Royal Navy CCF cadets undertake sub-aqua construction and salvage

June 6th 2025

The Royal Navy Cadets faced their most demanding challenge this week as they were tasked with carrying out an underwater engineering task to salvage unexploded ordinance from the bottom of Hazelgrove Marina.

OK, so perhaps not as risky as the initial scenario instructions sounded, but the challenges they faced were very real. This task required the Cadets to draw upon the training they received throughout the year in sub-aquatic manoeuvres to map out the location of the ordinance on the pool floor. This was then reported to their Commanding Officer who delivered the salvage infrastructure (in dissembled kit-form of course), to the bottom of the pool for the Cadets to design and assemble a suitable lifting frame to securely raise the device. Of course, the whole exercise was conducted underwater in full SCUBA gear and a rule of no surfacing enforced!

After a quick refresher on SCUBA from ScubaBlue instructors, the Cadets dove straight into the task demonstrating remarkable tenacity, communication (dive slates are a big step-back from texting!) and resilience as the two teams raced to be the first to signal the hoist of their salvaged ordinance. It was an absolute joy to watch them, so engaged and focused on the pool floor. So much so I didn't see them check their air supply gauges once!