Director's Blog

Friday 28th May 2010

NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE BOARD AWARDS PRIZES TO NAFC MARINE CENTRE CADETS

On Wednesday 19 May two students studying at the Shetland School of Nautical Studies (SSNS) received the Northern Lighthouse Board Prize, which recognises academic achievement, excellence in assessment and/or project work and consistent professional performance by Merchant Navy Officer Cadets at the end of the second year of their training.

Liam Cumming from Hamnavoe in Burra and Derek Spence from Haroldswick in Unst each received a £1,000 prize at the presentation at the NAFC Marine Centre.  The prizes were presented by former Chairman of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, Captain George Sutherland.  Both cadets are sponsored by K Line through Clyde Marine Training.

Liam Cumming commenced training as a deck cadet at SSNS after obtaining a BA in Risk Management at university in Glasgow, having always dreamed of becoming a deck officer in the Merchant Navy.  As a mature student, Liam has an excellent influence in the class and is a pleasure to teach, performing to an extremely high level in any task that he is set.

When Derek Spence commenced his training as an engineer cadet, he was too young to stay in the onsite accommodation on campus and had to live with relatives for the first four months of his training until he was 16 years old; despite this, he has consistently performed to the highest level, studying with diligence both in class and outside, and is a pleasure to have as a class member and student.

Captain George Sutherland said: “The Northern Lighthouse Board Prize represents a substantial reward to two exceptional students at the NAFC Marine Centre each year.  This is the second time the prize has been awarded and I am again honoured to have been asked by the Commissioners to present the cheques on their behalf.  These are worthy winners and I am sure that the link established between the Centre and the Northern Lighthouse Board will be of value to both; as well as to the prize winners, in years to come.”

The prize has been funded by the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses 2000 Trust, which is a recognised Scottish Charity, set up in 2000 with the purpose to assist in the provision of training, education and support for Merchant Navy Officer Cadets.  The criteria for the award, which has been given to one deck officer cadet and one engineering officer cadet, have been agreed between the School and the Trust.  Selection was decided by recommendations coming from the teaching staff at SSNS to the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses 2000 Trust.

Tuesday 4th May 2010

Wow! Where'd that month go?

Many apologies for not updating my blog for a while but things have been a little hectic..what with Icelandic Ash clouds, travel disruption etc etc...its been, how would one put it? Interesting!

So where to start? I'l start with the eruption of the volcano in Iceland which due to the prevailing wind direction sent huge clouds of volcanic ash straight in our direction. As we all know this resulted in the closing of all air-space across Europe causing complete chaos.

Shetland, as those of you who read this on a regular basis will know, is an Island community about 200 miles off the northern coast of Scotland. Grounding all flights into and out of Shetland has a pretty dramatic effect. Nobody can get onto the Islands and, if you are already here, you can't get off either. My parents who were up here at the time for what was supposed to be a short 6 day stay ended up staying for 3 weeks!..not that they complained as they said Shetland was a lovely place to get "marooned".

As far as the work of The Centre goes it meant that the Video-conference machinery had to whirr into action and saved many meetings from being post-poned or cancelled. You see..Shetlanders are generally a very resilient breed...they shrugged off the Icelandic dust cloud as if it was nothing and just got on with day to day life. Admirable and something that has to be seen to be believed. Whilst colleagues of mine at very large Universities down south were running around like headless chickens...Shetland just got on with it.

Oh and for those of you who sent me emails and texts asking me to post photos of us shovelling the layers of ash from our driveways? Well...lets just say that the media may have overplayed that one just a little! 

Changing the subject completely now...Spring has definitely arrived. The lambs are arriving in their droves and the killer whales are being spotted at numerous locations all around the coast. The "Simmer Dim" is fast approaching and we are already looking at daylight stretching into the late evening.

Talking of "The Simmer Dim" I have disappointing news...the Dr has told me that due to the trapped nerve in my back I am not able to run at the moment...which means that my training has had to cease for the time being. The NAFC team are still taking part though and I will now have to be happy with a "support" role on the day...cheering them on from the sidelines.