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“Off the Water” gives a voice to Scottish recreational water users, bringing all aspects of boating together from the National Governing Body, RYA Scotland. In our podcast we will cover a wide range of topics that will be aimed at keeping everyone up to date and connected, while discussing the key hot topics for sailing and boating around Scotland.
Episodes
Sunday May 30, 2021
Sunday May 30, 2021
It is widely acknowledged that many people get involved in sailing through family participation, and this episode explores this with a quiet, unassuming family from the Isle of Arran as the Off The Water podcast catches with the Hunter family.
They are an inspiration on so many levels as they all have made a profession out of sailing, through their passion for all the activities on offer, from racing to cruising and the limitless sense of adventure it allows.
Ian and Sally have shared many nautical miles in ocean crossings and deliveries, although Sally’s involvement in the first all-female entry, Maiden, in the 1989/90 Whitbread Round The World Race was both iconic and trailblazing.
Together they had two boys who they immediately shared their love of sailing by taking them on extensive cruises around the West Coast of Scotland from the carry cot right up until their own sailing took them further afield.
Rory and Neil have carried on the family tradition on the world stage with some significant successes, both sailing together in the 29er and then in separate trajectories. Rory having won the 2019 Waspz games in Australia and Neil being called up to the UK America’s Cup teams in 2017 and 2021, to name a couple of highlights.
So we thought it would be great to get them all together and find out more about their journey as a family and the magic that has made them so successful in the sport and inspirational for any cruising family heading afloat this summer.
Here’s some more links about their past and present sailing voyages.
Hunter Yacht Deliveries:
https://hunteryachtdeliveries.com/
Sally Hunter – Anything is Possible Bio:
https://anythingispossible.world/projects/the-maiden-factor/sally-hunter/
Neil Hunter Bios:
https://www.ineosteamuk.com/en/articles/71_Meet-the-crew-Neil-Hunter.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J9rYaMJ8uo
Rory’s next adventure:
Monday Mar 22, 2021
Monday Mar 22, 2021
In this episode of the Off The Water podcast we dive into equality, diversity and inclusion.
This is a clearly a huge area and can be perceived in many ways by different groups and individuals. To provide some insights we asked two new members of the RYA Scotland team to hold a discussion on the topic to bring out some key themes for them around the perception of our sport and to share their experiences and realities of the topic.
Georgia Moran has just joined as the Regional Development Officer for the East after a number of years working with Scottish Student Sport, while Robyn Phillips takes on the new role of Training Development Officer after working with Aberdeenshire Sailing Trust. They both share a passion for equality and inclusion within sport, bringing experiences on gender equality, LGBT, accessibility and aspects of financial inequality in projects they have been involved in.
Hosts Nikki Stewart and Liza Linton help set some context during a time of International Women’s Day and the launch of the RYA Strategy of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion which aims to create more opportunities for all to get on the water.
To provide wider context sportscotland conducted research in March 2020 around Equality and sport and is available below:
https://sportscotland.org.uk/about-us/our-publications/archive/equality-and-sport-research-2020/
The RYA Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2030:
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
Sunday Feb 21, 2021
The 12th episode of Off The Water explores the environment which we enjoy our activities within. As both a global and local issue it can be perceived as overwhelming and certainly has many aspects to understand where we can help reduce our impact on it and maintain it for future generations.
Certainly it takes a positive collective attitude and many small steps to reach the net zero goal set out by world leaders, but what can we do in the boating community?
Hosts Robin Nicol and Marc Turner open up the discussion with three inspirational people who serve up several examples of good practice and highlight resources and support that can help on this journey.
Angie Fraser joins us from Aberdeenshire Sailing Trust, an RYA affiliate that has implemented a number of efficiencies on a road to net zero, taking the little steps that they can do themselves and for clubs in the region. Kate Fortnam, is the campaign manager for The Green Blue, an initiative between British Marine and the RYA to help the boating community reduce their impact on coastal and inland waters. Barry Fisher is the CEO of Keep Scotland Beautiful the charity for Scotland’s environment, who also has a keen interest in sailing having been General Manager for the Ocean Youth Trust Scotland.
The discussion touches on some useful sources of funding and support including:
The Green Blue provides resources for individuals, facilities and businesses: https://thegreenblue.org.uk/resources/
The Climate Challenge Fund : https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/ccf
Community resources from Keep Scotland Beautiful: https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/community-and-place/clean-up-scotland/handy-resources/
The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations : https://fundingscotland.com/
Foundation Scotland : https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/
Saturday Jan 23, 2021
Saturday Jan 23, 2021
Off The Water is back for 2021 with a new season of conversations which affect the boating community in Scotland.
Hosts Nikki Stewart and Jack Mitchell share an interview which gets to heart of why we volunteer and about the ethos and culture of our volunteers. RYA Scotland are fortunate as we have a volunteer run board with one person in particular who works in the voluntary sector and has agreed to share their experiences of volunteering.
Helen Keenan, is head of Volunteering for Marie Curie UK and she brings unique insights from her career in volunteer management. Helen joined RYA Scotland as a Non Executive Director for Volunteering in 2019, providing a voice on the board with genuine expertise in this area that is fundamental for our sport and activities. While the only boat she has been on is a ferry, her perspective is challenging and very welcome as we move through big challenges for the voluntary sector.
This pod is aimed at raising the conversation on volunteering to support clubs and organisations looking for advice and in showcasing the endless impact volunteering has on our community and the people involved. The hosts have both been volunteers and it has developed them as people and provided an opportunity for their learning. We hear about the culture behind volunteering, why do we do it and investigate the changes in society related to volunteering and hopefully leave our listeners with some tips and tools to try.
RYA Scotland has been developing a Volunteer Development Framework to assist volunteer led clubs and organisations to create a more sustainable approach to volunteering. It also highlights to volunteers that their actions are as important as the boating we all enjoy. The framework is in the final stages and will be available in the coming months as a practical tool that helps shape the questions you should be asking when it comes to volunteering.
The RYA tackle the reoccurring challenge and issue for clubs, particularly with regards to supporting membership growth - not enough volunteers! The insights suggests 52% of RYA Affiliated organisations report lack of volunteers as being a primary challenge to their growth and many reporting a small number of volunteers doing the bulk of the work. Hear about the findings of the research and also some experiences of clubs who have managed to successfully increase the number of volunteers below.
https://www.rya.org.uk/programmes/Pages/future-webinars.aspx#4
RYA Scotland offer a range of volunteer opportunities below.
https://www.rya.org.uk/scotland/about-us/Pages/volunteers.aspx
sportscotland also offer workshops on volunteering available below.
https://sportscotland.org.uk/coaching/cpd-and-training/volunteer-management/
Finally you can stay in touch with all the latest news from RYA Scotland via our website, http://www.rya.org.uk/scotland and of course, across our social media channels @ryascotland
Friday Oct 23, 2020
Friday Oct 23, 2020
In Off The Water this month our hosts Nikki Stewart and Jack Mitchell gain some real insights into the value of Outdoor Education Residential Centres as they have become under serious threat during restrictions brought in to combat Covid-19.
With sailing and boating being introduced to thousands each year through these centres we catch up with three voices within this sector and hear about some of their experience of the benefits these centres provide.
Jane Campbell Morrison, the chair of the Scottish Adventure Activity Forum has brought together many organisations to back the #SaveYourOutdoorCentres campaign and joins Liam Watson a RYA Senior Instructor with the Scouts Association at Lochgoilhead. We are also joined by our Youth Board member Jordan McNeilage, who has been the RYA Principal at Loch Insh Watersports Centre, near Aviemore.
The opportunities available to experience the outdoors for Scotland’s young people are extremely important and the current campaign has really captivated generations of people from all walks of life who have benefits from understanding outdoor learning.
Our regional development officer Jack Mitchell and Coach Education Development Manager Nikki Stewart explore the topic asking:
Why are outdoors centres so important?
What do they offer children that other things such as clubs and schools don’t?
What is so important about the residential element of what these centres can offer?
Do you think lockdown has reminded or educated more people of the benefits of being outdoors especially with their children?
How do we see outdoor education centres adapting in the future?
Are there any new opportunities emerging for them to help make them sustainable and protect their future?
During recording we received news of a package of support from the Scottish Government which is warmly welcome, however we recognise that much is still to be done to maximise the exposure for what this sector does for young people and in introducing so many to our sport.
Find out more about the campaign through #SaveYourOutdoorCentres
Finally you can stay in touch with all the latest news from RYA Scotland via our website, www.rya.org.uk/scotland and of course, across our social media channels @ryascotland