Disabled sailing gets boost from Atlantic Crossing
RYA Sailability Scotland are the grateful recipients of funding generated by a sponsored sail across the Atlantic, giving disabled sailors the chance to develop their skills with specially targeted workshops, and disabled individuals the chance to try sailing.

Dave Sturrock, who sailed on ‘Flyer of Lorne’, a 40ft Hanse 400 yacht, took 20 days  and 2 hours to cross the Atlantic as part of the ‘Atlantic Rally for Cruisers’ sailing race, which runs from Gran Canaria to St Lucia. Dave and his  4 crew  decided to raise money for RYA Sailability Scotland on the way, as sailing is very much a passion for them all. ‘We wanted to give something back to a sport that has given us all so much enjoyment’ says Dave, who lives in Oban, and owns ‘Flyer’. ‘Thankfully we had really great weather throughout the race, which makes everything so much easier to manage, and we’re really delighted with the support we have had to allow us to raise  so  much money for disabled sailing’. Dave and the crew kept a log as they were doing the event, which can be found at this link: http://www.worldcruising.com/arc/logsarticle.aspx?page=SE633646747693132500&ArchiveID=5&CategoryID=64&ItemID=9492&src=

Jane Campbell Morrison, RYA Scotland Development Manager, received the funding from Dave, and gave her thoughts on his efforts, ‘It’s fantastic to have some able bodied sailors raising funding and the money raised will go a long way towards fulfilling the plans of RYA Sailability Scotland and will make sailing more accessible across Scotland’. Jane was accompanied by Claire Mands, Scottish Disability Sport Development Officer, who was equally impressed by the crew of ‘Flyer’, ‘It is fantastic to have someone from mainstream sailing supporting the disabled sailing community. The more people who can get involved the better, which then leads into lifelong involvement with the sport’.

Gary Phillips, Chairman of RYA Sailability Scotland, gave his view: ‘I would like to congratulate David and his crew on their fantastic achievement and we will be working very hard in partnership with RYA Scotland to create the opportunities that this funding will support"

For more information on the work of RYA Sailability Scotland, please go to www.ryascotland.org.uk and click on Sailability, or call 0131 317 7388.