Our affiliation with Portland Sea Cadets ~ TS Penn goes back many years. The Isle of Portland Unit was founded in 1956, the same year that the RNA Portland Branch was formed. The Unit took its name from Admiral Sir William Penn (1644 – 1718), an English Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania, USA. His residence on Portland, Pennsylvania Castle, built between 1797 and 1800, used to be a major hotel on the island, has also been a private residence and is now a boutique mansion, hired out for exclusive functions and events. As well as the Portland SCC Unit, two commissioned RN vessels also bore the name Penn.
The Sea Cadets provide a nautical presence at our Annual Dinners and we reciprocate by mentoring them in the ceremonial skills of standard bearing. The Branch has provided a Diamond Community Trophy which is presented annually to the cadet who had contributed the most within the community during the year. To give the Sea Cadets a helping hand our shipmates are pleased to be able to donate to the unit on an occasional basis.
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Prizegiving 2025
What a brilliant night was had at the Annual Prizegiving Evening! It was lovely to be able to recognise all the Cadet’s fantastic achievements over the past 12 months. The Unit was honoured to host Portland Town Mayor Cllr Sheila Miles, who inspected the Divisions and chatted to each of the Cadets, before presenting some of the Awards along with the Chairman of Portland Royal Naval Association Mr Alex ‘Dusty’ Miller, and Mrs Karen Miller also from Portland RNA. It was lovely to see so many family and friends share in the Cadet’s evening too.!!
District Drill Competition 2025
Well done Portland Sea Cadets. A performance to be proud of. Winners District Armed drill & best Drill Commander 2025. The Piping team also gave a fantastic performance for their first attempt at competition for many years; well done.
Remembrance Day 2024
Leading Cadet Katie proudly led the wreath bearers at Weymouth’s Remembrance Day Parade yesterday, where she fulfilled her first duty after being appointed as Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet for Dorset. Colonel David Swann CBE led the wreath layers as Deputy Lieutenant for the County, with Katie in attendance. Great job Katie!
Additionally, the rest of the Cadets looked very smart on Parade and at Portland Cenotaph – well done to all.
On Parade in London 2024
Leading Cadets Edmund, Oakley and Lily, Able Cadet Lewis and Ordinary Cadets Austin and George took part in the National Parade in London in October 2024, where they formed up for a Service in Trafalgar Square before marching down The Mall and past Buckingham Palace to Wellington Barracks. There were nearly 500 Cadets and Volunteers on Parade, and they didn’t let the weather conditions affect their marching or smartness! A great job guys!
HMS ILLUSTRIOUS Memorial Service 2024
Leading Cadet Scarlett and Cadet 1st Class Robert took part in the HMS Illustrious Memorial Service held at the Commemoration Stone in Portland Marina. Scarlett did a reading during the Service and Robert piped ‘The Still’ and ‘Carry On’ to mark the period of silence. PPO George Harris also attended the event, and all looked very smart.
National Sailing Regatta 2024
A huge Congratulations to two of TS Penn’s Cadets who competed at the National Sailing and Windsurfing Regatta in Southport this weekend! They had challenging very light winds to contend with yesterday, and pretty cold conditions today! Able Cadet Lewis joined Alfie from Glastonbury Unit in the Open RS Quest Dinghy Sailing Class to come a very credible 11th place and Ordinary Cadet Austin took the Bronze Medal in the 4.8m Windsurfing category. A great result for both!
South West Area Sailing & Windsurfing Regatta 2024
A great day was had at the South West Area Sailing and Windsurfing Regatta, held here on the waters of Weymouth Bay. Leading Cadet Lily joined with L/Cdt Jessie from Glastonbury & Street Unit to compete in the Open RS Quest Dinghy Sailing Class and came 2nd, 3rd and 3rd in their races to lift the Bronze Medals! A fabulous result! In addition, Ordinary Cadet Austin competed in the 4.8m Windsurfing Class, where he won all his races to take the Gold Medal – an awesome result! A huge well done to all Somerset and Dorset competitors, it was a great set of results across the board!
South West Area Rowing & Boat Handling Regatta 2024
What a fantastic day the Cadets had representing Somerset and Dorset at the South West Area Regatta in July, held in the Bristol Docks. They certainly had some strong head winds to battle against! The Open Boys Rowing Team came 7th, the Junior Boys Team were 5th, Junior Girls Team were 4th and the Junior Sea Cadets Team came Runners-Up to lift the Silver Medals! The Powerboat Handling Team also showed great skills on the water to come Runners-Up and also snaffle some Silver Medals! Fantastic results all round.
District Powerboat handling Competition 2024
Great skills on the water on 9th June from our Powerboat Handling Team at the District Regatta. Able Cadet Katie and Cadet 1st Class Daniel and Sophie took the Gold Medals! Big Congratulations!
Area Drill Competition 2024
Fabulous result by TS Penn Cadets in the South West Area Sea Cadet Drill Competition held at HMS Raleigh in March. The Armed Guard Team, came 5th place! And Able Cadet Lily took the Bronze Medal for Best Guard Commander!
SeaHives
Portland’s Sea Cadets were involved in the first stage of a great Marine Environmental Project during the weekend 21-22 January 2024, which the Cadets are doing in conjunction with the Sea Life Centre and Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy, and involves supporting SeaHives! As you can probably imagine, these are havens for Sea Life. They help create and restore marine ecosystems and are proven to increase the diversity and density of marine life. The Cadets assembled a SeaHive, which is a series of hexagonal tubes made from recycled fishing nets and bottles, and put together so that they resemble a honeycomb, which is why they are called SeaHives! The Cadets launched the Sea Hive and secured it under one of the Sailing Academy pontoons, and the unit will be monitoring it to see who takes up home in it and what grows there. What a great and interesting project for our Cadets to be involved with!