Gerry Hughes is star guest at RYA Scotland Annual Awards Dinner

by Claire Caffrey, RYA Scotland 8 Jan 2014 10:43 GMT 1 February 2014

With less than a month to go until the RYA Scotland Annual Awards Dinner at the Glasgow Science Centre, RYA Scotland are delighted to be able to share some exciting news including the names of those who have been shortlisted for the awards, new award sponsors plus Gerry Hughes as the after-dinner speaker. Taking place on the evening of Saturday 1 February 2014, it promises to be a fantastic evening.

Gerry's name may be familiar to you as he was recently hitting the headlines for being the first deaf yachtsman to sail single-handedly around the world via the Five Great Capes. Gerry, a teacher from Glasgow, was presented with the first ever RYA Sailability Personal Endeavour Award on ITV's Surprise Surprise at the start of December in recognition of his fantastic achievement. On the evening of the awards dinner Gerry will be sharing the story of his voyage with everyone and answer questions.

I am delighted to have been invited to give the after-dinner talk at this year's RYA Scotland Awards. It will be an honour to share the evening with members of RYA Scotland, and meet the award-winners, in my home town of Glasgow. It will be great evening and I am very much looking forward meeting everyone," said Gerry Hughes, Solo Circumnavigator.

As well as Gerry, RYA Scotland will also have a few more important guests attending the Annual Awards Dinner. Virgin Atlantic Flightstore confirmed their sponsorship of the RYA Scotland Volunteer of the Year award and is very much looking forward to being there on the evening to help present the award and tell the guests about the fantastic benefits they offer RYA members. Clyde Challenger has also confirmed that they will be sponsoring the RYA Scotland Club of the Year award and their team are hoping to travel into the Glasgow Science Centre on Clyde Challenger herself, adding to the spectacle of the venue. Honda was announced the sponsor of the RYA Scotland Young Volunteer award at the end of 2013 and are looking forward to continuing their support of the sport which adds to their existing sponsorship of the Honda Youth RIB Championships.

Most importantly of all the announcements that RYA Scotland are delighted to be able to make is the names of all the people and clubs who have been shortlisted for each of the Annual Awards. From all the nominations received for each category, the judging panel managed to whittle them down to three shortlisted nominees per category who are all invited to the attend the dinner. The winners will be kept top secret and only announced on the night for that added element of surprise!

If you haven't bought your tickets for the dinner yet then why not visit the RYA Shop where you can purchase them for £45 per individual ticket or alternatively you can save some money by purchasing a table of ten for £400.

"We are hoping to have as many people there on the evening to help celebrate with the winners and shortlisted nominees and also to make it a very enjoyable social event. So many people work extremely hard to support the clubs and the sport in Scotland all season long so it would be nice to say thank you to them" said Claire Caffrey, RYA Scotland Marketing Officer.

The shortlists for the categories are as follows:

RYA Scotland Volunteer of the Year: sponsored by Virgin Atlantic Flightstore

• Neil Fuller from Dalgety Sailing Club
• Denise Logan from Tummel Sailing Club
• Douglas and Anne Craig from Montrose Sailing Club

RYA Scotland Young Volunteer of the Year: sponsored by Honda

• Iona Helyer from the Aberdeenshire Sailing Trust
• Joe Gibson for volunteering at Scottish Sailing Institute events
• Robyn Dougal for rescue volunteer work on the Forth

RYA Scotland Club of the Year: sponsored by Clyde Challenger

• Loch Venachar Sailing Club
• Dalgety Bay Sailing Club
• Clyde Cruising Club

RYA Scotland Coach of the Year:

• Robbie Burns
• Anna Bird
• Laurie MacDonald

RYA Scotland Instructor of the Year:

• Angie Fraser
• Chris Bradby
• Angus Fergusson

Elizabeth Mackay Award:

• Robyn Dougal
• Alice Claire Meaden
• Jane Campbell Morrison

For more information about the awards please go to www.ryascotland.org.uk. You can also follow RYA Scotland on Facebook and Twitter (@RYAScotland) for all the latest news and updates from the team.