Ongoing collaboration with the council creates fun, inclusive activities for families with disabled children
For the last two years, Cowes Sailability Club has collaborated with the Isle of Wight Council’s Children’s Services Department to provide accessible boating trips for disabled children on the island and their families. The trips have become a highlight of the year for many families, and the Children’s Services team looks forward to working with Cowes Sailability again in 2023.
“Families with disabled children can feel very isolated, as it is often difficult for them to find accessible activities that they can participate in with their children and other family members,” says Danielle Filer a social worker at the Isle of Wight Council. “I accompanied a group of families on a trip facilitated by Cowes Sailability Club during Cowes Week last year, and I saw for myself just how beneficial these water-based activities are – not only for the child with disabilities, but for the whole family. Inclusive activities like this enable families to spend quality time together, share new experiences and make very special memories.”
Cowes Sailability Club arranged seven boating trips specifically for the Isle of Wight Council’s Children’s Services Department during Cowes Week 2022, making 70 places available for disabled children, along with their parents, siblings and other family members or carers. The excursions embarked from East Cowes Marina and took place on a wheelchair-accessible motor catamaran, owned and operated by Wetwheels Solent.
Michelle went on one of the boating trips during Cowes Week with her son Evan, who has cerebral palsy, and her two daughters Emi and Thea. “The trip organised by Cowes Sailability Club was accessible for Evan, but was also something that we could all enjoy together,” she says. “My daughters had a lot of fun too, and we all got to see parts of the island that we had never seen before from the sea.
“Although he is unable to communicate with words, Evan can tell us how he is feeling through facial expressions and body language – and we could see just how much he loved going out on the water.”
“Our collaboration with Cowes Sailability Club has been really successful,” says Kim Goode, Area Director for Children’s Services, Isle of Wight Council. “The accessible boating activities help to improve confidence in children with a wide range of complex needs on the Isle of Wight. Children also have the opportunity to mix with other young people with similar or different disabilities and have a lot of fun. The families we work with want to do more and more trips with Cowes Sailability Club!”
During 2022, Cowes Sailability Club provided trips for young people with severe physical disabilities, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “All the volunteers at Cowes Sailability Club love welcoming children and families and helping them to access boating trips,” says Roger Sutton, Cowes Sailability Club’s Commodore. “No matter what challenges they face in their daily life, the children always come back onto land after a trip at sea with huge smiles. It’s a real pleasure to be able to offer this kind of uplifting experience for young people and their families.”