Five young people with life-limiting conditions enjoyed stimulating boat trips, funded by The True Colours Trust.
Children with life-limiting conditions were among the young people who benefited from accessible boat trips, organised by Cowes Sailability Club this summer. A group of five children, all of whom use wheelchairs, enjoyed the thrill of speeding through the waves, accompanied by support workers from the NHS Children’s Community Respite Team.
“Our role is to help improve the quality of life of children who face considerable challenges in their young lives,” says Antonia Fry, a Children’s Community Support Worker within the team. “The trips that Cowes Sailability Club offered to us were amazing! The children could feel the motion of the boat in their wheelchairs, and the faster we went the more they enjoyed it.”
She adds, “With the wind and sea spray in their faces, it was a really good sensory experience for them. They all took a turn at helming too, which enabled them to try something new and gave them a sense of independence. The whole thing was so positive and really did provide respite for them. I would love to take more young people out again next year!”
The NHS Children’s Community Respite Team on the Isle of Wight is based at Mountbatten Hospice. It works with children who have significant and deteriorating health conditions and physical disabilities, including limited mobility and impaired communication skills.
The trips for the NHS Children’s Community Respite Team took place during Cowes Sailability Club’s Children’s Days 2024 event. Taking place over three days in August, the event focused on creating exciting and rewarding activities for young people on the Isle of Wight with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as well as physical disabilities. In total, 85 people, including the children’s family members and carers, were able to enjoy a trip on an accessible motorboat during the event.
“Our Children’s Days were a great success again this year,” says Paul Wilks, the Cowes Sailability Club volunteer who organised the event. “We welcomed young people with a wide range of physical and learning disabilities, mental health challenges and serious health issues, and they all had a fantastic time. There is nothing better than seeing their beaming faces when they alight from the motorboat, slightly damp and with windswept hair but really, really happy.”
Cowes Sailability Club was able to organise its Children’s Days 2024 event, thanks to funding received from The True Colours Trust, an independent funder working in the UK and Africa.
The organisation makes grants with the aim of making a difference to the lives of disabled children and their families and to improve access to good palliative care.
“We are very grateful to the True Colours Trust for its financial support, which enabled us to run a three-day event specifically for children this year,” says Roger Sutton, Cowes Sailability Club’s Commodore. “It’s a true privilege to be able to offer young people a great day out, when their lives are often so challenging.”
The Children’s Days 2024 event took place using a wheelchair-accessible motorboat, chartered by Cowes Sailability Club and owned and operated by Wetwheels Hamble CIC. Specially designed to cater for people with disabilities, Wetwheels Hamble can accommodate ten passengers, including up to three wheelchairs, on every excursion.
