Swan Trust Sail Trainee of the Year 2023

The presentation of the Vevoe Trophy took place on Friday 10 November at the Scalloway Boating Club to Colleen Grains, South Whiteness. She was presented with the trophy by Aubrey Jamieson, Superintendent of the Fishermen's Mission in Shetland, at the function which was well attended by Swan trainees, volunteers and trustees.

This trophy is presented annually to the Swan trainee of the year. A spokesperson for The Swan Trust said "It is a delight to have so many enthusiastic and capable trainees coming forward each year to learn the skills of sailing a large vessel on long passages, and this year was particularly special with Lerwick featuring as a host port for the Tall Ships races and cruise-in-company".

Colleen took part in the Tall Ships leg from Fredrikstad to Lerwick, which included a leg from Cullivoe to Lerwick when Colleen took up the option of joining the crew of Urania from Holland. Throughout the passage Colleen was a valuable part of the team on both boats, as well as interacting well with the other boats' trainees and crews.

Colleen is the 11th winner of the Vevoe trophy, since it was presented by the Simpson family in memory of Willie who passed away in 2011. Willie was a member of the family who owned the Swan in Whalsay and who not only was a crewman on board in her fishing days, but also periodically skippered her in her new role as a sailing vessel after restoration. Willie was also a very valued member of the Swan Trust throughout.

The Vevoe Trophy is on permanent display in the foyer of the UHI Shetland campus in Scalloway, and is a replica of the original wheel from the Swan, made by the late Laurence Robertson in Unst, with help from Peter Mouat, as well as from Ian Smith and Maurice Manson in Lerwick. It is too large to be handed out annually, so the Swan Trust commissioned Terry Atkinson to create an original plaque of the Swan under sail, in cold-cast bronze, which becomes a permanent possession of the winner each year. A unique feature of this plaque is a circle of original timber from the Swan pre-rebuild, so is at least 123 years old. Both the Vevoe trophy and bronze plaque can be seen in the photo of the presentation.

Congratulations to Colleen and many thanks to all our sail training volunteers and supporters who helped make this possible. We are excited to see what she goes on to do next!