Sail Training Shetland thank 2023 programme supporters
The Sail Training Shetland committee has sent out thanks to the many funding bodies and sponsors which helped support their record breaking 2023 programme.
To celebrate Sail Training International’s Tall Ships Races returning to Shetland for a third time in 2023, Sail Training Shetland (STS) set an ambitious target of supporting at least 75 trainees during the races, providing placements free of charge to trainees and supporting young people from other parts of Scotland as well as Shetland. However, with the average trainee placement costing around £1,750, the small volunteer run committee faced a daunting task to raise the funds required to deliver the increased programme.
Planning more than 2 years ahead, the committee set a target of securing 25 trainees from other Scottish ports, who would be fully funded by their area, and raising funds to place 50 Shetland trainees aboard tall ships for the races. They then started to build links with other Scottish ports, helped by The Swan Trust which visited many of these areas to offer sail training taster days aboard Swan, as well as seeking local sponsors and grant funding to place the Shetland trainees.
This strategy was so successful the committee ended up securing funds for 50 trainees from other Scottish ports and 50 Shetland trainees. Committee Treasurer, Victor Sandison, explains more: “For a small committee, the thought of raising more than £130,000 to fully fund 75 placements was very daunting. However, with our local business and other Scottish port connections we started to generate a lot of interest in our Sail Training Scheme, helped by the delivery of sail training taster days in several ports by Swan. We are also grateful to Shetland Tall Ships Ltd., for introductions to new sponsors, and a volunteer who helped us identify and secure grant funding towards the costs of the Shetland placements. We could hardly believe it when we not only reached our target for raising funds to place 75 young people but smashed it and ended up with enough to fund 100. We really could not have done it without everyone’s help and generosity and are grateful to everyone who helped us reach this amazing achievement.”
In addition to the Tall Ships trainee placements, STS also received support to provide sail training taster days in Shetland and cover a range of annual programme costs.
The incredible feedback which has been received from trainees and their families following the placements has shown just how much the young people gain from this experience, and how much they appreciate the opportunity. As part of their thanks, STS is sharing some of this feedback with its various sponsors along with a group image of trainees supported in this special year.
The Committee would like to acknowledge its supporters again.
Those whose support helped deliver the Shetland scheme and trainee placements:
North Yell Development Council
Sail Yell
Shetland Aquaculture
Shetland Community Benefit Fund Ltd
Shetland Islands Council – Coastal Communities Fund
EnQuest (On behalf of Sullom Voe Terminal Owners)
The Shetland Gas Plant Community Fundraising
Shetland Seafarers Association
Those who supported the placement of trainees from other Scottish ports:
Orkney Islands Council / Stromness Community Development Trust
Scrabster Harbour Trust / DYW North Highland / Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm
If you would like to sponsor our annual programme, check out our sponsors page
Anyone can help support Sail Training Shetland by making a donation online via our Local Giving page
