RYA Scotland launches podacst to connect boaters

29ers at the RYA Scotland Academy Series © Andrew Robertson

Whilst everyone is staying home during the lockdown and no doubt missing getting on the water or at the very least being near it, RYA Scotland has launched a brand new podcast, Off The Water, to stay connected to the boating community.

Light hearted entertainment along with some useful information aimed at everyone from the dinghy racer, cruiser, windsurfer and canal boat user is what the RYA Scotland team is aiming for with the podcast. Turn off your screen, pop your head phones on and enjoy the chat whilst out for your daily exercise, sitting in the garden or even just whilst you undertake some dreaded DIY around the house.

Hosted by Jack Mitchell, RYA Scotland Regional Development Officer and Nikki Stewart, RYA Scotland Coach Education Manager, the first podcast includes a quick catch up with what the pair have been up to since lockdown started and how they are adapting to keeping in touch with their boating networks from their new found home offices. They talk a little bit about some of the work RYA Scotland are currently doing to help their members, clubs and centres during this difficult time. Online video conferencing sessions billed as 'Connect' are being promoted through the RYA Scotland Facebook page as well as through the RYA Scotland staff team.

"It has been great fun doing the podcast and we have loads of different ideas for content over the coming weeks. We are definitely learning as we go and will get better at it the more we do it but we all feel right now it is more important than ever to stay in touch with our community. It gives me a great excuse to have a chat with lots of different people who normally I wouldn't really get a chance to catch up with and learn more about what they do" said Nikki when asked about her role as co-host.

Nikki's interview with RYA's Cruising Manager Stuart Carruthers gives lots of really important information around the influence of the current Coronavirus lock down on boating and in particular cruising in Scotland. What will the impact be on marine tourism, what about those already at sea when the lock down was announced, how do I know my boat is safe, what about marina charges, are just some of the questions the RYA is trying to advise on as well as working with the Government to ensure that those at sea looking for safe havens and trying to get back to home waters are not forgotten. Stuart can't stress enough that anyone with concerns or questions should head to the RYA's Coronavirus information hub on the RYA website first - www.rya.org.uk

In the absence of racing on the water, Virtual Regatta has kicked off and RYA Scotland's Marc Turner (Communication and Marketing Manager) talks to Jack about what you can enjoy about it and even gives a few top tips.

"Get a group of friends or your club members into an online group chat so that you can enjoy the banter as well as the racing is my top advice for enjoying this new way of racing" said Marc.

Olympian Luke Patience even makes an appearance to talk about his experience of virtual racing after victory at the RYA Lockdown Cup as well as what he has been up to keep fit and his mind sharp!

RYA Scotland's Performance Sailing Officer, Kate Pounder, talks Nikki through the hard work she is doing to keep Scotland's young sailors active and engaged through a shared online workspace called Hive learning with ideas of ways they can stay active, keep learning and enjoy a Friday Challenge! She has also been promoting the RYA's Sail From Home campaign that you can find on the RYA and British Sailing Team YouTube channels which is crammed full of resources for everyone who is missing sailing and boating regardless of age or ability.

The RYA Scotland team can't promise the best of the best sound quality just yet but are awaiting some new gadgets and are honing their digital skills to bring you something that you can tune into on a regular basis. New episodes of the podcast will be released every two weeks with the second one due on Monday 11 May 2020. Dates, titles and descriptions of the podcasts coming up next are all detailed on the RYA Scotland Podbean account as well as giving you the option to download an episode of the podcast.

Download it now, have a listen and of course if you have any great stories to tell, advice for our community or brilliant lockdown challenges then do get in touch via . After a bit of arm twisting Jack and Nikki have done a fantastic job of hosting the podcast and are already hard at work on the next one! Keep an eye on the RYA Scotland Google Calendar to see what is happening on all the RYA Scotland and RYA online channels every day so you don't miss out.