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Sailability Cairns helping people with disability enjoy the water

28 Nov 2022

To kick off Disability Action Week (26 November – 2 December 2022), we want to shine a light on a fantastic organisation creating incredible development opportunities for people with disability through sailing and other on-water activities – Sailability Cairns.

One of our staff members and sailing guru has been doing some great work in this space to support the organisation in Cairns. He can attest to the amazing progress the organisation has made in recent times, offering two classes of sailing boats.

“We are very fortunate to have two classes of boats to sail in Cairns, Hansa 303’s and SV14’s. Sailabiliy Cairns is the only club in Australia to currently have the SV14 class, a competitive class that is rapidly expanding around Europe and Asia”, he said.

More about the organisation

Sailability Queensland operate out of 15 locations across the state. They provide sailing, sailboat training programs and other on-water activities in a safe and supportive environment (from fun and social activity to elite level competition) for people with disability for the purpose of delivering:

  • improved rehabilitation outcomes
  • regular access to therapeutic experiences
  • self-improvement and new skills development
  • increased recreational activity time
  • opportunities for increased social activity time
  • an improved sense of self worth.

Sailability Cairns strives to create development opportunities and improve the quality of life for people with disability. Their goals are to:

  • create and develop a dynamic organisation promoting the world of sailing for people with disability
  • encourage the involvement of experienced sailors who can share skills and knowledge for the benefit of participants with disability
  • encourage sailing participants with disability to take up leadership and administrative roles to assist with their personal development and create a true sense of empowerment and ownership of the program
  • liaise with Australian Sailing, Sailability Queensland and other sailability groups, Yacht Clubs and other sporting bodies, charitable institutions and government agencies to represent the interests of the association
  • implement fundraising and sponsorship activities to maintain the viability of the association.

Get involved – anyone is welcome

Sailability Cairns offer a fun, safe and welcoming environment where people with disability are accepted and encouraged to participate in and enjoy the sport of sailing, and other on-water activities. They run sessions every Tuesday and Saturday.

Tuesdays

  • Volunteers: 11.30am-4.30pm
  • Participants should arrive 12.00pm-1.00pm or 2.00pm-2.15pm

Saturdays

  • Volunteers: 1.00pm-4.30pm
  • Participants should arrive 1.00pm-3.00pm

Find out more

Read more about Sailability Cairns, or check out Sailability Queensland and find a Sailability club near you.