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Philosophy

There is far more to this than little boats and sailing. Sailing is the ideal catalyst which brings together members of the whole family and community. It integrates disability and helps able bodied people to understand disability, it fosters racial harmony, includes minorities and the elderly as well as females, and involves young children in a clean and natural, environmentally friendly activity which is good for them, and good for the whole community.

Access Dinghy Sailing Systems Pty Ltd, and our Access Dinghy Foundation Inc, (which has Australia's Governor General, His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery as Patron, and P&O Nedloyd as the major sponsor) may be small, but, in a very short time, we have managed to establish ourselves as a positive force causing change to the benefit of thousands of disadvantaged people around the world.

maria and lindsay sailing 2.3 The key here is that disabled and other disadvantaged people generally don't want to be sidelined into disabled specific and other special programs, they want to participate alongside everyone else. It is therefore our responsibility to ensure that our boats are used by the general community in everyday activities.

Consequently our boats were not designed to appeal only to the small minority who are today's active sailors, but to attract all those groups who feel they are excluded by the current system. These groups include females, disabled, the young, the elderly, socially disadvantaged and racial minorities, many of whom would love to have a go at sailing.

We therefore concentrate our resources on the development of what we call "accessible sailing" programs which make sailing available to everyone regardless of age, physical capability and financial status. An example of this "sailing for everyone" philosophy is the enormously successful "Sailability" network that is rapidly expanding throughout the world. (www.sailability.org)

We believe that this philosophy is the future which will not only bring about a turn around in the decline in sailing participation, but also provide an integrated recreational opportunity for the disadvantaged members of the community, the often talked about but seldom seen goal of total inclusion.

We attribute our growth and extraordinary good fortune to the belief that we are here to provide a service, and our experience proves the truth in the paradox, that the more you give away the more you will receive, and, if you don't want anything, you can have it all.