Off The Water’s Podcast

Today, RYA Scotland Communication & Engagement Lead Philippa is joined by RYA Scotland Pathway Manager Jamie Rogers and Pathway Development Officer Ben Luckett to chat all things performance pathway, and how RYA Scotland's offering is evolving to best support talented young sailors.  For more on how the pathway is evolving (and to see our brand new logos), head to the RYA Scotland website: htt...

In this episode of Off The Water, RYA Scotland comms lead Philippa is joined by Kate Fortnam from the RYA and The Green Blue, as well as Sophie Smith from Biosecurity for Scotland. They’ll be chatting all things invasive species, biosecurity and wildlife awareness, exploring the different steps boaters can take to ensure they go afloat mindful of the natural environment around them. With a wealth...

In this episdoe of Off the Water, RYA Scotland comms lead Philippa is joined by international windsurf star Andy Brown.   We hear all about his stellar athlete mindset, goals for the future, plus some recent successes.   Tune in, and be inspired!   To follow Andy as he continues his campaign on the iQFoiL, why not drop him a follow on socials - https://www.instagram.com/andybrown.surf/   Enjoying...

In this episode, RYA Scotland Communications Lead Philippa Howie sits down with Maggie Adamson and Calanach Finlayson - scottish offshore sailing superstars! Maggie and Cal both began their sailing journeys in dinghies at their local clubs in Lerwick and Montrose respectively. Now, they are Offshore Double Handed World CHAMPIONS! To hear more about how they found their way in our sport, and their...

Today, our communications team of Marc and Philippa take a deep dive into Sustainable Sailing Ltd – an innovative start up tackling some tricky environmental challenges. With insight from co-founder Joe Penhaul-Smith, we find out how he launched Sustainable Sailing along with his brother Sam. The first on the scene in terms of true sail recycling technology, Sustainable Sailing benefits from wealt...

While many of us are still to get out on the water for the first time this year, it’s a different story for our student sailors, who are in the depths of running a full on event calendar. With planning and delivering two semesters of sailing amongst full-time studies no easy feat, we’re taking a deep dive into how our student sailors pull it off year in, year out. Made up of several distinct saili...

'Off the Water' is back for a deep dive into cruising, and a look at some of the different voluntary opportunities on offer across RYA Scotland. Joining our communications team of Marc and Philippa in todays discussion is Charles Bird, Chair of RYA Scotland's Cruising & General Purposes Committee. Covering a wide range of topics, the committee is devoted to protecting the interests of boaters...

Off the Water is back ahead of the 2023 season with some updates from the team at RYA Scotland alongside a short interview with our new CEO Finlo Cottier.  Originally from the Isle of Man, sailing brought Finlo to Scotland’s West Coast where he began work as an Artic scientist, eventually becoming a Professor at the Scottish Association of Marine Sciences (SAMS) in Oban. During this time Finlo was...

Why is lack of volunteers one of the biggest barriers to the growth of sailing clubs today? What needs to change? In this episode of Off The Water we return to the topic of volunteers and volunteering. As we emerge from the lack of formal activities brought about by the pandemic, alongside many other aspects of social change, finding, retaining and supporting volunteers has been brought into sharp...

The Off The Water podcast aims to provide some insights from people involved at all levels of recreational boating in Scotland. In this episode Marc Turner catches up with new Regional Development officer for the West of Scotland, Laura Cowan.  We discuss her experiences of RYA Sailability in her previous role with Prestwick Sailing Club, before hearing from Rory McKinna on his para sports journey...

Marc Turner met up with Lorraine Dodge and a group of visually impaired sailors at the end of a week’s sailing on the Clyde last year and thought it a great idea to share the story of their trip and the organisation. To find out more about this charity, ran by visually impaired sailors, we caught up with Lorraine Dodge, a trustee with VISA-GB, who, alongside volunteer skipper Steve Benn and sailor...

Off the water is back on the airwaves as most of the team were back on the real waves over the summer. However as the longer nights set in we are excited to be able to share some of the inspiring stories from 2021.   Robyn Phillips joins Marc Turner as the host of this episode, as Robyn has probably done the most sailing this summer, from cruising, instruction, coaching and racing, both keelboats...

The RYA Scotland podcast catches up with sail based charity the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust who have a base in Scotland. We find out a little more about how they use sailing to help rebuild the confidence of young people in recovery from cancer along with the plans for restarting activities this summer. Since starting activities at Largs in 2013, Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust has welcomed hundreds...

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 rac...

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 exper...

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...

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...

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...

Robin Nicol and Marc Turner take over the Off The Water podcast this month, with a fantastic insight into the journey of a windsurfing family from Loch Insh who have followed a performance pathway to international success.  Islay Watson (19) recently won silver at the first IQ Foiling European Championships in Switzerland is joined by her mother Kim as the share their journey into windsurfing, the...

Sailing and Cruising is the focus for this episode of Off The Water. Scotland has many and varied cruising areas and since the 10th of July many participants have been able to get afloat and enjoy some time exploring and enjoy our waters, by sail or motor. Hosts Jack Mitchell and Nikki Stewart are joined by producer Marc Turner, who is also a RYA Cruising Instructor to talk all things cruising and...

In the second part the Off The Water team touches base with the volunteer led clubs and the challenges they have encountered to engage members. As restrictions eased the clubs have had to implement measures as they return to activity and adapt to a new normal, each with their own distinct set of circumstances.   Regional Development Officers Jack Mitchell and Robin Nicol meet with Lorna Drummond f...

In the next two episodes of Off The Water we look at how the easing of restrictions is allowing more activity on the water has affected clubs and training centres in Scotland. In the first part our hosts Nikki Stewart and Jack Mitchell discuss the current updates to guidance and catch up with training centres beginning to enable activity.    Recognised Training Centres (RTCs) provide RYA Training ...

Our hosts Nikki Stewart and Jack Mitchell are joined by colleagues Robin Nicol and Claire Caffrey in Episode 5 in a series of discussions around women in sport and catching up on the latest successes in eSailing alongside the updates as restrictions around activity ease in Scotland. Claire and Robin follow up on the key themes of how sport can change lives with an interview with Eilidh Gibson, a S...

In Episode 4 of Off The Water we explore the benefits that our activities have on our Mental Health. Our presenters Nikki Stewart and Jack Mitchell conduct two deeply insightful conversations around mental health in relation to boating and getting afloat in Scotland. They are joined by Robert Nesbitt, Head of physical activity and sport at the Scottish Association of Mental health ( SAMH ) and Pam...

In this Off The Water podcast, our presenters Jack Mitchell and Nikki Stewart discuss what moves could see a return to activities again with James Allan CEO of RYA Scotland  and Howard Pridding, Director of External Affairs at the RYA. The RYA in England have moved quickly in issuing guidance to many members, clubs and training centres as restrictions have been eased, while the home countries admi...