Stravaigin has a strong relationship and important part to play in outdoor education.

Our yacht is regularly chartered by the University of the Highlands and Islands to run  multi-activity expedition trips and field courses in the marine environment. Students of the Marine and Coastal BA (Hons) regularly come aboard and gain experience in sailing, take qualifications or enjoy her as floating classroom to undertake a Blue School syllabus containing all aspects of marine and coastal tourism.

We offer a work placement internship and take on a suitable student to assist with all sorts of marine tourism projects from social media marketing to extra crew on trips. In return for this, we help mentor them through the RYA qualification schemes and enhance their education on the marine environment, allowing us the privilege to develop the next generation of ocean stewards.

Further education students enjoy trips on Stravaigin complementing their courses in Marine Outdoor Leadership. These trips benefit their team building, decision making and goal setting as well as technical skills in navigation, route planning, forecasting and sail training.

A significant part of our lives has been delivering outdoor experiences and education to underprivileged children and young people and those with special support needs.

Every year, we have bookings from an international summer school for flotilla sailing trips along the west coast. These trips create learning experiences for children and young adults who may not otherwise have access to sailing. Many take away cherished memories of jumping off the stern and swimming with seals, to sunbathing on deck, playing races in the dinghy and chilling out in the evening with hot chocolate and movies.

We realise that small experiences aboard a sailing yacht will not in itself completely change an individual’s life, but with ongoing commitment and mentoring it can be a catalyst for positive change. The healing power of the marine environment should not be underestimated and particularly in these challenging times, we feel the benefit of engagement with the natural environment in aiding mental health.

A percentage of the fees we charge for our holidays will be used to help us deliver these experiences. If you would like to support us further by adding a little extra to your booking fee, that would be wonderful, and a great way of “giving back”. 

There is always a need for people to help out during these special trips on a voluntary basis. Let us know if you have time and/or other skills that may be suitable to enhance an experience. We would love to hear from you.

Unlike other sailing companies, we live permanently in our sailing area and are not seasonal visitors.

We are committed to sustainable tourism in delicate coastal and island communities. It is therefore important to us that we do what we can, using local produce whenever and wherever possible and supporting local business and employment.

Read more about how your time with us positively impacts our local communities.