Rye Harbour Sailability is a charity that was founded in 2016, launched in 2017 and has twenty five volunteers. It enables people with a variety of disabilities of all ages to enjoy the fun and freedom of sailing at Rye Harbour. You can lose complete awareness of time, feel pure freedom and a sense of peace and be part of a team.
The best way to find out the value of this work is to ask those who take part and enjoy the wind in their sails. The latest outing was on Friday, June 17 and the weather was nigh on perfect, although with a little too much breeze for the Sailability dinghies to venture out into Rye Bay, making it an interesting experience.
Bill was happy to recount his experience after his outing on the boat, “Just a brief note to thank you and the whole Rye Harbour Sailability volunteer team for making today such a treat, again. What a glorious day’s sailing! I really do appreciate the effort that you all put in. As I think I told you, sailing was one of the hobbies that I had intended to pursue when I retired, but fate had other plans, and I suffered a stroke a month after retiring. As a result I cannot cope on my own but, thanks to Rye Harbour Sailability, I can still experience the visceral thrill of the wind in the sail.”
From Kerry , “I like sailing because I can get on the water and be me with the dinghy, just going up and down the river. It clears the mundane thoughts for a while, and even though I help where I can, it never seems a great deal. I can look around at the greenery and buildings from each side of the water’s edge. We can see all kinds of wildlife which live there and it really helps me clear my body, mind, and spirit, from my usual things. Just having the sail to push us along gives it a special kind of feeling.“
To find out more and check out the sailing and social programme, please visit www.ryeharboursailability.org or you can call 01797 223112.
We need to remember that we cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails; and Sailability gives everyone the chance to do that.
Image Credits: Kt Bruce , Kt bruce .