Blind sailing sessions

Discover how your club or training centre can run a blind sailing session.

Taking those first steps towards sailing can stir up a mix of emotions. While some might be excited to jump onboard, others may be a little more apprehensive.

Our goal is to make sure everyone feels safe and able to participate in See Sailing Your way, whatever their level. To help ease any anxieties for blind sailors joining your club or centre, or attending a session, get to know the person, build trust, and remove barriers to boost confidence.

The STEP model is a useful way of thinking about the adaptations that may be needed to the sessions you run ashore and afloat.

STEP explained

Space

Consider the space ashore as much as the environment afloat. Make sure your club or training centre easily navigable and free from any immediate obstacles for a blind or partially sighted person. Consider how the lighting could be improved to reduce glare and ask people to feedback on how to enhance accessibility.

Task

Plan the amount of time you’ll need to complete a session. Start by creating a brief of what’s expected and how you’ll adapt teaching key information to someone who is unable to see what you’re doing. To do this, pay close attention to how each task will feel and sound.

Equipment

Allow time for familiarisation, tactile indicators, and how to use sound and touch to identify positions and controls. Make an effort to tailor your briefing to each individual's needs.

People

Ensure that volunteers are prepared and willing to adjust their methods for blind participants. Try implementing a buddy system for security and reassurance during tasks.

Session example - Sailing on a beam reach between two buoys

Success criteria

All participants will

  • Enjoy the session and have the confidence to go sailing again
  • Talk about how it felt in the boat – the wind, the feel of the boat, the sounds

Most participants will

  • Identify and understand where the wind is coming from
  • Recognise when the sails are flapping

Some participants will

  • Take the helm for a short time
  • Attempt a tack

Space

Consider the distance between the marks to allow time to reflect on what’s happening now, what’s next, and the key learning points. As confidence and competence builds, try slowly reducing the distance.

Pay attention to how many boats are safe and practical to have in one sailing area – could you set up multiple pairs of buoys to separate boats? Think about where the sun is and if it's causing a glare or having an impact and what you can do about this.

Task briefing

  • Decide how you are going to communicate distance to the mark, pushing or pulling the tiller, pulling, or easing the sheets, and counting in manoeuvres.
  • Explain what each term means, the effect the action will have on the boat, and how it will feel.
  • Lay out the course on the ground, using a rope to show wind direction. Talk about where the sails will be.
  • Introduce the idea of a clockface with bow of the boat as 12 o’clock and the stern at 6 o’clock.
  • Show the sailor where you want them in the boat and use tape on the deck as a tactile guide.

On the water

Use a slow countdown into manoeuvres to prepare people for what is happening. Communicate each manoeuvre clearly and any changes in surrounding boats, wind direction, or distance to the mark.

Set the sails accurately and ask how it feels and sounds. What’s happening to the balance and trim, the sound of the water, the sound from the sails, the feel of the sheet. Now let the sails out and talk about the differences.

Pay attention to footwork, body position and hands on each reach and through the manoeuvres. Help the sailor find where ‘centre’ is on the tiller – where does the end of the tiller extension rest? Can you mark this up in some way

Work with blind or partially sighted sailors to find new ways to identify wind direction and other elements.

Debrief

Ask sailors about the task with open questions. For example, what they noticed, what went well, what could be improved and how to rework your plan for next time

Explore how people identified where the wind was coming from, what worked for them. Celebrate the people who took the helm for a short time and encourage them to describe what it felt like.

Equipment

  • Make time for a hands-on tour of the boat, covering the controls and any other equipment the sailor needs to use.
  • Identify how many steps are needed to get from one side of the boat to another, and plan for any possible hazards.
  • Consider the visibility of the marks and contrast with the surroundings. Do you have any that are brighter? Can you add a flag or a sound? Different coloured rope for halyards, sheets, sail, and foil controls may help them to be more recognisable.
  • Use tape as a reference point for sitting positions. A bungy on the tiller can also create resistance and help the sailor find the centre point of the boat

People

  • Ensure that the sailors, volunteers, instructors, and coach have the information they need to know about each other in advance.
  • Make sure you regularly check in with how the sailor is feeling and what they are learning.

Safety considerations

  • Where is the best position in the boat to maintain personal safety and an active part in sailing?
  • If you’ve adapted your boats in any way, have you assessed any changes to the stability or handling of the vessels? Do you still have access to the full range of controls, and have you created a plan of action if things go wrong?
  • Are participants familiar with their lifejacket or buoyancy aid? Do they know what to do if things go wrong?
Find out more about See Sailing
See Sailing Your Way
 
About Sight Loss
 
Remove barriers