SEQUIM — Orkney, an archipelago of some 70 islands off the north coast of Scotland, will be the subject of the Monday dinner meeting of the North Olympic Sail and Power Squadron at Sunland Golf &Country Club, 109 Hilltop Drive.
Social hour will begin at 5 p.m., followed at 6 p.m. with a business meeting, dinner and speaker Tom O’Laughlin at 7:15 p.m.
This event is free and open to the public. Dinner can be purchased for $22 per person.
O’Laughlin has spent his summers as an archaeologist at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ness of Brodgar on Mainland Orkney and will share his experiences of this 5,000-year-old Neolithic center and nearby standing stone circles and tombs.
One is never far from the sea in Orkney, where the mild climate is similar to the Pacific Northwest, O’Laughlin said
Rolling green hills with sheep and cattle give way to rocky shores and sandy beaches with small communities scattered here and there. Many communities have sailing clubs, and dinghy racing is seriously taken and competitive. Yacht racing also is gaining in popularity in the islands.
O’Laughlin has advanced degrees in biology and anthropology and has worked as an archaeologist in the American Southwest, northern Mexico and now Scotland.
For more information on this event or other classes offered by the North Olympic Sail and Power Squadron, visit www.north olympicboaters.com.
