The biggest single event organised by Sail Training International is the Tall Ships Race, the summer series takes place in European waters and is specifically geared towards young people.
Planning begins four years in advance and the route includes official Race Ports, as well as Cruise In Company ports.
Tall Ships visit Stromness in 2011
Sail Trainee Programme
Sail Training takes place all over the world, in a variety of different types of vessels. Trainees learn all aspects of sailing but the purpose of the sail training programmes goes far beyond this.
Trainees will confront challenges, learn about themselves, discover hidden talents and strengths. They will work as a team and undertake personal responsibilities.
To find out more about Sail Training International click the logo below.
2023 Orkney Sail Trainee’s
Funded by Orkney Islands Council and project managed by the Stromness Community Development Trust, the Sail Trainee Programme has proved popular in Orkney.
In early Spring a recruitment drive via Orkney’s schools, colleges and youth centres, resulted in 16 young Orcadians being selected to take part in a very successful ‘taster day’s’ sail training experience on board The Swan from Shetland.
In conjunction with Swan Trust and the Stromness Community Development Trust, the sixteen young adults aged between 15 and 22 were all accepted to take part and represent Orkney in the Tall Ship races in July.
The Swan, photo credit The Swan Trust
When & Where
These young Orcadians will join the races and cruise in company sectors in two sectors, the first from Frederikstad in Norway to Lerwick from the 16-28 July, with 6 of our sail trainees and the second sector from Lerwick to Arendal in Norway from the 28 July – 10 August with the remaining 10 sail trainees.
The Ships
Three of the worlds largest Tall Ships will host 100 trainees in total from the North of Scotland.
- Roald Amundsen – German Tall Ship which has 17 permanent crew and takes 31 sail trainees.
- Eendracht – Dutch Tall Ship which has 18 permanent crew and takes 36 sail trainees.
- Sorlandet – Norwegian ship with 20 permanent crew and takes 72 trainees.
For those who took part in the Tall Ships event when they were last in Orkney in 2011, that experience is still talked about with considerable excitement and positive reflection with expressions such as ‘life changing’ and ‘a life time of memories’ still relevant more than a decade later.
It takes courage, determination, self belief and an innate sense of adventure to be a sail trainee and this group of young adults certainly have demonstrated all of that throughout the recruitment and training process.
To keep up to date with the sail trainees adventure make sure you have ‘liked’ the Stromness Orkney Facebook page.
Tall Ships race 1956 – photo credit Sail Training International
Moyan Crew 1956 – photo credit Sail Training International
Tall Ships History
In 1956 the first Tall Ships sail training race took place, starting in Torbay and finishing in Lisbon, Portugal. Organised by the Sail Training International Race Committee (STRC) as a celebration of Class A Tall Ships, the event proved so popular that it became a biennial fixture.
In 2002 STRC was modernised and reformed into Sail Training International, gaining charitable status in 2003.
Sail Training International continues to grow and further it’s mission of promoting and delivering experiential learning through sail training.
To find out more about Sail Training International click the link below.
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