Inspirational – A Charity with Trustees that lead by example and go sailing!

We are lucky enough to be motivated and proud of our Trustees, they are fantastic inspiration just by living their lives and mostly with in the sport we all love.

All of our current Trustees have a disability, but not one of them lets it stop them getting on. They are;

- Andy Cassell – who we all know well as a double amputee, 1 above knee and one below. At 77 we do wonder how he is still so competitive! Andy is also a Sailmaker and designer at one of our supports Ratsey & Lapthorn Sailmakers. Regularly helming a mixture of classic boats and jumping back into his Sonar to keep the team on their toes.

- Andrew Millband – Wheelchair user, regularly sails a fleet of boats. From a Dragon and Flying15 to jumping back into his 2.4mR. When you run the local Jolliffes Chandlery it must mean you have to keep up your sailing and testing out the equipment.

- Brian Harding – Wheelchair user, competitive and well known sailor in his XOD’s both in Cowes, Yarmouth and Lymington. Brian is also still pushing his limits and thrill of racing in the Open 2.4mR class.

We love that these 3 are competitively racing, showing our sailors, locals and the world how competitive they are. After a really busy summer of racing Millband and Harding got back into their 2.4mR’s for another adventure to the Open 2.4mR Worlds in Genova, Italy last month. The best quote comes from Andrew Millband after we asked for some pictures of them together, the reply was; “Missed a photo of us together – but there may be ones of myself and Brian mainly sinking and swimming!” For those who don’t know the 2.4mR, it’s like a high speed bath tub! And if it takes on water only your head and sails are above the water. Then add waves!

Cassell’s account of sailing was a little different mainly playing with classic racing yachts, below is Andy’s description of his years sailing;

“My sailing in 2019 was 3 very enjoyable weeks and a number of more challenging and less enjoyable sessions.

During the Panerai Regatta I helmed Richard Hargreaves 41ft 30sqm ‘Aeolus’, a lovely boat for which R & L had the pleasure of making all the sails. ‘Aeolus’ is a long narrow boat which suits both my aged body of 77 and the difficulties of moving about with my 2 artificial legs. We finished a close 3rd overall.

The following few days were spent sailing ‘Cynthia’, a 50ft gaff classic yacht which has been recently rebuilt. Unfortunately, I had not sailed ‘Cynthia’ previously so it was a learning experience. We found her great in light airs but much more difficult in a blow.

The last full week of sailing for me was in the sonar in Cowes Week. The weather was awful. In my younger days issues of boat width and tacking in bad weather would have been a lot easier and the sailing thus more fun.

One person who I was pleased to catch up this summer in Cowes was Tom. He comes from a farm in East Anglia and lost one of his arms in an accident some years ago. He came down to Cowes a few years ago having been referred to the Foundation as he wanted to be able to sail with his disability. He ended up crewing for us in the year we won our class in Cowes Week. Since then he has relentlessly fought his way up the Etchells fleet until this year he won the class overall in Cowes Week.”

Again I can’t express how much this makes us want to create similar opportunities for physically disabled and impaired individuals, giving them the experience in the sport to enjoy the same thrill of racing we have.

Thank you to all who have helped us get through the last year from October 2018-19. Our statistics show we have just in the last;-

A. Year;
- Put on 72 activity events – Ranging from weekend Training & Racing all year, Summer Tuesdays and Thursday evening racing and individual trials days.
- 100 people have are signed up to our Website and App.
- 51 individuals have taken part and sailed with us directly on the water.
- 416 friends have followed us on Facebook in support.

B. 3 Months;
- 25 people sailing;
- 20 Active sailors.
- 10 of the 20 are disabled or impaired. 50/50 – Able/Disabled.

If you can help us create more of these opportunities, whether it be through stepping up and sailing with us, or helping fundraise, please check out our website www.acfsailing.org and Facebook page www.facebook.com/acfsailing to see what we’ve been up to with the charity or contact us at info@acfsailing.org to find out how you can take part!

Photo Credits and Huge thanks to Martina Orsini / YCI for capturing these fantastic photos of our trustees (Millband and Harding) at the recent 2.4mR Open World Championships, Genova, Italy.

Yours sincerely,

The ACF Sailing Team

Location

Cowes Corinthian Yacht Club