Swan Trust delighted to appoint Maggie Adamson as Skipper for busy 2022 season

Tommy Allan, Chair of the Swan Trust’s Operations Committee, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have Maggie as our skipper this year. She first sailed on the Swan when she was at primary school, and has sailed as part of our crew since 2016, initially as a volunteer, then employed as Bosun and, as she earned qualifications, Mate. With the help of the Trust, she qualified as a skipper in 2019, when she undertook her first commercial trip as Swan skipper, on a 10 day sail around Orkney and Shetland. Last year, when our sailing schedule was very restricted, Maggie shared the skipper role with Scott Sandison, who the Trust also helped to gain his skippers tickets. We are now planning for a busy 2022 season, both within and out with Shetland, and know Maggie will be an experienced, welcoming, and safe, pair of hands for our passengers, crew and vessel.”

As well as extensive experience on the Swan, Maggie has sailed on vessels all over the world, and competed in many sailing competitions from dinghies to offshore yachts. Last year, racing double handed on ‘Tigris’ a SunFast 3600 Maggie competed in the Fastnet, Myth of Malham and St Malo races, the Mixed Doublehanded Offshore World and European Championships in Italy finishing 9th overall and co-skippered a Figaro 3 in the ‘NastroRosa Veloce’ - a non-stop race around Italy taking 12 days. Maggie is also just about to undertake a transatlantic crossing on the Volvo Ocean Race 65 yacht - ‘Sailing Poland’ before the Swan season starts.

Maggie Adamson, Skipper of the Swan, said: “I have sailed on lots of different boats, and enjoy competing but I always look forward to coming home to Shetland and sailing on the Swan. Working and living on the Swan is a great way of life. It’s an adventure, the sailing is traditional and stripped back to the way it would have been, and you have time onboard to appreciate the wildlife and places around you. I also really enjoy meeting the range of people who come aboard and the variety of trips on offer – from half days with schools, to a 9 night trip to St Kilda and then a month taking part in the Tall Ships Races. I am grateful to the Trust for the opportunities it has given me, the Swan is very special to me and I am honoured to be appointed as skipper.”

The Swan has a busy season ahead, with youth charters in Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles, England, Norway and for the Tall Ships Races, which this year will see them visit Denmark and the Netherlands. In addition to this, the Swan, and Shetland trainees, will be taking part in a Centenary Smack Race in Lowestoft, to celebrate the Excelsior 100^th birthday.

The Trust are also offering a range of trips available to the public. The Swan is going back to St Kilda, the British sailor’s holy grail and always a popular destination, before undertaking a 7 night exploration of the Hebrides. There is also a day trip on offer in Orkney, exploring the coasts and isles from Kirkwall.

Public trips on offer in Shetland include day trips to Noss and Mousa, as well as a day trip exploring the Nooks and Crannies of the Mainland’s east side. Due to the popularity of family trips offered last year, the Trust is also offering a Lerwick half day sail with a discounted family rate. There are three Shetland weekend sail in offer: a fishing & seafood weekend in August, a ladies only weekend at the start of September, and a weekend sailing from Lerwick to Scalloway to round off the sailing season at the end of September. In addition to this, they have partnered with local musician Barry Nisbet to offer his Sessions and Sail experience in the isles for the first time.

Along with all this, there will be crew training days, local school trips and the possibility of new partnerships with youth and community groups.

David Goodlad, Chair of the Swan Trust, said: “We are very much looking forward to a full sailing season, and getting back to what we do best. We have scheduled trips which help us achieve our core aims as well as being attractive to passengers, to help us earn income to maintain the vessel. With youth sail training being at the heart of the Trust, we are also delighted to have a number of youth charters. Over our 30 years, we have had many individuals who came aboard on a school trip and/or as a sail trainee, who went onto marine careers and some, like Maggie, who have gone onto earn their skippers tickets. This is something we are incredibly proud of and could not be prouder that Maggie is now standing at the helm.”

Read Maggie's What Swan Means to Me story.

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Anyone can sail on Swan, for details of trips available to book check out our upcoming trips