A special Sailing Day

Thanks to helpers Clare, Anthony, Tanya for helpwith these.Stephen waiting for his sailIt wasn’t long before Daniel, Jess, and Holly arrivedwith helper Darina, then Stephen, Doug, Thomaswith Alice. Elyce, Conrad, Paul came down withJacquie and all tootled around having a leisurelysail. Lynette arrived with her tutor Bill, and at aboutthe same time, a new sailor this morning, Lara, withher helper Susan. So much of the routine of the dayis helped by the willing carers of our participants,and I want to add a special thanks to these guys fortheir support today.And the following has been directly contributed byLara, our new sailor– welcome again, Lara!“I've used an electric wheelchair for about six yearsnow. I'm quite tall so I'm never sitting at the sameheight as other people so just the thought of beingin a boat with Sailability was a thrill even before Idrove onto the wharf.Lara – about to start her first sailThe weather was perfect. I can't actually stand totransfer so a manual sling hoist took me from chairto boat easily. I do sit a bit lopsided so was leaninginto my lovely skipper Ray. Being 'face to face'instantly made it so much easier to click intoconversation and the quiet harbour waters wereideal for my soft voice which dies a bit in everydaycity living.I probably made Ray’s job, of dodging all of theother boats closer to the club, more difficultbecause I was making chit chat. My hands didstiffen into the 'I'm-a-bit-scared’ position but Idefinitely relaxed when Ray explained that theboats are built in a way that makes them basicallyimpossible to capsize.It was 100% relaxed awesome fun then! Lots of funsharp turns, running my hand in the water andbouncing over waves left by the big ferries.Lara and Ray – a winning team!There were so many friendly volunteers that mademy first day of sailing really lovely and effortless.Cheers, Lara” – LaraThanks for this great contribution to our newsletter,Lara! - AudreyWe welcome anyone to contribute to Signals, so ifyou have feedback or articles, feel free to get intouch with Eli or Audrey directly,audreylouisa@gmail.com.5 | S i g n a l s