Young people are being taken off the streets and given a chance to take pride in themselves with the help of the Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps.

That was the message yesterday from the Corps' Lieutenant Commander Anthoni Lightbourne who spoke at the weekly meeting of the Hamilton Rotary Club.

"We are encouraging young people to do something worthwhile with their lives and be better citizens. We're taking bored young people off the streets and giving those same street corner kids an opportunity to take pride in themselves," he said.

"Ultimately, we want them to play an active role in the community by getting involved," added Mr. Lightbourne.

The Corps was founded in 1966 and Mr. Lightbourne joined in 1968 at the age of 12, which was then the minimum joining age.

The Corps currently accepts boys and girls as young as nine-and-a-half who are able to stay a cadet until they are aged 17.

The Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps has three units around the Island. In Pembroke there is the T.S. Bermuda, in St. George's it is T.S. Admiral Somers and in Sandys the T.S. Venture was founded in 1969 with Mr. Lightbourne as one of the founding cadets.

Mr. Lightbourne added: "We are trying to teach young people to become better citizens by learning teamwork, self-respect, responsibility and social awareness."

The Sea Cadets take part in activities that range from drill, sailing, navigation, boat work, parade participation, training and first aid.

Mr. Lightbourne stressed that teamwork was what makes the cadets so efficient. "It's all about learning and teamwork, learning to work together to achieve results," he said.

An important part of being a Sea Cadet was the overseas training the cadets are able to take part in.

"They can train in Canada at the HMCS Acadia in Nova Scotia. They also have training opportunities at the T.S. Royalist in the United Kingdom," Mr. Lightbourne said.

He explained there are not many offshore opportunities for aspiring pilots in Bermuda.

"We have many youngsters who desire a maritime career," said Mr. Lightbourne. "But it's easy to say you want a maritime career when you're on land."

Mr. Lightbourne explained that because international training was such an important part of being a cadet, they needed more funding in order to keep sending the cadets abroad.

"We need to raise funds to help the movement grow. We are making a real contribution to youth culture and the best value for our community because ultimately we want to be ship-shape for our youth," Mr. Lightbourne added.

During the summer months, the Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps has as many as 25 cadets in each unit.

"Summer in the Sea Cadets is a wonderful experience. If you're 16 and up, the world is your oyster," Mr. Lightbourne told the Rotary.

More information on Bermuda Sea Cadets Corps is available at www.seacadets.bm or 297 2759.