The Cornwall Branch of the Marine Society and Sea Cadets The Marine Society and Sea Cadets is the national charity which ov ersees all sea cadet units and Cornwall is one of the few Counties which has a local branch meaning that all funds raised , including members subscriptions are used exclusively for the benefit of Cornish units. The aim of the Sea Cadets is to Dz help young people to develop teamwork, independence and communicatio n skills through nautical based adventure. dz Unlike the Army Cadets and Air Cadets, whose premises and equipment is owned by the MoD, each Sea Cadet Unit is a charity in its own right and is almost entirely self-funding. Th e five Cornwall Units cost between £10,000 and £15,000 each per annum to oper ate; expenses include maintaining premises, boats, and vehicles as well as p aying for expedition equipment and travel expenses. The Cornwall Units are at Penzance, Falmouth, Truro, Padstow and St Austell and the five units have about 150 cad ets between them; the junior cadets are 10 - 12 years old and the seniors are 12 - 18 with the opportunity to continue as adult staff. Nationwide there are 400 units, 14000 cadets and 9000 volunteers.

There are several ways for CMN members to support the Sea Cadets in C ornwall: 

• Become a member of the Cornwall Branch for £25 per year . Those thinking of membership can be sent an application form availabl e from Robert Sturland. 
• Become a patron of your local unit for £100 per year. 
• Support your local unit with benefit in kind eg maintenance. 
• Consider funding off shore training for a cadet in the offshor e fleet by the donation of a one-off bursary - £350 pays for a week in the square sail Training Ship Royalist. 
• Become a member of the Unit Management Committee to help mana ge the local unit and provide resources for the cadets. 
• Become a member of staff either in uniform or as a civilian instructor.

You can find out more about the Sea Cadets at www.ms-sc.org and the local units are at, for example, www.ms-sc.org/falmouth/home.aspx or contact Robert Sturland at the members contacts details.