SPE board members volunteering at Tall Ships 2025

SPE Aberdeen board members Elizabeth McAlpine and Ian Phillips both served as Ship Liaison Officers during the recent Tall Ships event. They share their experiences with us. 

There are further photos in the Gallery below and some fantastic images can be viewed via the following links:

Instagram page = https://www.instagram.com/tall...

BBC News article = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/art...

Ian Phillips

"About 9 months ago a random advert appeared on social media inviting people in the northeast of Scotland to volunteer to support the Tall Ships visit to Aberdeen in July. I remembered the previous Tall Ships visits in 1977 and 1991 – and thought “I want to be part of this” – so I applied online – and put the role of “Ship Liaison Officer” at the top of my list of preferred roles.

Some 6 weeks before the event I received confirmation that I had been accepted – and the build up started. Nearly 400 volunteers met at Pittodrie Stadium in May for an introduction to the event and to have our photographs taken. More specialised training for the Ship Liaison Officers followed – then the big weekend arrived (18-22 July)!

A “Ship Liaison Officer” (SLO) has a very specific role – acting as the interface between your allocated ship and the city of Aberdeen. As the ship arrived their “wish list” included fuel, fresh water, drums of lubricating oil, getting rid of sewage – and logs for their onboard sauna - my ship – the “Valborg” was from Finland where saunas are a big thing! Throughout the weekend my fellow SLO and I had to sort out a £1200 “click and collect” from Morrisons; get the crew to Union Terrace for the Tall Ships Parade; rescue a “Trainee” who had a sound-induced panic attack; get an emergency water supply when the ships water tank dump valve was accidentally left open; escort new trainees to the ship; make sure over-18 trainees got a wristband that permitted them to get alcohol at the Crew Party; check passports and generally acting as best friend, nursemaid and policeman for the vessel whilst it was in harbour.

It was hard work – 5 x 12 hour day shifts – but just the best experience – with many good friends made on the ship and amongst the volunteer crew.

Aberdeen City Council is already in discussions to bring the Tall Ships back to Aberdeen again. It can’t come soon enough for me!"

Elizabeth McAlpine

"I was privileged to have been accepted as one of the 52 Ships Laision Officers (SLO) for the Tall Ships 2025 Races to the Port of Aberdeen Harbour. I had assisted in 1997 so I was totally amazed at being accepted in 2025.

As a sailor and keen yachts person, having sailed on the West Coast of Scotland and earlier years from Findhorn on the East Coast, being on the water and near ships is my happy place. These races took 18 months of rigorous planning, a true collaborative approach with over 250 volunteers to cover the event. All the supply chain services had been offered free of charge, so many more gave time, effort and resources to enable the successes, we all experienced.
Welcoming our crews and 'Ships Captains' was fun and an exhilarating experience shared across everyone involved. Apparently over 1,500 crew members arrived at the Port of Aberdeen Harbour with 100 Trainee Sailors leaving our shores, on the next leg of the race.

We had early starts, and late finishes, however for me it was all about the people we met and the stories they shared. As an SLO we were staff, there to assist in making everyone's experience a good one! Two stories stand out for me; I met a mother with her son who had a school project on the 'Tall ships', I had arrived up the gangway to hear her mention my ship name. I called the 'Captain' who said yes, delighted if you bring them aboard. For the next 40 minutes I saw the light on this little boy's face as he had a One2One tour around the boat; talking about sails, in the wheel house and even into the Captain's cabin. He was totally blown away, as was his mother who had persevered to give him this opportunity.

Years ago, I had sailed on a 'Sailing Training Weekend' teaching kids to sail on the Malcom Miller, which had been launched in 1968, built in Aberdeen. I had taken time out for me to go and revisit the vessel as it is now a 'luxury yacht'. When I got there in my SLO yellow shirt; I noticed a lady standing at the accessible entrance, who seemed quite anxious to get onto the ship. I stood beside her and got talking. I realised she had two photographs of her father, one of the ships builders in a group photo, and also at its launch. I helped her carefully down the gangway to be totally blown away as the 'stars had aligned': in front of us were three men who had just met moments before and had discovered they, all three, had been crew on the Malcom Miller's maiden voyage out of the Port of Aberdeen Harbour in 1968. It is stories like these that make any kind of volunteering worthwhile. All this 77-year-old lady wanted to do was to place a foot onto the ship that her own father had helped build. Remarkable!

Later that evening, after the Kaiser Chefs concert, I realised I still had my staff pass. I chose to walk home through the Quayside in the quiet of the night and felt so privileged to experience the moment as the 'Chandlers of the Sea' lit up the dark skies of the Port. Worth every moment, every breathe of wind in any sail, a volunteer's delight!"