Cadets Pioneer Trip 2025

Our cadets embarked on their annual weekend away sailing on Pioneer. See our amazing trip in photos below.

The best journey in the world- Pioneer trip review by Wilfred, age 10

5 explorers (young cadets), 5 adventurers (older cadets) and 5 responsible adults set off on a voyage of discovery on 11 and 12 October 2025.  We set sail from Brightlingsea on Pioneer, an oyster scallop (the only one left in the world), for a trip to Harwich Harbour where we moored next to Boaty McBoatface.

We had to cook, clean and man the ship - it was so hard hauling the sails it took 14 of us to do. We all got a chance to be at the helm and we had good weather but could have done with more wind. We all enjoyed dredging and pulling up crabs, starfish (really big starfish) and lots of oyster shells. I loved all the food, especially lunch on the first day - waffles and baked beans. 

We slept overnight onboard and some could go outside to stargaze but I enjoyed hearing the history of Pioneer inside. It has a sister ship still in the mud called Van de Vara and I want to get her out of the mud and sail her along the coast.

It was a brilliant trip - thank you for the opportunity, I loved it.