Join us in thanking the five wonderful organisations sponsoring our Cowes Week activities this year!
Cowes Sailability Club is, once again, arranging accessible boating excursions during Cowes Week for island residents with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and debilitating medical conditions.
The trips are provided free of charge, thanks to funding that Cowes Sailability Club has secured from five organisations: Carisbrooke Shipping, the Isle of Wight High Sheriff’s Trust, Royal Southern Yacht Club Trust, Liz Earle and the Daisie Rich Trust. Each organisation is sponsoring a day on the water, enabling up to 180 people in total to enjoy an exciting day out on a wheelchair-accessible motor catamaran that has been specially adapted to cater for people with disabilities.
“Cowes Sailability Club has been arranging boating trips for adults and children with disabilities during Cowes Week for over ten years, and this event is a highlight in our calendar,” says Trish Rooke, the club’s Fundraising Officer. “The trips are very popular, as they enable disabled people to not only have fun on the water, but to do so accompanied by their families or a friend. We are so grateful to our sponsors for funding these trips and making it possible for disabled people on the Isle of Wight to have life-enriching experiences and make amazing memories.”
The trips will take place aboard Wetwheels Solent, a nine-metre catamaran that can accommodate up to ten passengers, including three wheelchair users, at any one time. The boat is owned and operated by the Wetwheels Solent, a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that provides barrier-free boating opportunities for people of all ages and all abilities.
Read about our sponsors below.
Carisbrooke Shipping owns or operates a fleet of 28 modern dry cargo and multi-purpose vessels from offices in Cowes and Rotterdam in Holland. Founded in the 1960s, it transports cargo not only to the Isle of Wight, but all around the world.
The Isle of Wight High Sheriffs’ Trust was founded in 2000 and makes small, but vital, grants to benefit Island charities and community groups. High Sheriff Dawn Haig-Thomas will be visiting Cowes Sailability on Thursday 3rd August to meet volunteers assisting with the Cowes Week trips.
The Royal Southern Yacht Club is based on the Hamble River in South Hampshire. Funding was provided to Cowes Sailability Club from the Royal Southern Yacht Club Trust, which was set up following a bequest from the late Sir Michael Cobham to create opportunities for everyone to engage in sailing and boating activities.
Liz Earle Beauty was founded in Ryde and is still headquartered on the Isle of Wight. The company’s award-winning beauty and skincare products harnesses the power of natural botanical ingredients and are inspired by the coast around the island.
The Daisie Rich Trust supports residents of the Isle of Wight by making grants and donations to charitable trusts and other charitable entities or organisations, in each case for the benefit of the Isle of Wight and its residents.