For the first time since Seagull Trust Cruises was founded in 1978, a husband and wife have both qualified as skippers at the same branch at the same time!
Rebecca and John Barr, from Colinton, joined the Ratho branch after retiring from their careers — Rebecca as a social worker, John as a physicist in academia and industry. Rebecca joined the Wednesday crew in June 2022, with John following in March 2024 as part of the Friday crew.
Since then, the couple have progressed side by side through every stage of training, moving from trained crew members to helmsmen, and finally to fully qualified skippers last month.
“What a fantastic achievement,” said Carole McLellan, Chair of the Ratho branch. “I’m sure that some of that drive to achieve was due to a wee bit of healthy competition between Rebecca and John.”
That friendly rivalry sharpened after both completed their Locks and Tunnels module in May. Rebecca earned her Helmsman Certificate first, with John following three weeks later — though the two certificates are numbered consecutively. From there, the race was on to become a qualified Skipper.
Rebecca qualified on 17 June, with John following just six days later. Rebecca then took on her first assignment as a qualified Skipper on 8 July, with John following two days after that.
July holds extra significance for the couple: alongside their joint achievement, it also marks their 44th wedding anniversary on 17 July. Congratulations!
All Seagull Trust Cruises skippers hold at least the Royal Yachting Association’s Inland Waterways Helmsman’s Certificate, with some crew members holding Master Mariner Certificates of Competence. Training is delivered through the RYA scheme at Ratho, one of the charity’s RYA-recognised Inland Waters Training Centres, alongside its Falkirk and Kirkintilloch branches.