A local charity is providing an inspirational service for disabled people of all ages by giving them the chance to cast off their land-based challenges and set sail for a bright future.
Wealden Sailability operates in the beautiful surroundings of Chipstead Lake, near Sevenoaks. It was founded eight years ago by Brian Stanley, 76.
He says: “The charity opens up enormous opportunities to simply enjoy yourself – or to compete against each other. And our age range spans from seven or eight to well into your eighties.”
Last year the charity was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – known as the MBE for voluntary organisations.
And now it is looking to add an extra-special type of boat to its fleet so that even the most disabled enthusiast will be able to enjoy the freedom that the open water offers.
“When we started, we had no money and no boats, just a few enthusiastic guys,” says Mr Stanley, who lives in Brenchley. “But now we’ve got 80 or 90 volunteers and a fleet of 23 boats.
“We can cater for any disability. We have up to 35 visitors from all over west Kent and we take them out every Tuesday and Thursday”
Mr Stanley, who has been sailing for over 50 years, took up the challenge of passing on his knowledge and skills when he retired from the advertising industry.
“The charity started at Bough Beech reservoir when I was the commodore up there,” he said. “We were approached by the Royal Yachting Association [RYA] and Kent County Council to set up a unit.
“It’s been a fantastic experience for me,” he added. “Not only is it rewarding for us but we can pass this knowledge on to others and it’s great to see them really enjoying it too.”
Sailability is a nationwide organisation with more than 200 sites around the country, set up by the RHA to encourage participation and also competition.
Sailing is a very rare pastime in that it allows disabled people of any age to be on a level playing field with able-bodied sailors.
“The beauty is that if you are totally disabled on land, you can still compete against anybody on water,” said Mr Stanley.
“Somebody once said to me: ‘On land I can move at 1mph but on water I can move as fast as anyone else.’”
There are several different types of boats in the ‘fleet’. The Drascombe Lugger is a large dinghy which can be used to conduct tours around the lake.
They also have two Olympic class International 2.4mRs, which they acquired from the RHA after the Paralympics at London 2012.
Then there are 10 Access 303Ws and three Access Liberty boats, which are also designed specifically to meet the needs of disabled sailors and provide the ideal model for early instruction.
With heavily weighted keels and added buoyancy, they are very stable. Movement is not necessary inside the boat and the only controls are a joystick for steering and a rope to control the sails.
“One of the Access Liberty boats is equipped with a simple control box which is tiny and can be attached to the clothing of the disabled sailor in the most convenient position,” said Mr Stanley.
“It consists of small toggle-type switches which control both the rudder and the sails. This has proved to be extremely popular for people with very limited dexterity such as severe cerebral palsy, and allows them the fun and exhilaration of sailing alone. It also enables them to race on equal terms.”
Now the charity wants to add a new boat to the fleet, with sip-and-puff assistive technology which sends signals to the controls using air pressure by ‘sipping’ (inhaling) or ‘puffing’ (exhaling) on a straw or tube.
“This will provide the opportunity for the very disabled to be able to sail independently. The sip-and-puff system has proved to be very successful, even on long-distance trips.
“We want to take this a step further for people with even more disability, who are constantly dependent on others for everything.”
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