TRAINING SHIPS

The brief history of our training ships in commission:

TS Woltemade – Cape Town

This Training Ship was originally started in 1905. In 1968 after the SADF closed the school naval cadets, the training ship changed its name to TS Woltemade. A point of interest of this unit was that in 1920 a contingent of 20 cadets and one officer travelled to England to form part of the crew bringing HMS Thames back to South Africa and which became the SATS General Botha. In 1968 the name TS Woltemade was adopted and set the pattern for all the other units in South Africa. This Unit has the distinction of having produced no less than 4 Senior Officers, Captain D D Gordon-Davis, Captain P Smith, Captain RGF Toms and Captain A P Blake, indeed an exceptional record. The Unit has been one of the larger Units and has a great sufficiency of funds as it draws donations from the Sailors Home and various bequests.

 

TS Tiburon – Durban

Started in 1916. It paraded for many years in SAS Inkonkoni until the SAN closed the reserve bases. It then moved to its property at Bayhead, adjacent to the Bluff Yacht Club. It has had its share of close shaves with the being mothballed but has always seemed to find a solution. The present CO is a qualified Scots ship's engineer! Part of its problem is its distance from the various White, Indian and Black suburbs, hence it meets on Sundays and many of the parents used to come out for a braai at lunchtime. It has good boating water up the Bluff Channel.

 

TS Springs – Springs

This Unit was also started in 1916. For many years it paraded on its own piece of ground in Springs. This piece of ground which was very large, also contained a smouldering ash dump of some 3500 tons of ash. Spontaneous combustion took place most summers and indeed walking on the dump could and did result in serious injury. As with Immortelle, vandals started to target the base, which was a corrugated iron building dating to the Boer War days. In 2004 the Executive of the Sea Cadet Corps decided to sell the piece of ground because the hazardous nature and environmental problem of the ash dump would involve the Sea Cadets in expenditure they could not afford. The Unit then relocated to Brakpan, retaining its name as TS Springs and is currently housed in Regiment Oos Transvaal, courtesy of the Officer Commanding the Regiment.

 

TS Lanherne – Port Elizabeth

Started in 1935 and celebrated its 75th birthday in 2010. It originally paraded in the RNVR Drill Hall, as the Port Elizabeth Sea Cadets, until it moved into SAS Donkin. In 1979 the then OC Naval Base Port Elizabeth,Cdr D Gordon-Davis, gave notice to the Unit that it had to find alternative accommodation because there simply was no room for the Unit, as the SAN personnel and the marines were crowded into SAS Donkin to bursting point! In 1980 the Unit moved into the current building and took the name of the building as the Unit name. The building, Lanherne, was built in 1894 for the Resident Engineer and General Manager – Mr R H Hammersley-Heenan and is today a National Monument. Since 1980 the Unit has been both the largest and 2nd largest in the Sea Cadets. This Unit has produced 2 Senior Officer Sea Cadets, Captain D Brown and Captain W M Bartie, as well as a Captain of the 84000 ton Jewel-of-the-Seas (Royal Caribbean) – Captain M Fane also ex-SAN. The Unit is leased from the City Council. It currently houses over 150 cadets.

 

TS Bounty – Vereeniging

Started in 1949 on the banks of the Vaal River. This unit has had its many ups and downs and suffers greatly from a shortage of staff. The early CO was Lt Cdr John Smit, a product of the early Naval Gymnasium. It used to draw it cadets from the white suburbs but in more recent years has been successful in recruiting from Sebokeng, the major Black township. The Unit has its own swimming bath and lends itself to many group activities in Gauteng. Its boat house often becomes submerged during floods in the Vaal river and it has been suggested that they receive a special submariners badge for the number of times it have been under water! The piece of ground has been donated to the Sea Cadets by Anglo Coal and is indeed the last 600 meters of prime river frontage!

 

TS Fearless – Centurion

Started in 1987.This unit started life as a division of TS Endeavour in 1983 but because the division's cadets came mainly from Verwoerdburg, now Centurion, the division broke away from Endeavour in 1987 and formed its own Training Ship. Its home was the local Commando Unit until that was closed down. It then moved to the Voortrekker's Hall until it ran into snags with the hiring out of the hall. It has now relocated to a building in Valhalla. This Unit also suffers from a shortage of adults and hereto perhaps the SAN Reserves could be persuaded to assist. This unit is also responsible for TS Arethusa. Arethusa is located at Haartebeestpoort Dam on the last piece of water frontage on its side of the dam. It has million Rand dwellings in close proximity and our hold on this ground is tenuous. The ground is owned by Conservation but the previous Navy League Branch Chairman has paid the rental until something like 2020. Arethusa originally belonged to TS Devonport of Pretoria but when that Unit closed, Fearless offered to take over Arethusa – it has no cadets as it is merely a training facility for Fearless or whoever else requires the use of water training.

 

TS Knysna – Knysna

TS Knysna was started in 1989 when CNavy officiated at the opening during the Knysna Oyster Festival of that year. The initial building was the ablution and toilet block for the local bus station in the industrial area. Today the unit houses the third largest contingent of cadets and has many boats of all shapes and sizes – the CO has a problem saying “no thank you” whenever somebody wants to get rid of their dinghy or skiff etc. The current development is entirely due to the energies of the CO who begs, borrows and scrounges where ever he can. In the early 2000's there was a perception amongst many of the “new” SAN personnel that the Corps was an elitist white organisation, but this changed the day when then Rear Admiral Mudimu, as CNS, inspected the Unit during the Knysna Festival and was faced with 120 cadets on parade with only 1 white cadet! He was so taken that he spoke with every cadet on parade! Of all the Training Ships, TS Knysna is probably the best known within Municipalities, due to the untiring efforts of Lt Cdr Steve Eriksen. This unit was used as the Base for the Centenary celebrations in 2005 when the Town Council accorded the South African Sea Cadets the Freedom of the Town in recognition of the work done amongst the youth. Vice Admiral J Mudimu, CNavy, reviewed a parade of over 160 cadets from all the Units in South Africa during this celebration.

 

TS Kromme – St Francis Bay

Early in 2002. We received a call from the Old Bill of the St Francis MOTH Shellhole, Moth Oliver Holmes. He came to see us as the Corps Administrator in Port Elizabeth and said his Shellhole wished to start a Sea Scout Troop for the sons of the Coloured fishermen of St Francis Bay. When he left the meeting we were convinced the he had to open a Sea Cadet Unit as it would cater for the boys and girls and offered maritime flavours! He is no seaman but a hotshot fighter pilot! But he has the will and initiative to make the unit function. Regrettably he is man alone and needs assistance. The Unit had a Saldanha dinghy which was “borrowed” on the pretext that it would be used to show the Sea Scouts in Mossel Bay why they needed to join the Sea Cadets. The dinghy now resides at Woltemade and Kromme has no training boats. Oliver Holmes, Major General SAAF (Ret) former IG Airforce, recently persuaded the Freemasons of Humansdorp to make a donation for the purchase of uniform for his cadets – the parents of this unit's cadets are probably the poorest in the Corps notwithstanding the fact that the holiday houses of the Joburgites are nearly all valued at more than R2M! The NSRI donated a 4 meter rubber duck complete with motor and trailer to this unit in September 2012.

 

TS Outeniqua - Mossel Bay

Opened in 1985. This unit utilised the Mossel Bay High School buildings and NSRI buildings. It was very progressive Unit and produced as the Cadet of the Year in 1989, Captain Theo Stokes SAN! But it finally collapsed through the lack of adult personnel. An effort was made to resurrect it in 2005 and the OIC Designate even acquired a derelict Reservoir to utilise as the foundation for the Base – he then moved to Pretoria to assist his son sell antiques made in China. The resurrection of the unit collapsed. However due to the concerted efforts of Lt Cdr (SCC) W Maritz and Mr P Vieira of SAMSA the Unit was once again resuscitated in 2013 and flourishes.

 

TS Rook – Krugersdorp

Opened in 2015. The brain child of a Krugersdorp City Councillor, Mr M van Tonder. He transferred to Potchefstroom and Sub Lt Lisa Spencer, a former Sea Cadet of the Year, took over command. Still a very young training ship.

 

TS Owl – Potchestroom

Open in 2016. Started when Mr van Tonder went to live in Potchefstroom. He is now a Sub Lt and Officer Commanding the Training Ship. There is a very nice dam in the town for sailing. Still a very young Training Ships.

 

TS Attakwa – Oudtshoorn

Opened in 2017. Started when a Cadet officer from TS Outeniqua moved to Oudtshoorn and “borrowed” a division of cadets from Outeniqua and Knysna to march through the town – certainly drew a lot of attention. Still a very young Training Ships.

 

TS Arethusa – Haartebeestpoort Dam (No ships crest)

TS Arethusa is a Training facility which was developed by the Pretoria Unit, TS Devonport, for the specific use of getting their cadets onto the water. When TS Devonport closed down the custodianship of TS Arethusa was transferred to TS Fearless. It forms part of the Gauteng training facilities for all the Training Ships in that area.

The brief history of our training ships out of commission:

TS iNyathi – East London

Started in 1922. It was for many years housed in SAS Port Rex until Port Rex was closed down at which stage it relocated to the Buffalo Volunteer Rifles [BVR]. It has struggled to stay alive and has in fact lost all its cadets, in the old days they used to be fetched and carried in military transport until the military put a stop to it and the cadets simply said “if you want us, come and fetch us". In 2010 TS Lanherne participated in World Maritime Day in East London and left behind with the CO, many Prospectuses [500] which he said he could use in recruiting. Part of the problem with the Unit is that the CO is very much man alone with no support from the Sea Cadet Association, which has also all but ceased. There is lots of potential in East London and perhaps SAN Reservists could be convinced to assist? The Training Ships finally closed is doors in 2004.

 

TS Immortelle – Johannesburg

Started in 1916 and finally closed in 2011. After WW2 the Navy League Branch in Johannesburg, leased a piece of ground on Wemmer Pan and built a magnificent base building for the cadet Unit. This building was later sold to the Public Works Department and housed SAS Rand until it was closed down. In 2000 Cdr Ian Loubser reported a serious break-in which resulted in the bell of the old SAS Transvaal being stolen amongst other things, the culprit was a cadet who was high on drugs! However with the change in the population of the suburb immediately surrounding Immortelle, vandalism reared it head. The SAS Rand building and TS Immortelle, which was adjacent to Rand, became targets for the vandals until today nothing remains of the once proud buildings. Luckily much of the assets of Immortelle were moved before the vandals finally ravaged the place.

 

TS Devonport – Pretoria

1925 – 1996. Closed when the internal politics destroyed the ability of the staff members to work together.

 

TS Assegai – Pietermaritzburg

1947 – 1997. The boating headquarters was done at the Albert Falls Dam. When their home base reverted to the owner of the property, the Unit moved to the military reserve base in Pietermaritzburg until it closed down in 1997. Closed down due to the last Unit CO resigned as he boarded a plane to the USA!

 

Graaff Reinet (No ships crest)

1972 – 1975. Not much known about this Unit although it did exist.

 

TS Zwartkops – Port Elizabeth

1973 – 1992. Started as a division of the Port Elizabeth Unit and broke away in 1973 to form its own Unit. But by 1992 it had run out of adults and was absorbed back into TS Lanherne.

 

TS Kingfisher – Durban

1982 – 2002. This unit paraded at SAS Salisbury Island until the SAN brought about changes on the Island. It catered mainly for Indian cadets. It closed down when none of the Indians cadets were able, for religious reasons, to attend the Sunday parade of TS Tiburon at the Bayhead Base.

 

TS Endeavour – Midrand (No known ships crest)

1983 – 1997. This Unit paraded at the Leeukop Prison and was quite successful, but eventually closed down when the Prison pull the plug on cadets using its premises.

 

TS William Weller – Port Elizabeth

1984 – 1992. A steam pilot boat built in Italy in 1952, it was acquired by Quarry Sales in Port Elizabeth for R1000 from Portnet and donated to the then Port Elizabeth Sea Cadets to be used for sea training. In 1992 a marine survey revealed a number of major problems which would cost in the region of R2M to repair. She was decommissioned and finally broken up on the slip in Port Elizabeth Harbour.

 

TS Pelikaan – Walvis Bay (No known ships crest)

1986 – 1990. Closed when South West Africa became independent as Namibia.

 

 

TS Middelburg – Saldanha (No known ships crest)

1991 – 1992. Closed because of insurmountable racial tensions.

 

TS Excalibur – Springs

1992 – 1999. Paraded at the Springs High School and was quite successful. Closed when the CO, Lt D Norval, resigned for business reason - he was a one-man-band.

 

TS Prince Alfred - Port Alfred (No known ships crest)

1993 – 1998. Started after Keith Adams and I addressed the citizens of Port Alfred and Professor Milln became its first CO. It made good progress and there is a good potential in the town to resurrect it. It was closed when the then CO, a coloured man who ultimately was too concerned with the amount of liquor he could obtain as presents, and after an altercation with the Area Representative, took the cadets and officers out on strike! The Unit was subsequently closed.

 

TS Bonaventure – Unitie (No known ships crest)

1994 – 1997. The brain child of an ex-Gauteng cadet officer who had relocated to Cape Town but would not join Woltemade. The parades took place every Friday evening at SAS Unitie. It closed when the OC resigned for family reasons.

 

TS iNkwazi – Richards Bay (No known ships crest)

1994 – 2003. Paraded at the Juhn Ross College in Richards Bay but was not linked to the College. In 1995 there were 29 recruits. Collapsed when it ran out of adult staff.

 

TS Mashihlanganeni – Brakpan (No known ships crest)

1997 – 1999. Was started by the same officer who ran TS Excalibur, Lt Norval, – you can't be in two places at once and consequently it ran out of cadets – they were not being trained.

 

TS Eagle – George

1997 – 2005. Initially successful but when the CO went to work on the oil rig off Mossel Bay the unit imploded. There is however great potential as shown by youngster who used to come from both sides of George to attend parades.

 

TS iNgwenya – Amanzimtoti (No known ships crest)

1998 – 1998. Never a registered Unit of the Corps, it was started by a dissident officer from TS Kingfisher who then simply disappeared!

 

TS Drongo – Sedgefield

2006 – 2010. Started by a retired SAN WO Barry Carol. He went to a lot of trouble to get the Unit going. He had unlimited use of the Coloured Community Centre and had negotiated the possibility of utilising the old Outward Bound facilities on Swart Lake – an excellent sailing area. Regrettably his ill health has over taken him and there were no other adults available, but lots of potential.

 

TS Pelican – Cape Town (No known ships crest)

2008 – 2009. Operated at the Milnerton Yacht Club with free facilities. This unit only receive slight encouragement from the Area Officer and nothing at all from Woltemade. CO was desperately looking for guidance and assistance. He and his family eventually abandoned the Unit and went off sailing around the world without any “farewell” leaving the cadets without any adults.

 

W M Bartie

Executive Director: Captain (SCC)

April 2019