Testimonial From Our Sailability Sailor...
Hey Fellow Quadriplegic:
Did You Know You Could Independently Steer A Sail Boat?
 I write with much enthusiasm as its just hours after I just completed the six-week basic sailing course this afternoon. It was awesome! Today, we even managed to sail independently from close to the waterfront of Pulau Ubin back to the Changi Sailing Club. It was a distance of over two kilometres in the choppy, windy and exciting sea.
Since I'd never expressed any interest in sailing for the 27 years that I was able-bodied, I cannot get over what I managed to accomplish today in a sail boat all to myself 19 years later. I thank God for making this dream a reality.
It was also lovely to be in the presence of five other individuals also learning to sail. We were blessed by a very experienced and patient coach Tay while Mayeh (from Sailability Singapore) painstakingly co-ordinate everything.
The lessons on Saturday mornings were for three hours. We covered so much during that period, beginning with a weekly theory class. We learnt about maneuvering the boat in different circumstances, the current, safety issues, etc before assembling the sailboats and setting out to experience the real thing!
I'd always been extremely interested in sports since I was a kid and I took swimming very seriously. I thank God thatE even after getting injured, this trait in me persevered.
What makes sailing so uniquely different is that one constantly needs to be so mentally active throughout that there's little room for the mind to be distracted by other things, such as the problems of the day or one's work with a wandering mind, I quickly appreciated this. Perhaps that's one reason so many of my childhood friends have turned to golf!
Moreover, for anyone who loves the water, to be out at sea is a breathtaking experience. That's even if it's within visibility of the shoreline.
So, what are you waiting for?
By Vivek Verma
What I Feel About The Sailing Course
I am Jovin Tan, a participant of the sailing course on the Access 2.3 dinghy.
This is a very interesting activity. It is a kind of sport using the
wind and conducted under the hot sun or the thick black clouds. The
lessons are conducted every Sunday.
My first time was a good experience for me because I sailed an Access
2.3 alone. For the first lesson, all the boats were rigged nicely for
us; but from the second lesson onwards, we had to rig the boat ourselves.
We also have to take note of the names of various parts of the boat.
We were taught different skills at each lesson. We normally sailed
around two pink buoys. I met many new friends and also the volunteers
from NOL.
Although I am disabled, I was given a chance to sail. I hope that more
and more people with disability will come and take the sailing course.
Most of all, I would like to thank the various sponsors of the boats
and all the volunteers for spending their time every Sunday to help
us. Lastly I want to thank those uncles and aunties from NOL for fetching
me to and from the sailing club each Sunday.
By Jovin Tan
What others say...
"To me, sailing is truly something I look forward to every week... it does not let me feel
less disabled, it actually allows me to have a new found sense of freedom!"
Hoon Cheong Woo
Sailor with stroke
"On Access (boat), there is no disability only ability. Forget about the wheelchair and
elbow crutches there on shore, the wind is my power... I'm free"
Toh Soon
Sailor with Polio
"Sailing is so much fun. The thrill of being control of a boat out in the open sea,
with the wind and sun on your face has no substitute."
Roger Ngai
Sailor with single leg amputee
"When my sailor friends and me are at the sea in the boats, we don't have to worry about
overcoming concrete steps and steep staircases."
Janice Lee
Sailor with cerebral palsy
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