RYA Scotland gets people afloat at Scotland's Boat Show

Bob the Buoy at Scotland's Boat Show © RYA Scotland

Scotland's Boat Show took place at the weekend (11-13 October) at Kip Marina in a blaze of sunshine and the RYA Scotland team were there offering people a fantastic opportunity to get on the water and go sailing at the show.

The weekend days were undoubtedly the busiest of the show with thousands of people turning out to enjoy the sunshine and look around the boats and wares on offer. RYA Scotland had teamed up with Arnold Clark Drum to offer people the chance to go out on a one hour sailing experience on the famous racing yacht. All sessions were fully booked for both days with both sailors and non-sailors coming back from their sessions beaming. For those who had never been sailing before it was quite a special first experience of the sport!

"On behalf of Arnold Clark Drum, as the skipper, I would like to say what a privilege it was to be part of RYA Scotland's 'on the water' programme at the Scottish Boat Show 2013. With the sun shining and a perfect north easterly blowing, it was a delight to be able to offer the lucky few a taste of what Drum has to offer. Although a bit out of the ordinary or, 'extraordinary', I hope Drum and her crew were able to assist RYA Scotland in promoting our sport and the beautiful sailing waters of the Clyde. With the help of Alan Henderson at Cumbrae Voyages in Largs, we were able to take dozens of people sailing some for the first time – what a way to begin! It was a great end to Drum's season 2013", commented David Lilburn.

Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park Castle Semple Centre were also part of the RYA Scotland on-water programme and were offering youngsters the chance to have a 20 minute taster session in a 303 access dinghy. David Hill from Castle Semple was coordinating the sessions and had the following to say:

"The show was great for Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, we had about 18 children and young people take part in the taster dinghy sessions held in the marina in the Access 303's, most of whom then wanted to find out more info about what they could do next. We then had the opportunity to tell them how to find out about their local clubs or centres and outline the junior sailing scheme. This obviously inspired a few parents too as we had 6 requests for level 1 dinghy courses over the weekend.

"I also had many discussions with people about the Sailability opportunities in Scotland and managed to arrange some sailing for 7 people with disabilities that will take place at Castle Semple Centre and CCC Bardowie. Next year we might need 4 boats as we were almost full on every session!"

There were also some RYA Active Marina experience activities taking place both on and off the water with Seatrek Training. Seatrek's Island Fox boat was busy over the weekend doing 'own boat tuition' taster sessions as well as close quarter handling demonstrations. Both activities help to increase the skills and confidence of boat owners especially when trying to manoeuvre their boats in confined spaces such at the marina. Parking your boat in your own marina and in new ones can often be a stressful time on a boat, the instructor from Seatrek Training was able to give some advice and tips on how to make sure you keep your boat a happy and stress-free one for both skipper and crew.

There were a number of workshops taking place on dry land for those who didn't fancy getting on the water at the show. One of the most popular was probably Alan Rankin's presenting his Solo Round Britain experience. A solo circumnavigation of Britain and Ireland has provided Alan with quite a collection of fantastic photos, videos and stories to tell. There were also talks about the Crinan Canal from Scottish Canals, boat insurance from Bishop Skinner and the Round Ireland RIB challenge from Steve Harrison.

"The show was a great opportunity to talk to some of our existing members about the season they have had and also answer any questions. It was also great to be able to chat to families new to sailing and give them a chance to get on the water whilst talking to them about the benefits of RYA membership", said Claire Caffrey, RYA Scotland Marketing Officer.

"The show is definitely getting bigger each year and already we are looking forward to planning the opportunities for the 2014 show which will be linking to the year of homecoming".

RYA Scotland would like to thank Argyll and the Isles Co-operative for sponsoring the workshop marquee and all the partners that helped to support the on-water and on-shore programmes over the show. They would especially like to thank all their volunteers who gave up their time and put tremendous effort over the show.

For more information about RYA Scotland please go to www.ryascotland.org.uk. You can also follow RYA Scotland on Facebook and Twitter (@RYAScotland).