Solway Yacht Club’s Willie Patterson has received a top award.
Willie, from Dumfries, received the outstanding contribution award from the Royal Yachting Association’s president, The Princess Royal, at the governing body’s Volunteer Awards in London.
The ceremony brought the very best in the sport together to celebrate their success.
Willie is well known to a huge number of Scottish sailors young and old, from club to national level, and has served Solway Yacht Club and Annandale Sailing Club for many years.
Progressively taking on seemingly most of the committee posts, his highlight was bringing new life to the Solway Yacht Club’s Cadet fleet over several years, culminating in the club’s regular Cadet Week, enjoyed by more than 70 young people every year.
The London event opened with the formalities of the RYA’s AGM, expertly chaired by the Princess. Among the questions asked from the floor, one referred to problems encountered by yachtsmen posed by orcas off the Iberian peninsula. Skilfully passed from the chair to someone with specialist knowledge, the answer was given.
A few minutes later, in an informal speech, the Princess recounted a visit to the Falkland Islands where local long-line fishermen were having a problem with orcas plucking fish off the hooks before the fisherman could land them. They decided to try scaring the orcas off by playing loud rock music; not very successfully as the orcas seemed to take the music to be their dinner gong.
The actual award ceremony followed with Willie honoured to be recognised by his most important award.
As one of very few Scots present, Willie was delighted to find he and his wife Susan weren’t the only ones present from Dumfries. Also there was Pat Halliday, who Willie had known from a previous meeting. She was accompanying her sister Gerry Campbell, who was receiving an RYA award for work with the disabled with Able2sail.
The club and all its members warmly congratulate Willie on this hugely deserved award.
