Sea cadets travel to Newfoundland

News Release
RCSCC 144 Fort Frances

“How ya gettin’ on?” That is just one of the many Newfie sayings the cadets from Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Fort Frances learned during an amazing Inter-provincial Cadet Exchange to Newfoundland last week (Nov 3-7). The officers and cadets of RCSCC Baccalieu from the small fishing village of Old Perlican on the Avalon Peninsula hosted the Fort Frances Cadets.
The Fort Frances cadets had three full days with the Baccalieu cadets, visiting historical and tourist sites. As well, they had plenty of opportunity to experience firsthand the “saltwater joys” and unique culture of the warm and friendly Newfoundland people.
Our informative and entertaining tour guide, Lt Cdr Cliff Morgan, had joked, “a typical Newfoundlander has the instincts of goat”. We realized there was some truth in his teasing after we spent the morning of Friday Nov 4 hiking, to and around the trails, at Cape Spear (the most eastern point of land in North America) and the historically significant Signal Hill. “The view is breathtaking,” said PO1 Shane Ikert. “I feel so small,” said QPO1 Kyle Jewett, as they stood mesmerized watching the massive waves of the North Atlantic roll and crash onto the rocky shore below.
After lunch at CFS St. John’s the cadets visited the Johnson Geo Centre where they learned about the geological make up of the region. AC Kyle Caul, who has a keen interest in geology, said he felt “like a kid in a candy store” at the centre.
Prior to heading to the town of Carbonear, (where we slept for 2 nights), the Cadets had a chance to visit the shops and sites along Water Street in St. John’s including the spot in the St. John’s harbour where Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope.
Nov 5 was spent visiting the neighbouring communities in and around Old Perlican. In Grates Cove, a site where explorer John Cabot is alleged to have landed, we hiked up & down and all around before visiting a life size replica of a ‘stage’ (a building that fishermen used to process the fish that they would catch). For lunch on this day we enjoyed a typical meal of Fish ‘n’ Brewis served by the local heritage association.
In the town of Bay de Verde, we visited the Bay de Verde Heritage Home where we learned more about the early fisherman’s way of life. Afterwards we headed to the Bay de Verde Fire Hall for more Newfoundland cuisine. Among other things, the Cadets sampled a variety of local seafood (shrimp; cod; snow crab and squid) as well as delicious homemade desserts. The cadets spent the evening at a teen dance at the Baccalieu Collegiate, (the area high school).
Nov 5th is also referred to as Guy Fawkes Night. Guy Fawkes is an Englishman who, in 1605, planned to blow up the British Parliament and kill King James 1. Still today, Newfoundlanders commemorate Nov 5th with the building and burning of huge bon fires to remember how Fawkes’ “Gunpowder Plot” was thwarted. Nearing midnight, on our way back to Carbonear after the dance, we stopped for a short visit at one of the many fires we seen that night.
We may have arrived as curious tourists but by day 3, Nov 6th, we were made “Honorary Newfies” after attending a ‘kitchen party’ in the town of Red Head Cove. This ‘kitchen party’ was hosted by some Red Head Cove residents, who entertained us with traditional songs and rousing music.
Between all the foot stomping, hand clapping and dancing to jigs and reels, we were “Screeched In”. This comical ceremony required that each of us demonstrate our linguistic proficiency with “Newfinese” (by reciting a Newfie saying), then kiss a cod (literally!) and down a shooter of “Newfie elixir”. (In our case the ‘elixir’ was a sweet juice instead of the traditional Newfoundland Screech). Commenting on the dance moves demonstrated by our Fort Frances Cadets, (most notably PO2 Hannah Firth and AC Zachary Sopotiuck) our Newfie hosts later commented that they’d seen moves they “didn’t knows was possible with a jig!”
After the kitchen party, we moved on to Old Perlican where the Lyons Club had prepared us a “Jiggs Dinner”. “Sunday supper” as jiggs dinner is also referred, is another traditional Newfoundland meal. Basically it is a boiled dinner of salt beef, potatoes, turnips, carrots and cabbage; accompanied by roast beef, pease pudding and all the fixin’s.
After a few hours of sports activities in the Baccalieu Collegiate gymnasium, the Fort Frances cadets were paired off with Baccalieu cadets for the purpose of visiting our hosts in their homes, and once again enjoying some down home Newfie hospitality.
The visiting part of our Inter-provincial Cadet Exchange was officially wrapped up on this night with a formal ceremony, where the two sea cadet corps paraded together, marching to the beat of the Baccalieu band. Gifts and goodbyes were exchanged, then the Fort Frances corps headed out for St. John’s and an early morning flight back home to Winnipeg.
All who attended considered the exchange a huge success. We learned. We had fun. We made many friends and memories that we know will last forever. “Long may your big jib draw!”