
On September 17, 2017, Sailability Batemans Bay will welcome members, and all those interested in becoming a volunteer, to a volunteer training day to kick off the new season. As well as checking all the boats and gear, our experienced sailors will guide volunteers through launching, operating and retrieving safety boats, rigging and sailing dinghies, and matters of safety on the water, all with hands-on participation.
Our first sailing day will be held on Monday, September 25, and we look forward to meeting all our sailors from Life Without Barriers, The House With No Steps, Eurocare, and Bay High.
We look forward to another wonderful sailing season, which will take us through to April 9, and then Batemans Bay Sailing Club’s Anzac Regatta.
Over the winter months we have been busy with the new jetty project, which is now up to the Development Application stage with council. When the DA is approved, our next step is to apply for infrastructure funding to complete the project, which has now become more urgent with the announcement that construction of the new Batemans Bay bridge will commence in February 2019. The path of the bridge will cut through our current sailing site, so we are thankful for the foresight and planning by our members several years ago to seek out a new sailing site.
We held our most successful Bunnings barbecue ever on August 12, and were delighted to receive two very generous donations – from a private donor in Queensland and from Batemans Bay Lions Club.
Over winter, two of our volunteers have made presentations to patients and their carers at the Moruya Hospital’s Oncology Unit. They talked about how Sailability was not only about sailing but also an opportunity for patients and their families to socialise and take a break from a life dominated by appointments, treatments, and waiting for test results. This is yet another example of how Sailability can reach out to include so many people in the community – be it just to sit and socialise or to be active on the water and enjoy the sheer freedom of sailing, regardless of their ability.
Members Michael Leydon and Tish Ennis have recently returned from their travels in Europe. Michael enjoyed competing in the Kiel Regatta (Germany), where he was placed 7th in the 2.4mR Open Championships.
During the second week of the Kiel Regatta, the Hansa 303s (our dinghies) were featured as a Development Class, sailed single-handed in the Para World Championships. Both male and female fleets were highly competitive with some Paralympic sailors changing from their usual craft. It was great to see the 303s lining up to launch alongside the other boats sailing at Kiel, the world’s biggest regatta, with more than 2000 yachts, dinghies and sailboards competing in 40 events over nine days.
After Kiel, Michael and Tish travelled to Sneek, Netherlands, where Michael competed in the 2.4mR Open World Championships. Michael sailed to 26th position in the Gold Fleet and Mark Durnan from Sailability ACT was placed 21st in the Silver Fleet. With about 90 boats racing at the same time on the water, these results were very pleasing.
Sailing can certainly stretch boundaries. Mark very competently organised himself to travel alone with his wheelchair from Sydney to Amsterdam, and then on to England to catch up with family connections, before returning for the rest of winter here! Well done, Mark.
Our first sailing day will be held on Monday, September 25, and we look forward to meeting all our sailors from Life Without Barriers, The House With No Steps, Eurocare, and Bay High.
We look forward to another wonderful sailing season, which will take us through to April 9, and then Batemans Bay Sailing Club’s Anzac Regatta.
Over the winter months we have been busy with the new jetty project, which is now up to the Development Application stage with council. When the DA is approved, our next step is to apply for infrastructure funding to complete the project, which has now become more urgent with the announcement that construction of the new Batemans Bay bridge will commence in February 2019. The path of the bridge will cut through our current sailing site, so we are thankful for the foresight and planning by our members several years ago to seek out a new sailing site.
We held our most successful Bunnings barbecue ever on August 12, and were delighted to receive two very generous donations – from a private donor in Queensland and from Batemans Bay Lions Club.
Over winter, two of our volunteers have made presentations to patients and their carers at the Moruya Hospital’s Oncology Unit. They talked about how Sailability was not only about sailing but also an opportunity for patients and their families to socialise and take a break from a life dominated by appointments, treatments, and waiting for test results. This is yet another example of how Sailability can reach out to include so many people in the community – be it just to sit and socialise or to be active on the water and enjoy the sheer freedom of sailing, regardless of their ability.
Members Michael Leydon and Tish Ennis have recently returned from their travels in Europe. Michael enjoyed competing in the Kiel Regatta (Germany), where he was placed 7th in the 2.4mR Open Championships.
During the second week of the Kiel Regatta, the Hansa 303s (our dinghies) were featured as a Development Class, sailed single-handed in the Para World Championships. Both male and female fleets were highly competitive with some Paralympic sailors changing from their usual craft. It was great to see the 303s lining up to launch alongside the other boats sailing at Kiel, the world’s biggest regatta, with more than 2000 yachts, dinghies and sailboards competing in 40 events over nine days.
After Kiel, Michael and Tish travelled to Sneek, Netherlands, where Michael competed in the 2.4mR Open World Championships. Michael sailed to 26th position in the Gold Fleet and Mark Durnan from Sailability ACT was placed 21st in the Silver Fleet. With about 90 boats racing at the same time on the water, these results were very pleasing.
Sailing can certainly stretch boundaries. Mark very competently organised himself to travel alone with his wheelchair from Sydney to Amsterdam, and then on to England to catch up with family connections, before returning for the rest of winter here! Well done, Mark.