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OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, July 15, 2009 · 16 Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Phone: 905-337-5560 e-mail: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com Visually Impaired Sailors enjoy freedom by." Many visually impaired people may wish they had sight and all the independence it brings, but stepping aboard a sailboat gives them that independence without their first wish. Recently, 33 visually impaired people gathered for cake and a pint to celebrate "graduating" from the Bronte Harbour Yacht Club's (BHYC) VIP (Visually Impaired Sailing Program) after they spent the week guiding 30-ft. sailboats through the waters of Lake Ontario, sailing to Fifty Point for lunch and back one day and then racing to the finish line on the final afternoon. "Blind people can't drive cars. This (sailing) allows them to chart their own path and choose the direction they want to go. Out on the road, you have the rules of the road. On the water, you can take the helm safely and have control. It's very liberating, very freeing. It's a measure of independence," said Grant Robinson, 42. The Toronto resident, who belongs to the Blind Sailing Association of Canada and has 10 per cent vision in his good eye and three per cent in the other, was a return participant in the BHYC's 33-year-old VIP effort. So is 64-year-old Marita Hill of Bronte. "When I tell some of the seniors I'm going sailing, they ask where. "I say, `Bronte,'" said Hill, noting she can see only a little bit. Robinson describes the feeling of a sailboat rolling with a wave as "an adrenaline rush" that's like "hitting your groove" for a wind surfer. "I love that," echoed Hill. It's when the participants climb aboard the sailboats with volunteer crews and skippers, that they leave their dog guides behind on shore and function on their own. While they receive verbal instructions from the skippers, they are at the helm, literally. And their performance at the A s English poet John Masefield penned, "...all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her KAREN NEWMAN / OAKVILLE BEAVER VIP'S: The Bronte Harbour Yacht Club's annual week-long learn to sail program for visually impaired people (VIP's) wound up with a sail boat race with VIP's behind the helm. More photos of the VIP sailing can be found in the photo slideshow feature at www.oakvillebeaver.com. helm provides the inspiration for yacht club members and others to donate boats and time to the effort. "I had no idea it would take off the way it has," said Vicki DeKleer who founded the VIP program in the late 1970s and saw fewer than 10 people take part the first few years. DeKleer took time to thank not only the participants, but those who have remained committed to the program and grown it over time. While in England, DeKleer said she saw a boat that looked a little different, she said, and upon asking, learned that it was designed for use by challenged sailors. Upon returning to Oakville, DeKleer challenged her club and the program was born. The approximate $2,000 budget is financed through Mike Onishi's turkey raffle tickets. Irene Bantin is the volunteer administrator. This year, Eric Pilon was the volunteer co-ordinator. It is supplemented by about 700 volunteer hours from approximately 50 volunteers -- club and community sailors and landlubbers alike. Many of those volunteers book vacation time in order to participate. So what is it each gets out of the program that has proved to be wild- ly popular? For the visually impaired the answer is freedom -- charting their own course, feeling the wind on their face. For the sighted, fun, satisfaction, but mostly inspiration. "We actually learned things from you guys. We often get so tied into doing things visually, we don't see all the other clues around," said skipper Mark Bowen. "It amazes us the spirit you have and the way you cope," said BHYC Commodore Cheryl Etherington. Burlington resident Carole Morgan was a volunteer crew member aboard numerous boats during the week. "I'm happiest on the water and if I can help someone else be happy, all the better," said Morgan. So how does a visually impaired person sail? Not with technological assistance or much other help, but rather by the feel of the wind on their face. "They feel the wind on their right cheek or left cheek. They're told to tack, change direction, and they do. They listen well," said Morgan, noting sighted people are often told things, but are focused on doing something else. Buoys that emit distinct sounds help the VIPs navigate around the buoys in the race. "It's amazing, just amazing," said Morgan, noting often times the visually impaired sailors do a better job than those who are sighted. Anyone who is legally blind can take part in the program and quite a few participants are annual customers. Ten new participants took part this year. The VIP sailors come from all over the GTA, said Pilon, and the program is free. Volunteers serve lunches and even walk the dog guides. While the BHYC is generous with the boats, sailing knowledge, food and kind deeds, Hill heaped thanks on the volunteers "for their most generous donation of their time." More photos of the VIP sailing can be found in the photo slideshow feature at www.oakvillebeaver.com.