Tall Ships “trip of a lifetime” for 16 young Orkney folk

Sixteen young folk from Orkney will take part in a Tall Ships sailing experience this summer in what promises to be the trip of a lifetime!

They will spend ten days at sea working as part of a crew and have already been given a taste of what lies ahead on board The Swan sail training vessel.

Sail Trainee Co-ordinator and Project Manager for the Stromness Community Development Trust, Michael Morrison, said: “This year, following two training taster days in conjunction with The Swan Trust, funded by the Local Authority and project managed by the Stromness Community Development Trust, 16 young folk will be representing Orkney as sail training ambassadors for the county.

“They will be sailing from Shetland to Norway over a ten-day period and completely integrating as part of the Tall Ships crew. The experience will be on board Class A and Class B Tall Ships, and the selected trainees will also be able to become involved in the Tall Ship race events in Shetland and Norwegian ports when over 40 ships will be in port simultaneously.

“The successful applicants will join their ships on 16 July or 28 July to take part in the race and cruise in company elements of the Tall Ship Races 2023.

“Behind the backdrop of this pageant, lies the essence of the Tall Ships relationship with Sail Training International, which is for the development and education of young people of all nations, cultures, and social backgrounds through the experience of sail training.

“When Sail Training International hold tall ships races, this presents a unique opportunity for young adults to engage in an experience which can be life changing. It has been an absolute pleasure to facilitate these incredible people who have come forward to undertake this opportunity and adventure with the Tall Ships.

“It takes courage, self-belief and determination to see this through, and I only hope that we can build on this to provide a longer-term opportunity for young adults to undertake personal development using our maritime heritage as a platform for this.”

The Council’s Chair of Education, Leisure and Housing, Councillor Gwenda Shearer, added: “What a great adventure for some of our young people and who knows where this experience may lead in terms of a maritime career.

“One thing is for sure and that is the abundance of life skills that will be gained from this ten-day trip – whether that be working in a team, to gaining confidence, learning new skills to sharing facilities in a small space with many others!

“The Council is proud to be financially supporting the sail trainees on an adventure at sea and beyond.”

As part of the cruise in company element of the Tall Ship races, some ships are expected in Stromness from the 20-24 July, but this will not be fully confirmed until closer to the event dates due to race timings and of course weather.

For more info on Sail Training click the links below.

Sail Training Shetland - https://www.sailtrainingshetland.com/

Sail Training International - https://sailtraininginternational.org/

Further information on the Tall Ships can be found on the following website: www.sailtraininginternational.org