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Wheelchair Bus Virgin!

quintesailability — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:24:33 +0000

Today I caught the city bus with Sandy! It was our big adventure to the Quinte Mall. Myself being a wheelchair bus virgin, Sandy decided it was time to take me on the bus and get over my fear! The city bus was a ride to remember! We had a blast riding the bus route, making two transfers and meeting and talking to people. There were different people coming and going from the bus. Most of the bus drivers were awesome with us… well… except for one crotchety man but Sandy and I just told him thank you and to have a great night! Thank you Sandy for showing me the ropes and the bus route for that matter! lol

By Jennifer Smith

And the winner is…

quintesailability — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:15:06 +0000

Marlene McFadden of Brighton won the Clear Water Design kayak from the July 17th draw. She is seen here receiving her prize form D. Fletcher, President of Quinte Sailability

My first time sailing the Martin 16

quintesailability — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:25:06 +0000

Every summer I always look forward to sailing. I even start a countdown about 6 weeks before the season opens. I’ve done this ever since I caught the sailing bug about 7 years ago. This year was no different, except I was hoping and anticipating that I would get to sail the Martin 16. John and Fletch were hoping that last summer I would get a chance to try out the Martin but unfortunately the controls (very similar to the ones I use when I sail the red Access Liberty) had not come in before the season ended. So I was a little more excited when this year came around. For the first couple of weeks I sailed the red Liberty as usual. Then came the day Alex said, “We have a surprise for you” and as soon as he said that, I knew I was gonna be in the Martin but I decided to play along with Alex and said “Really? cool, I like surprises”. A few minutes after that, I was getting ready and settled into the boat. Claire came with me as my crew and she was really excited too, it was our first time sailing together. After showing me how the controls worked, we set off to the race course for that day. On the way out, we ended up drifting and got caught on the break water. Alex came and got us free and gave a little bit of a tow toward where the course was. So Claire and I worked together and made our way around the course. It was great. I loved it. I think Claire did too. By the end of the day I was smiling ear to ear and I couldn’t wait until the next time I would sail the Martin again.

By Sandy Watson

Quinte SailAbility is a sailing school for people with a disability.

quintesailability — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:31:09 +0000

Sandy’s Story

quintesailability — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:55:14 +0000

Sandy learned to sail in 2002 on an Access Dinghy at Quinte SailAbility based at CFB Trenton Yacht Club in Eastern Ontario. However, her disability, the result of cerebral palsy, prevented her from single-handed sailing. “I had difficulty with my balance in the boat and my lack of upper body strength meant that I always had to have a partner with me in the Access Dinghy,” says Sandy.

Thanks to donations from Catch the Rainbow and the Rotary Club of Brighton, Sandy had a new boat to sail this summer. It’s a Liberty with servo assist system allowing her to single-handed sail right from her first time out. “When I heard about the Liberty and how it would be just as easy for me to sail as it is for me to operate my electric wheelchair, I was very excited,” she recalls. “That I could do all the sail work myself and be able to go out on the waters alone as fast and as far as I wanted-well, I claimed that Liberty as my boat before it even arrived!” And, indeed, Sandy was the first student to sail the boat and was out on the waters three times a week all through the summer.

Sandy’s sailing skills have increased exponentially since the arrival of the Liberty. She was able to qualify for her White Sail I certificate in her first two years of sailing the Access Dinghy. Since starting to sail the Liberty, she has quickly obtained both White Sail II and III. She also participated in her first sailing regatta, something she is interested in doing again.

“Sailing in the Liberty gives me a great sense of freedom,” claims Sandy. “I absolutely love it.” The combination of the Liberty and the servo assist make it the only such boat in Canada at this time. The sailing season is now drawing to a close in Canada and Sandy is sad to see the Liberty coming out of the water for the winter. “I’m already looking forward to next year,” she says.