The TS Royalist has sailed into Portsmouth for the final time. The 43 year old sail training ship owned by the UK Marine Society & Sea Cadets is being decommissioned. Since her delivery in 1971, TS Royalist has taken 30,000 cadets to sea. Hundreds of sea cadets gathered at Petrol Pier in Gosport to say farewell to the old ship.

A new training ship, a 32-metre (105ft) brig also named Royalist, is under construction at the Spanish shipyard Astilleros Gondan S.A. and is expected to be delivered in March. The new ship is reported to offer greater use of space, with better all-round sailing ability and performance. Faster and easier to handle, the new Royalist is also expected to be more economical to run. Following the example of her namesake, the new Royalist is expected to be taking cadets to sea for the next 40 years. So, farewell to the Royalist and may the new Royalist have smooth sailing for decades to come.