Staffin Primary School pupil wins OSH competition
30th July 2021
A pupil from Staffin Primary School won a recent competition to name Organic Sea Harvest’s new workboat.
Eight-year-old George MacKenzie suggested the Gaelic name “Bàta nam Bràthairean” – which translates to “Boat of the Brothers.” The name references the distinctive headland of Brothers’ Point, near Organic Sea Harvest’s existing Culnacnoc fish farm.
Organic Sea Harvest (OSH) approached Staffin Primary School in 2020 to ask the pupils for help naming their new workboat. The only criteria was that the name must have a connection to the Staffin area. The school submitted a large selection of excellent potential names – with the winner chosen by OSH directors.
On Tuesday 27 July, George and his family headed to Staffin slipway to see the vessel and receive a £500 cheque on behalf of Staffin School. George explained that he had chosen the name after he had visited Brothers’ Point and because of the nearby OSH fish farm site. The winner was announced at school last year, when George was seven. “I was happy when I heard I’d won,” George said. “I went home and told Mum and said: ‘Guess what, I won the boat competition!’ I really like the boat. It’s very big.”
George receiving his plaque and a cheque of £500 for Staffin Primary School from OSH Chief Operating Offier Robert Wyvill and OSH co-founder Alister Mackinnon.
Bàta nam Bràthairean will carry out day-to-day site duties on OSH’s two existing fish farms at Invertote and Culnacnoc. The vessel is 19 meters long with a cargo capacity of 40 tonnes.
OSH co-founder, Alister MacKinnon, and Chief Operating Officer, Robert Wyvill, handed the cheque and a commemorative plaque to George in front of the vessel. Alister commented: “As a company, our intention is to be involved with the local community and we are delighted to have had a pupil from Staffin Primary School name our boat.
“We hope to work with more local schools so they can understand how fish are farmed and know what’s involved in producing fish to organic standards on our fish farms. As a company, our ethos is to invest in the community as much as possible.
“We were delighted to welcome George and his family aboard Bàta nam Bràthairean on Tuesday and we are pleased the vessel has such a fitting name with strong local connections.”
Notes to Editors:
1) Bàta nam Bràthairean was designed by Netherlands-based Damen and their OSD-IMT design service. She was built by Coastal Workboats Scotland Ltd, based in Exeter.
2) She is the very first LUV 1908 class of vessel to be delivered by Damen, being a larger version of the LUV 1608 class that is a popular design in the aquaculture industry.
3) She is 19 metres long and has a cargo capacity of 40 tonnes. She has 100m2 of deck space and is fitted with 2 deck cranes along with a bow ramp, to make her extra versatile. She is a state-of-the-art vessel that is capable of carrying out day to day site duties along with cargo transporting.
