Tommo,
My best wishes for your future, strikes me you're the sort of person worth their weight in gold, rather than the " who is your father, which hunt does he ride with ? " set !
The above comment about going the Fleet Air Arm way may have a lot going for it, though my impression from the outside is that one may have to put up with even more B.S. than the R.A.F; though ship-board deployments seem quite short duration at the moment ( with Afghanistan as the alternative, but by the time you are qualified anything could be happening ).
I'm not R.A.F, but reading the above posts could certainly help on the sailing side, especially if you're vagueley near the English south coast.
I used to have a chum who was known for larking about at BAe, and had a sometimes rather flippant attitude, though keen on the Territorial Army where I suspect he did rather well.
I have a team photo' of him striking his 'Roman Pose' next to me on early Harrier GR5 trials...
He's a Wing Commander now !
Good luck, and the offer stands re. sailing club.