Providing annual sail training opportunities to young people aged between 15 and 25 years from all over Shetland.

All aboard for sail trainees!

July 29th 2016

Tall ships trainees from left to right are: Paul Sansom, Shaun Scott, Lorrie Robertson and Shona Johnson.
Tall ships trainees from left to right are: Paul Sansom, Shaun Scott, Lorrie Robertson and Shona Johnson.
Four young adults recruited through Sail Training Shetland are heading off on a Spanish sailing adventure of a lifetime onboard Norwegian three-masted bark Statsraad Lehmkuhl.

Departing on Friday 29 July, the sail trainees will participate in Race 3 of The Tall Ships Races 2016 from Cadiz, enjoying a brief stopover in the Portuguese host port of Ilhavo, before completing a cruise-in company leg to finish at A Coruna in Spain on 13 August. 

The four lucky trainees taking part are; Lorrie Robertson (21) from Burra; Shona Johnson (24) from Unst; Paul Sansom (18) from Walls; and Shaun Scott (18) from Whiteness.

This follows ten other trainees who recently returned from taking part in Nordic Sail, an event gathering a fleet of traditionally rigged vessels in Skagerrak / Kattegat region, this year visiting Hobro, Denmark; Öckerö, Sweden and Kragerø in Norway onboard Swan between 27 June and 14 July.

The trainees experience life as crew members, undertaking tasks such as watch-keeping, setting sails and other domestic duties which they will share with other trainees as part of the onboard team.

Sail training is an adventure activity which includes instruction in all aspects of sailing, but its purpose goes far beyond this. It uses the experience of being at sea principally as a means to help young people learn about themselves and to discover hidden strengths and talents.  Sail trainees reap the benefits of their experiences through increased self-confidence, independence, team working, communication skills and testing their personal and physical boundaries, with some going on to pursue careers at sea. 

Looking forward to her Tall Ships adventure, Lorrie Robertson commented “I love being at sea and travelling so the challenge of sailing onboard Statsraad Lehmkuhl with a large crew is so exciting. Some of the highlights will be making new friends, taking part in crew activities in the host ports and sailing out of Cadiz in the Parade of Sail which will be unforgettable.” 

Peter Campbell, Chairman of Sail Training Shetland said, “We’re thrilled to see the continued interest and demand from young people applying to take part in the sail training experiences that we offer. We’ve again recruited an excellent group of trainees from throughout Shetland and are sure that they’ll all take something positive away from their experiences and be great ambassadors for Shetland.  

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our grant funders, sponsors and supporters; Shetland Tall Ships 2011 Limited, Lerwick Port Authority, The Swan Trust, J. R. Hutton Consulting Ltd, Streamline Shipping Group, Tulloch Developments Ltd, NB Communication, Tay-CAD Ltd and Serco NorthLink Ferries Ltd for their generous support.”  

Sponsors
Lerwick Port AuthorityArven Offshore Wind Farm
Associate Sponsors
The Swan Trust
Grant Funders
Bell's Nautical TrustShetland Community Benefit FundSIC Coastal Communities Fund