Sailability NSW gears up for IFDS Worlds

by Graeme Adam on 2 Aug 2005 A Sailability NSW Squad is going to Sabaudia, Italy to compete in the 2005 IFDS Single Person Dinghy World Championship from 1-10 October.

Those going have completed their last on-water training session to be in top form when they fly out in late September. Wendy Evans (Belmont /Pittwater Sailability), Maria Dalmon, Lindsay Dalmon and Bill Bradley (all Pittwater) have put aside every Sunday to train in the Libertys out of Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.

Ronald Notter, a sailor on kidney dialysis, has been training with the squad and acts as a bench mark for the sailors. If weather prevents sailing, rules and tactics are discussed with Allan Jones OAM, Commodore of Sailability Pittwater and fellow-club members, Wal Wardle and John Gordon, with the Club taking responsibility for managing their training regime.

Circeo Vela Yacht Club, at San Felice Circeo, in Sabaudia south of Rome, is the host for the Worlds and is involved with establishment of Sailability in Italy.
The event, now in its second year, is being sailed in the Australian-designed and built Access Liberty, and will be the first to allow sailors with profound disabilities to sail solo, competing against each other in the World Championship, while at the same time sailing in the Sabaudia Cup against more able sailors. The winner of the Sabaudia Cup will win a Liberty dinghy.

Serge Jorgenson, President of IFDS (International Federation of Disabled Sailors), commenting on the upcoming event, said that IFDS has observed the rapid growth and expansion of sailing to include sailors of all abilities.

‘Showing no boundaries, our sport attracted the likes of the Andrew Hartley (AUS) and Darren Tucker (CAN), both sailors of the utmost integrity and quick witted humor who lived their daily lives with high-level quadriplegia, depending upon a mechanical ‘ventilator’ for every breath. Sadly, both of these remarkable men passed away this year, but their inspiring stories have already encouraged others to follow their lead.

‘During the inaugural 2004 IFDS Single-Person Dinghy Worlds in Victoria, Andrew took on the best, sailing solo in his accessible Access Liberty. The Liberty, an exercise in ingenuity and simplicity, accommodated Andrew’s life-support systems, while empowering his sailing skill and allowing his strategy to prevail.’ Whilst there, he said sailing was the only thing he could do on his own and gave him the only independence he had known since his accident.

There are nine elite Sailability sailors in the full team from Australia, comprising squads from NSW and South Australia (Chris Riorden, Helene Messner, Justin Vandertouw) plus Colin Johansson from Docklands Sailability in Victoria and Australian, Zoltan Pegan, who is currently in Hungary setting up Sailability there.

Apart from Australia, there are teams from Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, Portugal, Great Britain, Hungary, USA, France, Ireland and Greece.

Allan Jones and fellow-club members, David Grinston and Jan Jones, will coach and manage the team in Italy. Eighteen Access Liberty’s, complete with customised communications systems, were shipped from Melbourne by P&O Nedlloyd in August.

More details can be found at www.accessdinghy.org/2005sp_dinghyworlds