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News

TELLTALES - MARCH 2004
Volume 5 Issue 2

1. Editorial by Jackie
2. Worldwide Development (Jackie Kay)
3. "Bees in a Bottle" (Australia)
4. 2004 IFDS Single Person Dinghy World Championship
5. 2004 IFDS Dinghy Worlds ..... Memorable Moments
6. Sporting History was Made
7. Blind Sailing at Dobroyd (Australia)
8. Racing Skills Workshop in Singapore
9. Portugal - History and Development
10. Exciting New Format for Sailors with a Disability
11. Upcoming Regattas

1. EDITORIAL BY JACKIE

Well, can you believe that it is almost Easter ? Seems like yesterday that we were preparing for Christmas. Our IFDS Dinghy World regatta has come and gone, leaving a warm memory of admiration to all the competitors and organisors. The organising club of the regatta, Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron, should be heartily congratulated for their outstanding commitment to ensure the Worlds was a fantastic event. I believe that BYS has set a new standard in the organisation of regattas for severely disabled sailors. Congratulations go to Dan Fitzgibbon, the first ever IFDS Single Person World Champion. Dan's sailing expertise was well evident. As World Champion, Dan won a Liberty with servo controls. Well done Dan….. And also congratulations to Zoltan Pegan, who won Fleet B with a clean sweep of 8 out of 8 races. Over the coming months IFDS will decide on a new discipline for the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. Two test events are planned, the Single Person Dinghy Worlds at Blairgowrie that was held in January sailing the Liberty, and in March, the Two Person Worlds in Florida sailing the Martin16. These are exciting times for the future development of disabled sailing around the world. We will keep you informed as to decisions made by IFDS. Please keep your stories coming and share your achievements and happiness with everyone. (return to Index)

2. Worldwide Development of Accessible Sailing (Jackie Kay)

Almost 1,100 Access Dinghies are sailed throughout the world.
(Number of AD)
* = annual Access Dinghy national c'ships
^ = location of Liberty at May 04

The not for profit, Access Dinghy Foundation (ADF) is committed to spread the philosophy of "accessible sailing" throughout the world. Several countries in Asia are currently forming Sailability programmes. A report about these exciting projects in Pakistan, China, Taiwan and Malaysia will in the July edition of Telltales.

The AD Foundation believes that accessible sailing programmes are a means to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged communities. With greater understanding of disability, society will gain a new level of consciousness regarding the needs of people with disabilities.

A key factor to the successful development of sailing for people with disabilities, is that sailing programmes should be SAFE, ACCESSIBLE, AFFORDABLE, FUN and EASY to people with any sort of disability. The 200 "accessible" sailing programmes around the world promote the successful "sailing for everyone" philosophy in which hundreds of thousands of sailors of all abilities participate each year.

What is different about these programmes? The concept is simple. Any "non sailor" is disabled in the sailing world, whether they be able bodied or with a disability. If sailing organisations used inexpensive and uncomplicated boats of universal design they would bring an enormous number of newcomers into the sport. And because universal design means they can be sailed by anyone regardless of ability, there would be totally integrated and inclusive programmes where people with any sort of disability could simply join in. This is a win-win solution, but unfortunately it escapes the understanding of most sailing administrators.

In the past, designers have ignored the needs of anyone who is not a right-handed, physically fit male, of average body size and aged between 18 and 45. Yet by 2050, it is projected that this group will make up less than 15% of the population - so, what about the other 85% of the population who do not fit these "normal" design parameters ?

In an ideal world, access should not disadvantage anyone. With the rapid ageing of the world's population, we must begin to address the issues that exclude a large % of individuals. Many problems experienced today regarding access have come about because of the acceptance of ineffectual design.

Access Dinghies address these issues by embracing people of ALL abilities and all ages, attracting sailors between 3 and 93, with 50+% of participants being female in general club activities….. and let's not ignore all those kids around the world born with a disability, and the millions of people in developing nations who are social outcasts because of disability.

Unless things are done differently, then nothing will change. Sailing will remain an elitist, expensive and technically difficult sport, available only to those who are lucky enough to live in the wealthier and developed nations. Use inexpensive boats of universal design and new programmes will blossom all over the world, welcoming all comers to sailing. (return to Index)

3. "Bees in a Bottle" (Australia)

Sonia Tobin, & Scott Grant, Recreation Officers
Department of Ageing Disability & Home Care

The Sailability Program at Rowland Reserve in Pittwater has been a joint initiative between Sailability Pittwater and the Department of Ageing Disability and Home Care for four years. This program has gone through a number of changes over the years it has been operating. Initially the program targeted adults with intellectual disabilities living in the community and in group residential settings on the Northern Beaches. Following the success of this program we expanded the program to include Northern Beaches school age children and more recently have started an early intervention group, aged between 2½ and 5 years, for children with disabilities. We have a wonderful group of Sailability Pittwater volunteers that share their time and skills between 11am and 6pm every second Wednesday. Often these volunteers have many years of sailing experience and this has lead to some fantastic achievements for the participants of the program. Some of the 32 participants attending are now sailing independently, while others are just as happy to experience their time "at sea" with assistance - enjoying the breeze in their face, the rocking of the boat, the activity of other yachts and launches. Some participants enjoy setting the boats up and helping with the rigging and washing of the boats, where others save their energy to start up massive water fights where no one is spared. We also have a great group of parents that help with the packing away of the boats and some that are even learning to sail themselves so they can help out with the program. Best of all it is a day where fun is had by all people of all ages whether they are three years old or 80! Thankyou so much Sailability Pittwater for making this great day out.

THE MUM'S HAVE THE FINAL SAY…..
Jessica's mum, Linda - A great opportunity for the kids to feel the freedom of sailing. Jessie loves the sailing and has learnt a lot.
Ryan's mum, Nicole - I felt so proud to see my son, aged 3 sailing this afternoon. To see him on the water having such a wonderful time has made my day. Thank you Sailability.
Shane's mum, Jean - My son experiences freedom and control with this wonderful activity…. and I as a parent experience pride and joy that my son has this opportunity.
Conrad's mum, Michelle - Fantastic activity that Conrad loves. Lovely staff and a wonderful caring environment. (return to Index)

4. 2004 IFDS Single Person Dinghy World Championship

The 2004 IFDS Single Person Dinghy World Championship was a regatta like no other. Over a ten day period during January, twenty-two of the world's most disabled sailors assembled in Australia to demonstrate their sailing expertise, their courage and their passion for life. In doing so, they quickly earned the admiration of all who were privileged to share their celebration of ability. Spectators, volunteers, race officials and friends, marvelled as these inspirational sailors took to the waters of Port Phillip Bay from the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron, in conditions varying from calm waters with ghosting breezes and strong tidal flows, to 25 knot winds with one metre waves.

For this extraordinary Championship to proceed a multitude of extraordinary challenges were identified and overcome. The sailors themselves presented the major challenge. Their varying physical abilities were a major test as sailors were secured into seats so their bodies would remain stable while sailing at 45 degrees angle of heel. With many sailors having no upper body stability or strength they would have been incapable of righting themselves if they had fallen sideways. To conduct a World event is a challenge for any club, regardless of the sport. But to include the dimension that all twenty-two competitors are classed as "severely" or "very severely" disabled, all using wheelchairs, in a format that had never been tried or tested, anybody could be forgiven for putting this regatta in the "too hard basket". However the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron (BYS), not only agreed to run the event, but did so to such a high standard that they set an exemplary benchmark for future disabled sailing events. Congratulations and a hearty thanks to everyone who assisted at BYS.

Congratulations to Dan Fitzgibbon (Qld) and Zoltan Pegan (NSW), winning their respective Fleet divisions, with Dan gaining the World Champion title and the prize of an Access Liberty with servo controls. The Access Dinghy Foundation heartily congratulates all the competitors and the volunteers for making this first Single Person WORLD Championship a resounding success. RESULTS (return to Index)

5. 2004 IFDS Dinghy Worlds ..... Memorable Moments

most appreciated speech . . . .
Closing Ceremony. IFDS Technical Delegate, Phil Vardy.
"Disabled people almost never get to experience being alone. Severely disabled people cannot live their lives except by interacting with other people. In 1941 Churchill wrote to Roosevelt, 'put you confidence in us, give us your faith and your blessing. We shall not fall, we shall not weaken or tire, and we will finish the job.' So who provides the tools to allow disabled people to finish the job? Today, here at Blairgowrie, this is where the tools have been provided by a kinaesthetic genius, an anti-social, rude, eccentric, badly dressed, silent, acerbic, blunt, gauche, wonderful human being, who's main genius in life is an absolute dedication to equity for all the people who's lives touch his, and whom he touches. There is no person that I know so committed to justice and equity for disabled people. Ladies and Gentlemen it is worth embarrassing Chris Mitchell."

First World Single Person Champion - Dan Fitzgibbon
"Being a World Champion in the sport of sailing has occupied my mind for as long as I can remember. From when I was learning to sail to when I was in national championships, it was what I thought about, maybe one day. After my accident it seemed an impossibility until I heard about this regatta…….. I would like to thank all the volunteers for their extraordinary efforts. They kept the regatta running smoothly and the boats on the water. And I would like to thank all the people who have supported me over the years and have kept their faith in me, thank you."

. . . . fun on the water - a picture paints a 1000 words
Lindsday Dalmon of Sailability Pittwater.
"I hope this event has shown the world that there is a place in world competition for people like myself. "

. . . . . dolphins played amongst the fleet
The dolphins arrived on the first day of sailing and stayed for the entire regatta - an omen for a magnificent event ? DEFINITELY

the prize for innovation goes to . . . .
Keith Hobbs, Chairman, Canada Yachting Association's Disabled Sailing Committee. He wanted to go on the lay day Wineries tour, but the there were no seats available on the bus... so he brought his own - a shower chair borrowed from the accommodation. The chair was buckled down like a wheelchair and Keith spent the day sitting on the shower chair in the bus.

. . . fun off the water
Access Dinghy Trustee, Grahme Rayner spent 3 days taking competitors, volunteers & friends for rides on his Harley with side- car. In March, Grahme will crew for Dan Fitzgibbon in the IFDS Two Person Worlds in St. Pete's. ADF wishes Dan and Grahme the very best of luck in Florida. Go get 'em boys. (return to Index)

6. Sporting History was Made

When Andrew Hartley of South Australia, competed in the 2004 IFDS Single Person Dinghy World Championship, he became the first ventilated quadriplegic in history to compete in a World championship event - at any sport.. This was confirmed by Chairman of International Boccia Commission, Jim Thomson, advising "at international level we have not yet had a participant who has required to be ventilated."

WORDS FROM ANDREW
"As a severely disabled person, to sail single-handed in a highly competitive environment was a wonderful opportunity. The Liberty gave me a sense of freedom, exhilaration and most importantly safety that I don't experience in any other aspect of my life, giving me the opportunity to compete in the wonderful sport of sailing. The Liberty has opened up a whole new world for me because there is no other sport in which I can compete at any level. The Liberty gives severely disabled sailors an equal footing in a racing event and as such would be an ideal boat for the proposed Paralympic single-handed event. Blairgowrie was a huge success. It should be recognised as a watershed for severely disabled sailors. If every future regatta was held in the same boats, using Blairgowrie as a model, no-one would complain too much. I can't wait for the next regatta." (return to Index)

Andrew's electronic controller.
As with his wheelchair, Andrew uses his chin to sail his boat. The toggle steers left and right, sails in and out. There is a magnet taped to Andrew's chin. He touches the magnetic reed switch to latch and unlatch the main and jib sheets for fine tuning of sails.

8. Blind Sailing at Dobroyd (Australia)

Mike Cumming

On Sunday 15 February, around forty blind and vision impaired clients of the Royal Blind Society had their first experience of small dinghy sailing at a come-and-try day run by Sailability Dobroyd on Iron Cove. In ideal 10 knot winds, Sailability Volunteers launched and skippered six of their Access 2.3 and 303 dinghies and hosted a barbecue for sailors and friends in what was evidently a most exhilarating experience for the new sailors.
RBS was delighted to be involved with this opportunity for their clients. Sue Small, Metropolitan Area Manager for RBS said "Our vision is that blindness and vision impairment is no longer a barrier to full participation in the community. This was a chance for our clients to try something that they may not otherwise have had the opportunity to try, along with their friends and family members. (return to Index)

8. Racing Skills Workshop in Singapore

During May, Singapore Disability Sports Council will run a Racing Skills Workshop to further develop the knowledge and experience of sailors with a disability. It is anticipated that twenty participants will attend from programmes within Singapore and neighbouring countries. Workshop coach is Access Dinghy Foundation Trustee, Zoltan Pegan. As Australian & International AD Champion for numerous years, and more recently winner of Fleet B in the IFDS Dinghy Worlds, Zoltan has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Zoltan's additional experience in competing in 2.4mR and Sonar will also be a great benefit participants. The three day workshop includes topics such as setting sails, rules and tactics. (return to Index)

9. Portugal - History and Development

Portuguese Association of Adapted Sailing
Bruno Valentim, Chairman

The Portuguese Association of Adapted Sailing (APVA) is affiliated at the Portuguese Sailing Federation that in turn is affiliated at IFDS. Additionally, is also part of Sailability International by promoting sailing for all. Therefore, since the beginning of our young association our aim was to include severe disabled potential sailors and avoid expensive sailing. Slowly but steady the number of our sailors increased together with the number of available boats.
Furthermore, during our first year, we have endorsed a major movement towards demonstrations and divulgation based on the ACCESS class of boats and the result was the creation of groups located at :

Algarve (CIMAV)
Lisbon (Clube Náutico da Boa Esperança and Clube do Mar da Expo),
Nazaré (Cercina and Clube Náutico da Nazaré),
Figueira da Foz (Clube Náutico da Figueira da Foz),
Porto and Madeira Island (Clube Náutico do Funchal).

However, our major event was the participation at the 1st ACCESS Liberty World Championship. In that meeting our sailors ended up in second and seventh positions, i.e., overcoming all our previous expectations. Additionally, experience and knowledge were obtained for our technicians and, finally, the marvellous stay at Melbourne provided new friends and a way of visit the old ones.

The future… well very soon we will have about thirty 2.3 wide seat in Portugal and three Liberties. That's a huge responsibility because we will have to make decisions about "sailing for all" and new demands such as competition, to increase the number of new disabled sailors and deal with the high competition elite sailors that will emerge. It may seem hard but with good winds the boat will certainly get there.

Bento Amaral - competitor in IFDS Dinghy Worlds, Blairgowrie
"The 2004 IFDS Single Person World Championship was a great opportunity to exchange experiences with people with the same kind of difficulties, coming from different parts of the world and having the same will to sail. The Championship enabled us to compete at the highest level on our own in a single person boat which is at the same time safe and competitive. It was the first time I sailed a Liberty and I felt it was the most user-friendly boat I have ever sailed, even compared to the ones I sailed before my accident. Sailing at Blairgowrie was marvellous as it combined safe conditions with good and clear winds and very nice people."

Australian Union CFMEU Assists
The Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union is one of Australia's largest and most effective trade unions. The CFMEU campaigns to improve the wages and conditions of its members. It also has a reputation for being active in many broader community initiatives. The union has a full time Portuguese speaking organiser, Antonio Vicente who was born in Leiria in Central Portugal. The union has thousands of Portuguese speaking building workers. The Construction Division of the CFMEU in Sydney, co-ordinated by Antonio is in the process of raising A$30,000 for Portugese sailors with a disability, purchasing a fleet of Access Dinghies to form a new branch of APVA in Lisbon. (return to Index)

Portugese Team at Blairgowrie, IFDS Single Person Dinghy World Championships - January

10. Exciting New Format for Sailors with a Disability

2006 Commonwealth Liberty Championship
A NEW CONCEPT IN RACING FOR PWD

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT FOR SAILORS WITH A DISIBILITY
In March 2006, a new racing format for sailors with disabilities will be sailed at the Commonwealth Liberty Championships. This regatta is scheduled to be held in the period after the Volvo Round the World yachts depart Melbourne and prior to the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. The venue, Waterfront City, is a new facility constructed to host the Volvo yachts.
Between ten and fifteen teams are expected to enter from Commonwealth countries around the world. The proposed format for the three person team is likely to be :-

1 x Classification 1 (sailing full servo)
1 x Classification 5 or less (sailing manual or partial servo)
1 x Able Bodied or any Classification (sailing manual or partial servo)

This format will provide totally inclusive and exciting competition where sailors with and without disabilities compete as a team.

HERE IS YOUR FIRST TASTE OF TEAM RACING
STEVE BULMAN - DOCKLANDS YACHT CLUB
Remember when yacht racing was compared with watching grass grow or paint drying? When the fleet was a collection of dots on the horizon, unidentifiable. Courses were mysterious beats, runs, jibes, works, tight reaches, windwards and returns, mostly out of sight of spectators.
But that is all changing - team racing is revitalizing yacht racing!!

Here is a quick layman's run down on team racing. As the name implies, there are no individual awards but only recognition of TEAM effort. It works like this:
·
Two teams race against each other ie Six identical boats contest a heat.
·
Courses are always short, uncomplicated, best of all, should be well in sight of spectators. Races are often only 10 minute long, but be prepared to fit in a large number per day. Lowest team score wins. The team with the most number of wins in a series or regatta wins, the numerical score is only used to decide count-backs. (It gets a bit tricky at this point, but you can always refer to the blue book.) Race programs can be worked out so that any number of teams can compete in either a day or over a series, but it is ideal to have each team compete against each other team the same number of times.

Andrew Hartley, South Aust -competitor 2004 IFDS Dinghy Worlds
I grew up team racing and my Dad is responsible for introducing dinghy team racing to SA, if not the whole country. It is very exciting and a fantastic spectator sport. It's an art though. If you're coming second and fourth, it's not hard to sail down on top of the third place boat, slow him right down, stop him from tacking, sail him past the lay line or mark, or into the spectator fleet and get your mate through into second. Then the winning boat comes back to help his mate who's now last and the whole thing starts again. The Commonwealth Liberty Championship is a fantastic idea.

Mark Turnbull OAM-Gold Medallist, 2000 Olympics in 470's
Having sailed since the age of six and reaching the heights of an Olympic Gold Medal at the Sydney Olympics, I thought I had seen most aspects of our sport. But recently I have been introduced to Sailability and Liberty dinghies which opens up sailing to everyone. This new boat offers a fantastic vehicle for all to compete on an equal basis and enjoy the sport of sailing. Immediately before the Commonwealth Games, Docklands Yacht Club is hosting the Commonwealth Liberty Championship in which sailors of all abilities, age and gender from around the Commonwealth will compete in a Teams Racing event. This will be unique event and I believe a first for the World. I cannot wait to be involved!!! (return to Index)

11. Upcoming Regattas

2004
April 13-17
Combined High Schools AD Regatta
Belmont 16 Ft Sailing Club
Belmont NSW, AUSTRALIA
luke@belmont16footers.com.au

May 21-23
Singapore & Regions AD Racing
Skills Workshop
Singapore Disability Sports Council
alan.tan@sdsc.org.sg

June 18-19
2004 Nth American AD C'ships
Erie Adaptive Sailing Experience
Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
jrayburg@svhs.org

June 25-28
2004 UK Access Dinghy C'ships
Whitefriars, Cotswold Water Park
Gloucestershire GREAT BRITAIN
peterwb49@hotmail.com

July 3-4
Rencontre Nationale Access Dinghy
Centre Nautique de Feins , Bretagne
idem, FRANCE
lavoile.ensemble@wanadoo.fr

August 8
Canadian Access Dinghy C'ships
Quinte Sailability,
Quinte, Ontario
d.w.fletcher@sympatico.ca

September 11-12
NSW Access Dinghy C'ships
Wagonga Inlet, Narooma
Sailability Narooma
amethyst@sci.net.au

October 2-3
Australian & Inter'l AD C'ship
Belmont 16 Ft Sailing Club
Belmont NSW, AUSTRALIA
luke@belmont16footers.com.au

October 23-24
Port Stephens Cup
Grahamstown Dam, Medowie
Sailability Port Stephens, NSW, AUS
grahmerayner@hotmail.com

November 9-10
Pan Pacific Masters Games
Access Dinghy Competition
Southport Yacht Club Qld AUSTRALIA
www.mastersgames.com.au

2005
(exploring the possibility)
August 2005
IFDS Single Person Dinghy World Championship pending
GREAT BRITAIN
morleys@jrmorley.fsnet.co.uk

2006
TBA Commonwealth Liberty C'ship
Waterfront City, Docklands
Docklands Yacht Club, Melbourne
AUSTRALIA
steveb@tsis.com.au

(return to Index)

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