SAILING FOR DISABLED
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES DISCOVER THE JOY OF SAILING
THE freedom of heading out to sea in a yacht with the wind in your face and the sea spray in your hair is something special.
It’s an exhilaration that several people with disabilities got to experience for the very first time when a French sailing crew dropped anchor off Rosses Point last week.
Their 40 foot mono hull Caphandi is no ordinary sailing boat - it’s been adapted for sailing with people with disabilities.
It’s owned by a French charity of the same name which sails around the world bringing people with disabilities out on free excursions to discover the joy of sailing.
“It’s the very first time for both of us,” said Nuala Grogan who was accompanying Ann Glenfield on board last Thursday morning. They were among eight people who braved the showers that morning to sail around Sligo Bay with Skipper Christophe Souchaud at the helm.
“We had a great time. There’s so much you and I wouldn’t take in but the likes of Emer takes in,” said Lorna McLoughlin who accompanied Emer McNulty.
“Like the wind and the smell of the sea, the movement of the boat, the swell and how it rocks, the ropes, the noises, the sails, it’s all taken in by everybody here today, more so for these guys,” said Lorna.
“It was a great experience,” she added. “People don’t get this opportunity in Ireland. This is an amazing opportunity for people in Sligo. Really in Ireland, we need something like this. We would love to have something like this permanently in Ireland so it could travel around Ireland and do the same thing that these guys do in France,” she said.
The vision behind the boat came from skipper Christophe who started the organisation several years ago.
“I felt sailing should be accessible to everyone,” he told The Sligo Champion. “Everyone said it would be impossible but we’ve been bringing people out sailing for the past four years now,” he said.
“We have 370 members in the Caphandi Association now. Our vision is, like today, to help people discover the joys of sailing, after that, to bring people on longer trips of 4/5 days at sea,” he said.
“They’ve sailed as far as the west coast of Africa, the Caribbean and Colombia,” interjects Nico Guichard. He persuaded the crew to stop off in Sligo on their way from the Azores to Scotland, having lived in Sligo for 15 years with his wife Lisa and their three children. “When they go on voyages they do legs so people can come on and off at different legs,” said Lisa. The couple now live in France but love returning to visit Sligo, their second home.
Everything on the boat is designed for wheelchair users to get around independently. For further information see www.caphandi.org.