LITTLE CURRENT—More than 50 members of the Manitoulin 348 Sea Cadet Corps, including the Corps officers, civilian volunteers and members of the Manitoulin Navy League, the Corps’ sponsoring organization, sat down to a roast beef dinner, trimmings and all, at the Corps’ annual Mess Dinner December 6.
The event, held at the Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre, is a formal affair and, in naval tradition the youngest cadet is given the top rank for the occasion, together with a head table position.
Last week, new Cadet Gage Rottier had that honour and Commanding Officer, Lieutenant (Navy) Sylvain Boucher relinquished his shoulder epaulettes to Cadet Rottier for the occasion.
Other naval traditions for Mess Dinner events were Sub-Lieutenant (Navy) Tina Davidson, president for the event, reading out the rules (which generally correspond to Miss Manners rules of etiquette): no elbows on the table, don’t talk while eating, mouth closed while chewing, break your bun nicely into pieces (don’t bite into it) while some other rules stem from “at sea” experiences by generations of sailors: slide (don’t hand-down) water pitchers and other liquid containers to avoid spillage when the ship rolls at sea, among other naval-inspired rules.
Following a chain of command, any Cadet could report another Cadet’s infringement of any of the rules read out by the president and the reported party, if guilty, came before the president and chose a “punishment” at random from a box. These included doing jumping jacks, singing a song and other entertainments.
Twin brother and sister, the Cadets Trudeau for example, had fun reporting each other for various infringements of the rules, real and imagined.
It’s meant to be a fun event and the Cadets soon got into the spirit of the occasion, cheerfully reporting one another and then applauding their shipmates’ punishment tasks. There was some important business done that evening as well.
Two senior cadets, Chief Petty Officer Second Class Lyndia Pennings, the Regulating Petty Officer, and the Corps’ Coxswain (lead Cadet) Savannah Crack “aged out” that night: both are 19 and have been Cadets for seven years.
They were each gifted with the traditional glass-bottomed pewter tankards that bear their name and rank, together with the Corps’ crest.
Cadets Crack and Pennnings will also receive bursaries from the Manitoulin Navy League to put towards their future studies.
It was also a significant moment for the Corps’ as Commanding Officer Lieutenant (Navy) Sylvain Boucher named a new Coxswain who will hold this position until he, too, ages out.
Lieutenant (N) Boucher called Chief Petty Officer Second Class Landan Aelick to the front and introduced him as the new Coxswain as retiring Coxswain, Chief Petty Officer First Class Savannah Crack, handed her successor a symbol of his new responsibilities.
Cadets were enthusiastic about the dinner and the experience.
