New Workboat Named By Isle of Lewis Pupil

Ten-year-old Ava Douglas from the Isle of Lewis has been crowned the winner of a competition to name The Scottish Salmon Company’s (SSC) new workboat with her entry ‘Spirit of the Sea’.

SSC organised the competition with Bernera Primary School giving pupils from P3-P7 the chance to name the new workboat, which will be used to help look after SSC’s salmon farms in the local area.

Pupils were asked to capture the spirit of the local community and suggest names in either English or Gaelic. They were asked to submit their entries along with a hand-drawn picture of the boat, taking inspiration from the Isle of Lewis. SSC had the difficult task of selecting a winner, with ‘Spirit of the Sea’ chosen as a fitting title for the new 14m, 10 tonne workboat, built by Northwind Engineering based at Kishorn near Lochcarron.

Stuart Witts, SSC Area Manager, presented Ava with a framed copy of her winning design, a gift voucher and a donation to Bernera Primary School for future school trips. The school will use the donation to help fund a summer trip for all pupils.

Ian MacRae, Head teacher at Bernera Primary School, said:

\’The children really enjoyed the opportunity to be creative with their design entries. Ava was overjoyed with her win; and is very excited for the summer trip with her classmates. We would like to thank The Scottish Salmon Company for giving Bernera Primary School the chance to take part in the competition and for the generous donation.\’

Su Cox, Director, The Scottish Salmon Company, said:

\’We received some great names and drawings, it was a very difficult task to pick one. I want to thank the pupils of Bernera Primary School for their imagination and would like to congratulate Ava for her winning entry. We look forward to seeing ‘Spirit of the Sea’ out on the water.\’