Bermuda’s Sea Cadets to fly Rwanda flag for Queen’s Jubilee
Bermuda Sea Cadets selected to participate in the Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant are due to depart for London tonight — but will fly the Rwanda flag when they take part in the event.The pageant takes place this Sunday and will feature sea cadets from all over the world. Samuel Bennett, Ani Douglas, Jaeden Johnston, CJ Marshall and Morgan Outerbridge have been chosen to represent Bermuda, and have worked hard to raise funds for their trip.“They have been training very hard over the past few months to hone their boat handling and seamanship skills, to ensure that they are able safely to navigate the Thames — in formation — during the pageant,” said a statement from the Sea Cadets.Bermuda’s cadets will be part of a formation of 54 dinghies that will sail in a diamond formation before an estimated one million spectators on shore — and possibly a billion viewers around the globe — as part of the pageantry for the 60th anniversary of the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II.They will join about 950 other vessels in a diamond-shaped formation of boats that will have to manoeuvre around the supports of 14 bridges on their way down the Thames.Petty Officer Ian Frith, who will be the crew supervisor on the day said: “With 54 other Sea Cadet dinghies in our formation, and with over 1,000 other boats participating in the pageant overall, there is no margin for error, and the cadets must be ready to do everything required of them safely and efficiently. Thanks to a lot of hard work, I am pleased to say that they are ready for the challenge.”However, Commanding Officer Lieutenant Michael Frith revealed that the Bermudian cadets will not be sailing under their country’s flag.“The formation we are participating in remains very much symbolic of the Commonwealth, and as such, each of the flags being carried will be the flag of one of the Commonwealth nations,” he explained.“There has been a reallocation of the flags in the past week, simply due to a slight change in the formation itself, with the result that we have now been assigned the Rwanda flag. We are still working on a way formally to fly the Bermuda flag possibly as the ensign for the boat itself but the one we will carry as part of the procession will be Rwanda’s. In any event, you can be sure that the Bermuda cadets will be representing themselves and Bermuda with an enormous sense of pride.”