Chamber and committees

I will go back to what you said about having gender-balanced committees. That is surely down to what the gender balance will be in the chamber. If that policy was put in place as things stand just now, you would actually be giving us women more work to do, because there are more men in the chamber than there are women.

The minister was discussing what is happening this weekend, and it would be remiss of me if I did not mention that the Denis Law legacy trail will be opening this weekend. That is another great walkabout for when folk come to see our tall ships.

As you can see, Presiding Officer, I am not Kevin Stewart. He has asked me to lead his debate and to pass on his apologies for not being here today, due to his illness. I am sure that the chamber will join me in wishing him a speedy recovery.

The following are his words, and I am happy to use them, although I think that some of them will be a bit of a tongue twister.

It is with immense pride that I welcome the tall ships race to Aberdeen. For Aberdeen, the arrival of the tall ships is more than just a visit; it is a homecoming. The homecoming of the tall ships coincides with the 200th anniversary of the Aberdeen Line, which was founded by George Thompson in 1825. Aberdeen’s shipyards were the home of the Aberdeen clippers, the fastest sailing ships ever built.

The first Aberdeen clipper, and the first ship to sport the famous “Aberdeen bow”, was the Scottish Maid, which was designed and built in 1839. Her revolutionary bow was so extraordinary that the ship was built back to front, with the Aberdeen bow hidden under a fake normal bow until the day that she was launched. The new bow proved its worth, and the iconic design of the Aberdeen tea clipper was born.

Over the next 30 years, Aberdeen tea clippers reigned supreme as the fastest ships to sail the seas. Speed records fell with every new ship that was launched until the greatest of all the Aberdeen tea clippers, the Thermopylae, was launched in 1868 from Aberdeen’s Walter Hood & Co shipyard. Her reign as the fastest ship on the seas would not go unchallenged, however, and just a year later her great rival, the north-east-designed Cutty Sark, was launched.

That set the stage for the greatest tall ship race in history—the great tea clipper race of 1872. It was a race between Inverbervie design and Aberdonian workmanship. The two ships set off together from Shanghai on 18 June, and the Cutty Sark steadily built up a lead of 400 miles. However, like her namesake nightdress, the Cutty Sark cut a little too close to the wind, and she broke her rudder in a storm while passing between Java and Sumatra. Determined not to be defeated, the crew of the Cutty Sark cobbled together a new rudder from scrap iron and set off in pursuit of the Thermopylae. However, despite the efforts of the Cutty Sark’s crew, they could not pass the Thermopylae, which arrived back in London first and retained her crown as the fastest ship in the world.

The great battle of the Aberdeen tea clippers rightly stands as the greatest tall ship race in history, and it was in the spirit of that race that today’s tall ships races event began. Although today’s event is not a commercial venture for tea, it carries forward the same spirit of competition, adventure and the pursuit of excellence.

To those who are unfamiliar with it, I can say that the tall ships races is not just a spectacle but an international event, organised by Sail Training International, that is designed to promote youth development and international friendship through sail training. It brings together magnificent vessels from across the globe, crewed by young folk, many of whom are experiencing life at sea for the first time. That includes young folk from Aberdeen who serve as crew aboard the racing ships and learn seamanship, teamwork and resilience, while forging bonds that transcend borders and cultures. This year, one such young person is Kevin Stewart’s constituent Noah Tait, who will be competing aboard the Dutch schooner, the Gulden Leeuw, in the race across the North Sea from Aberdeen and to Kristiansand.

Several of the larger sailing ships also serve as naval training vessels, with cadets on board from as far afield as Peru and Oman taking part. Sadly, the perils of the sea remain today, and my thoughts are with the families of the two young navy cadets of the Mexican naval training ship the Cuauhtémoc who died when their ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge as she set sail across the Atlantic to join the tall ships races.

This year’s races will begin at Le Havre and have four stages, beginning at Dunkirk, Aberdeen, Kristiansand and Esbjerg. The tall ships are due to arrive in Aberdeen on 19 July. They will spend four days there, where there will be a packed schedule of events during the long weekend to celebrate the tall ships and Aberdeen’s own maritime heritage.

The Aberdeen sea cadets will be on hand to showcase the heritage of the Aberdeen clippers, but a wide array of other events is also planned. They include TechFest, which will focus on Aberdeen’s engineering heritage with hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities. North East Scotland College and the Scottish maritime academy will be in attendance to promote maritime careers as well as their popular trainee deckhand course and officer of the watch cadetship programme. There will also be daily quayside music concerts, with Scottish musical talent from Deacon Blue and Tide Lines. With those events and the tall ships themselves, the race will prove to be a true spectacle.

Beyond the spectacle, the tall ships races embody timeless values: the importance of teamwork, the discipline of seamanship and the thrill of adventure. The ships are living museums that preserve the skills and artistry of a bygone era, while simultaneously inspiring the next generation of seafarers and global citizens. They remind us, even in our digital age, of the enduring magic in the power of wind and sail, and the irreplaceable value of hands-on experience and shared endeavour.

As the tall ships prepare to grace our waters, I urge everyone to embrace this incredible opportunity and come down to Aberdeen harbour to witness those magnificent vessels up close, feel the spray of the sea and let the spirit of the Cutty Sark, the Thermopylae and the great tea clipper race transport them to a time of grand adventure.

Thank you. Mr Davenport, is there anything extra that you would like to add?

My next question is for Ms Collins and then Ms Senior; it is about college student support. What do you think of the Scottish Government’s intention of moving further education student support from the SFC to SAAS? Are you assured that the current delivery model will be retained? If not, what do you think that the issues might be?

So you are not assured at all.

I have finished, convener.

Will apprenticeships be given less priority?

I totally get what you are saying. I was a stay-at-home mum and look what has happened to me.

My last question is about the proposed definition of a Scottish apprenticeship. Is it fit for purpose? What would you like to be taken out or added in? Paul, you are catching my eye again.

Thank you. What about you, Ms Senior?