Historic yole to be restored

One of the oldest racing yoles in Orkney will go back on display after being awarded funding to conserve it.

Funding of £2,250 from Museums Galleries Scotland will go towards the restoration of the yole, Skua, which was built in Deerness, in the early 1930s, by boatmaker Willie Ritch.

The Skua was for Orkney novelist Eric Linklater and is the only surviving elliptical-sterned yole that was made specifically for racing in local regattas.

The restoration will be carried out by volunteers from the Orkney Historic Boat Society, led by Ian Richardson, the only remaining traditional wooden boat builder still in business in Orkney.

The Skua will be on display at the Scapa Flow Visitor Centre and Museum in Lyness.