On Saturday the 30th of August there was a Sailability Taster Session at the Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club in Rhu. The Sailing took place in Sonars that are part owned by the Club. Sonars are small Keelboats and can be sailed comfortably with between three and five people in them. As a class it is growing on the Clyde and the boats are raced competitively at Club and Scottish events. The Sonar is also one of the classes of boats raced at the Paralympics and provides a different kind of sailing experience to the Challenger, which has been used previously at the Sailability events.
Alex Campbell, the RYA Sailability Scotland Development Officer, managed to attract six people with varying disabilities from a wide area to attend the event. One man had to leave very early to catch two ferries just to get there! RYA instructors Nikki Stewart and Nick Ironside along with some helpful RNCYC volunteers managed to get everyone out on the water either in the Sonars or a Gareloch, which is a small wooden boat local to the area. The younger participants also had the opportunity to ride in a RIB, an activity that encouraged much enthusiasm although the sailing was just as popular. Luckily the weather was kind and even though it was not glorious sunshine the rain held off and we had a nice gentle breeze making the sailing session a huge success!
Everyone who attended had a great time and all are keen to come back to gain more experience. Hopefully next year there will be further opportunities and we can get more disabled people to join in with the sport. Thank you very much to the instructors and volunteers as well as the sailors who all made the day run smoothly.
If you are keen to try sailing, or know someone who might, please do contact Jane Campbell Morrison on 0131 317 4610, or by email: jane.campbellmorrison@ryascotland.org.uk , or Alex Campbell on alex.campbell@visibiity.org.uk , to find out about opportunities that exist across Scotland. Alternatively visit www.ryascotland.org.uk/sailability , to catch up with the latest news.