Every Wednesday morning on the Swan River, volunteers at South of Perth Yacht Club help people with disability experience the simple joy of sailing. For many participants it becomes the highlight of the week.
The jetty fills with quiet excitement as volunteers help participants into lifejackets and steady the boats along the water’s edge. Carers chat nearby while skippers check the wind and prepare to push off.
Then the dinghies glide out onto the Swan River.
For the next 45 minutes, participants with disability get the chance to do something many of us take for granted. They feel the breeze on their face, watch the shoreline drift past and enjoy the simple pleasure of being out on the water and experience sailing in a safe and welcoming way.
For many, that sail becomes the highlight of the week.
That is the quiet magic of Sailability.
The volunteer-run program has been part of South of Perth Yacht Club for more than 14 years. Each week from October to May about 32 participants take to the water, along with up to nine carers.
With the boats available, the program could welcome as many as 62 people. What holds it back at the moment is simply a shortage of volunteers.
David Robinson, committee chairman of Sailability at South of Perth Yacht Club, has seen the impact of these mornings many times.
He has been involved with the program for close to nine years and says it creates moments that stay with you.
One of those moments happened when he took a young boy named Christopher out sailing.
During the trip David asked if he knew a song. Christopher began singing the opening words of I Have a Dream.
“I have a dream, a song to sing, to help me cope with anything.”
For David, it was a moment that captured something deeper about the program.
The joy of being on the water, the laughter and the sense of adventure can mean far more than people might realise.
“It helps people cope with the adversities they face in life,” he says.
That sense of possibility sits at the heart of Sailability. Once the boat moves away from the jetty, participants are simply sailors enjoying the day.
Another moment David remembers involved Elizabeth, a young woman with Down syndrome.
During the sail she said very little, simply trailing her hand in the water and watching the river pass by. After about 40 minutes a rope caught around the mast and David leaned forward to untangle it.
Elizabeth immediately looked up and asked, “Are you alright?”
It was a small moment that stayed with him. It reminded him how aware people can be of everything happening around them, even when others underestimate them.
Sailability is part of a worldwide movement that began in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s with the simple goal: making sailing accessible to everyone.
At South of Perth Yacht Club, many sessions take place in a Hansa 303 dinghy designed so that people with different abilities can sail safely. The boat is stable, difficult to capsize and allows participants either to relax and enjoy the ride or take part in steering.
Some sessions also take place on small keelboats with a skipper and crew.
Volunteers help rig the boats, assist people on and off the jetty, crew the vessels, drive support boats and help the morning run smoothly. Some volunteers are experienced sailors, while others help in practical support roles.
Training is provided in first aid, boat handling and working with people with disability.
David says what matters most is enthusiasm and reliability rather than sailing expertise.
“Sailability becomes family,” he says.
Over time volunteers, participants and carers get to know one another well, and the mornings become social gatherings as much as sailing sessions.
David also points out that the program provides something valuable for carers.
“I think people sometimes forget the carers,” he says.
While participants are out sailing, carers have the chance to sit down, relax and enjoy a quiet moment knowing the person they support is safe and having fun.
Programs like Sailability also show how important volunteers are to the life of a community.
Many older West Australians look for ways to stay active, meet people and contribute their time in meaningful ways. Sailability offers exactly that.
Some volunteers assist on the jetty, others crew the boats, and some help organise the sessions behind the scenes. The roles are flexible and the team supports one another.
Even a small increase in number of volunteers would make a significant difference. It would allow the club to welcome more participants and expand the program. It could also help develop a future goal of creating a dedicated day for people with disability who want to train and sail Hansa dinghies competitively.
David says he has already seen participants develop into competitive sailors who absolutely love the challenge.
What begins as a gentle sail on a Wednesday morning can grow into confidence, skill and a genuine passion.
But every journey still begins the same way. A volunteer offering a steady hand on the jetty. A lifejacket being fastened. A boat pushing away from shore. And someone smiling as the wind fills the sail.
Sometimes the most meaningful community programs are also the simplest, people giving their time so someone else can experience a moment of joy.
To learn more about volunteering with Sailability at South of Perth Yacht Club, contact the team on 0401 111 134 or email sailabilitysopyc@gmail.com.
