Polina Volochay, sail making

Polina Volochay, from Glasgow, has a background in film and television costume and has gained hands-on boatbuilding and rigging experience through voluntary work on traditional vessels. In 2026 she was awarded a training bursary to fund an apprenticeship-style placement in Shetland with sailmaker Davie Meddes to construct a mainsail for a Baltic schooner, tuition for a traditional sailmaking course with Mark Shiner at UHI Orkney, and a heavy-duty portable walking foot sewing machine. Polina’s bursary was funded by the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation.