Cowes Sailability Club enabled many islanders with disabilities to try sailing for the first time at the annual RVYC Open Day for Disabled People.
From left to right: John Douglas, the Disabled Sailors’ Association, Mary Case, Deputy Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight and Cowes Sailability Club volunteers Paul Wilks, Jenny Girvin-Baker, Mike Bull, Roger Sutton (Commodore) and Chris Bull.
Cowes Sailability Club volunteers Mike Duke, Sarah Grainger and Jill Kernick crewed Lily during the Open Day, helping to ensure everyone had a great day out on the water.
Sunny weather attracted over eighty people to the Royal Victoria Yacht Club (RVYC) Open Day in Fishbourne, where island residents with physical and learning disabilities were encouraged to try water-based activities for the first time. Cowes Sailability Club supported the event by running sailing trips on Lily, one of the club’s Drascombe longboats.
“It was a very successful day,” says Mike Duke, the Cowes Sailability Club volunteer who helmed Lily throughout the event. “We took adults and children with a wide range of disabilities on sailing trips up the Wootten Creek, including several people with visual impairments. It was lovely to see the enjoyment they experienced from being on the water on a sunny day, hearing the sounds of the river and getting involved in a new activity.”
On shore, Cowes Sailability Club volunteers chatted with local people all day long, inspiring them to give sailing a go and telling them about the club.
“The RVYC Open Day was a good opportunity for Cowes Sailability Club to meet with disabled islanders and explain what the club does to try to make water-based activities accessible to all,” says volunteer Paul Wilks. “Many of the people we spoke with were surprised to learn that they can sail with Cowes Sailability Club every Monday afternoon throughout the spring and summer months.
“Sailing isn’t just accessible to people with disabilities at special events,” he adds. “We hope many of the people we met at the RVYC Open Day will feel inspired to become members of the club and take part in regular sailing activities.”