Accessible sailing program in Halifax offers freedom on the water – Halifax

A Maritime sailing program is empowering those with disabilities by offering accessible sailing lessons.

For many living with a disability, it’s the kind of freedom they say they can’t get anywhere else.

“That feeling is kind of empowering when you leave the dock, your chair’s left behind and you’re out there and you just got the open water and you have the freedom to go where you want to go,” said Kevin Penny, a board member with Sail Able.

Sail Able Nova Scotia brought accessible sailing to the Halifax waterfront on Tuesday, in partnership with WeCANFoil. The event gave people the opportunity to get behind the bow of their very own sailboat — one they don’t have to worry about tipping over.

“People who don’t have the use of their arms or legs or limbs are able to sail these boats independently,” said Grace Flight, president of Sail Able Nova Scotia.

She adds the experience also shows people living with disabilities what’s possible.

“And people have a great time, they want to come back,” she said.

The boats are adapted to each individual’s needs. For RJ Roggeveen, a participant in Tuesday’s event, that means keeping all the controls at his fingertips.

“So that’s nice because I don’t have to worry about being stable while reaching for anything,” he said.

For Penny, his adaptive boat used straws for controls.

“Because I can’t move my arms, they attach straws to the boat which you actually blow and suck on and that does the controls of the boat to allow me to sail it,” he explained.

Thanks to its volunteers, Sail Able runs free programming through the summer for those looking to try adaptive sailing. It’s an experience Roggeveen says others need to try.

“We talk a lot about sailing in this province and in the Maritimes, so, getting to feel like I don’t have to be left out of that, it just makes me feel part of the community,” Roggeveen

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