Current News

 The Board of the Orkney Boat Museum met recently to decide how to proceed following the refusal by the Heritage Lottery Fund to provide a further grant for the project. The Board decided that:

·        the two main aspects of the project, restoration of the Hall of Clestrain and the building of a boat museum, are best served by keeping them under one overall project, rather than splitting them into two separate projects. While it might be decided at some point in the future to create two separate projects, the Board felt that it is premature to do so now.

·        the Board will discuss with Orkney Islands Council the future of the Otter Bank and the other boats in the collection. The project was first set up to find a way to preserve and display the OIC's boat collection. In the light of HLF's decisions not to fund a boat museum at Clestrain, the Board and OIC will jointly have to consider alternatives.

·        they may have to find a separate solution for the Hall of Clestain. They propose to discuss possible solutions with two building preservation Trusts. Both trusts restore historic buildings which can then be used as holiday accommodation.

·        they also discussed how to take forward other aspects of the project including links with Canada. The Board noted that, if nothing else, they have achieved a greater profile for John Rae, the third of the project's objectives.

Hugh Halcro-Johnston, Chairman of the Board of the Orkney Boat Museum said "It seems to me that we are not going to get the major museum and tourist attraction we set out to achieve, partly because of the HLF's response to our grant application (and the reduction of their heritage budget because of the Olympics) and partly because of the present financial climate. However, I think that the actions we are proposing give us the best chance of getting us what we want in spite of the present difficulties."