Over the past 16 years, the Exe Sailing Club in Exmouth has been extending a warm welcome to young people from InFocus Charity during every summer term, granting them the opportunity to delve into the joys of sailing. Regardless of the weather, these weekly sessions have been conducted, utilising both ‘No Excuse’, the Hawk 20 – a specially adapted sailing boat for disabled sailors, and Tornado 2, a wheelchair-accessible twin-hulled launch.
The Hawk is equipped with custom seating featuring a secure 4-point harness, enabling wheelchair dependent sailors to participate safely. Access to the boat is facilitated by a hoist installed on the pontoon at Exmouth Marina, ensuring a smooth and secure transfer. Once on board, young people actively engage in tasks such as rope handling, sail control, and steering using the tiller.
From handling ropes and hoisting the mainsail to taking the helm, every young person has reaped some form of benefit from these sessions. Even for those with limited abilities, the chance to feel the wind on their faces, the spray of the sea, the motion of the waves, or even the touch of seaweed has proven to be a profoundly enriching experience. Notably, several students have even earned RYA awards, reflecting their growing skills and accomplishments.
The participating young people, encompassing a diverse range of disabilities and abilities, including cerebral palsy, learning difficulties, acquired brain injuries, and those on the autism spectrum, along with visual impairments of varying degrees, have found this opportunity invaluable. For some, this has provided an avenue to embrace different sensory experiences, like one individual deriving sensory feedback from the engine vibrations, or another who relished leaning overboard to feel the rush of water past their head. These feelings can allow some of our young people to feel a sense of calm in an altogether confusing and chaotic world.
For many, this sailing experience has been entirely novel, made possible through the continuous support of the Exe Sailing Club and its dedicated instructors, who have generously facilitated these sessions year after year.