To guide you through these somewhat uncharted waters, we’re giving you a daily insight into what it feels like to volunteer for OYT Scotland with ‘Meet the OYTS volunteers.’
Today’s volunteer: Allister Boyle
? Q: How long have you been a volunteer with OYTS and what’s your role?
A: My first trip with OYTS was 4 years ago then I sailed for a season as a bosun, a great way to learn all about the boats and OYTS. I now sail as a watch leader.
? Q: What and with whom was your first sailing experience & what made you come back?
A: My first sailing experience was in a gravel pit near Doncaster when I was doing my RAF navigation training. My course, which was 14 months long, were told that we were going sailing for a week long adventurous training expedition so we got some practice in sailing Wayfarers in an area slightly smaller than a football pitch. We then went to Gosport on the south coast in Sep 1979 where we had an amazing week sailing Lord Portal, a Nic 55 crossing the channel and then into several French ports.
⛵ Q: Proudest or most memorable sailing moment?
A: Most memorable was 2 years ago monitoring a young person steering Venturer through the Kyles of Bute as if she had been doing it all her life: three days earlier she had to be persuaded to step on board and was reluctant to steer even in open water.
?Q: Favourite part of being a volunteer with OYTS?
A: Every trip I go on I learn even more. The skippers and mates, be they be permanent staff or one of the many volunteers, are fantastic and always willing to answer questions and help everyone learn.
⛵ Q: If you were a boat, what kind of boat would it be and why?
A: As a scuba diver I love being underwater so I’d have to be a submersible, something like the Deepsea Challenger that made it to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.