STUDENT sailors have embarked on a six-week voyage on a Royal Navy warship to Hamburg.

Five officer cadets from Northumbria University, Durham University and Newcastle University joined the crew of HMS Example on deployment over Easter.

The 20-metre patrol boat left the Tyne for Whitby today, before heading down the coast to Ramsgate and across the Channel to Dunkirk.

There she will join up with HMS Explorer for the second leg of the journey via Bruges, Amsterdam and Rotterdam to Hamburg.

During the voyage, the cadets will develop their seamanship skills such as chart work, helmsmanship and other tasks required on board.

The first day involved getting to grips with navy life, with many of the cadets never having been aboard a ship before.

Cadet Sam Powell said: “At the start of the day I felt as though I was a rabbit in headlights, but as the day went on I felt more confident as the crew showed me the ropes, literally."