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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Most participants will
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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.
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.
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.