School Trips on Swan

Fifty seven pupils and eight teachers from Aith, Skeld, Happyhansel and Sandness schools joined the Swan crew for a day sail or time alongside the harbour to learn more about the boat’s history and the basics of sailing, with all those who went to sea having a chance to get ‘hands -on’ with the sailing.

The pupils enjoyed the trips very much. Logan from Aith Junior High School said:

“My experience on the Swan was very pleasant. The crew gave us a warm welcome. They began by showing us around the vessel and telling us the history of the Swan. We set off out the voe, I was steering as the others lowered the mizzen sail. We were wind powered now.

“We all got shots of heling with the ropes and the sails. It was amazing to see how all the ropes and sails worked. We anchored off at Papa Little where we tucked into out packed lunches and had a lovely warm cup of tea, accompanied by biscuits of course.

“The Swan is a lovely vessel and the history of the boat makes it better.“

Fellow pupil, Connall, also from Aith added:

“My experience on the Swan was very enjoyable because I enjoyed getting to meet new people, doing various tasks onboard and just the whole experience overall.

“I gained a lot of confidence in teambuilding, especially when we were working with the sails. It was also a really good chance to do something that I would never get to do.”

The Swan Trust SCIO is able to offer school trips each year on a subsidised basis thanks to funding from the Shetland Charitable Trust. With additional funding from Cooke Scotland, these trips were able to be fully funded with no costs passed to the schools for providing this activity. The Zetland Educational Trust have also provided funding for school trips this year and more sailing days will be provided in September.

Community Links Officer with the Swan Trust SCIO, Emma Miller, said “It’s such an important thing as an island community that our schools have the chance to teach pupils about our maritime heritage as well as give them a healthy respect for the sea. These trips are the first introduction many young people in Shetland have to being on a boat, other than the ferry to Aberdeen, so we are very grateful to the funders who help make this happen.”

David Brown is the Shetland Regional Manager at Cooke Scotland, a leading Scottish salmon producer and major employer on the island. He said: “We are thrilled to help provide this brilliant experience on the Swan to students where they can build skills and confidence on the water.

"At Cooke, we are proud of the partnership we have had with the Swan Trust SCIO for several years - enabling us to support young people in the areas where we operate in the north isles and west side of Shetland through our Cooke Community Benefit Fund.” Cooke’s core purpose is ‘To cultivate the ocean with care, nourish the world, provide for our families, and build stronger communities’.