vessels.
TS Chatham, with its motto ‘Ready Aye Ready', is bricks and mortar and above the water line but it's regarded as a ship. The sailors salute when arriving or boarding and leaving or disembarking even though their gangplank is a metal doorframe. Tradition is adhered to.
'Yes, we're quite lucky,” says Lieutenant Emily Clarke, who is the unit's EXO or executive office, 2IC and recent recipient of the special award of Cadet Forces Medal for 12 years' dedicated service to New Zealand Cadet Force.
'I think the main thing for me is being able to help young people in their adventure-based training and give them positive experiences as they grow into adulthood.”
The sea cadets meet weekly during school term. They have weekend camps and other activities including sailing principles and water safety, foot drill, bush craft and survival, uniform care, target shooting with Marlin .22s, navigation, radio communication, first aid and service knowledge.
The word ‘leadership' is bandied about. 'There's a big focus on leadership,” says Emily. 'Working with teams and different people. Developing yourself and others.”
There are 16 cadets in the TS Chatham unit and there's room for more. 'We would like 30 cadets and then start building on that,” says Emily. 'The carrot I would dangle would be the opportunities for personal development. We see kids being transformed.”
Emily uses the example of one young cadet who was particularly shy and quiet when she joined TS Chatham. 'Now she's one of our leaders and is helping the development of others.” Sea cadets also provides kids with a lot of different experiences they wouldn't get at school. 'It gets them out of their comfort zone and challenging themselves personally.”
And no, an enjoyment of sailing isn't a pre-requisite to being a sea cadet. 'We do lots of other things,” says Emily. 'But I've really gotten into it in the last two years since I've been part of the unit.”
TS Chatham is now recruiting and young people aged 13-15 are encouraged to apply. To find out more, visit: www.tschatham.org.nz
Finally some interesting trivia. The bell-bottom trousers, which came to epitomize the 1960s and early-1970s fashion, are actually a practical item for sailors living aboard ship. The flared legs are easy to roll up when swabbing a deck or wading through wet or flooded spaces. Practical but cool if you talk to the cadets.