Royal Lymington Yacht Club hosts Visually Impaired Sailing Week
FORTY people with visual impairments enjoyed a taste of life as a sailor thanks to the Royal Lymington Yacht Club.
The club recently hosted its first Visually Impaired Sailing Week since 2019, having been repeatedly cancelled by the pandemic.
Seventeen yachts, skippered by their volunteer owner and two sighted mates, each gave two visually impaired crew the chance to get out on the waves for a week.
Living aboard their yachts, crews visited Chichester and Poole before returning to the yacht club in Lymington.
Yacht club vice-commodore Stephen Crates said: “Visually Impaired Sailing Week is a highly worthwhile and memorable event for all participants.
“As a club we were able to facilitate arrival and departure arrangements for those involved, provide a central venue, and host the welcome and departure dinners.
“It was a privilege to meet with many of the attendees at the end of their time on the Solent and to see the smiles on participants’ faces and hear everyone’s seafaring stories at the end of the week.
“We very much look forward to being involved in the event in future years.”
During the week, visually impaired Londoner and sailing novice Jean learnt safety drills, winching and how to tie knots by touch.
On the water, the club’s motorboat section gave participants a safe yet thrilling experience on board a rigid inflatable boat and driving a motor cruiser.
Having taken the wheel in the open sea, one participant said: “I’ve never driven a motorbike or a car – how amazing to be at the wheel of a 100hp powerboat.”
Another said: “This trip has made my year. I never thought I would do this.”
At the end of the week the crews enjoyed a dinner at the yacht club, complete with salty stories about life as a mariner and sea shanties.
Royal Lymington Yacht Club members volunteered for shore-based duties during the week, including distributing sailing gear and meeting visually impaired participants arriving in the county.
A yacht club spokesman said its members and local businesses were “generous in their support for the event and victualling the yachts”.
