Hello Shipmates here’s volunteer Viv and her report from her first trip with Visa-gb, this is week one of Sea Vision,
This was my first trip with VISA – and crikey was I naïve!
I don’t have any visually impaired friends, neither have I spent time in the company of visually impaired. I’m 60 so feel embarrassed to admit that it’s probably not even crossed my mind how visually impaired manage, live and take-up challenges. Well I may not have given it much consideration before but, oh boy, was I thrown in at the deep end, it was a steep learning and experiencing curve!
What a great week I had on yacht Wheal Go with my new friends from Visa-gb, my goodness did we have some fun! The visually impaired crew may not be able to see 100% but without doubt their memory and hearing is far superior to mine.
I became the audio compass as my new friends took to the helm, steering a straight a course as well as any fully sighted crew I’ve sailed with before, at times I became hoarse as everyone took turns on the helm, helm hogging wasn’t allowed.
I just loved the fact that everyone fully embraced the whole sailing experience, from being down in the galley making seven different brews, to helping to chop vegetables round the table, to using winches and hauling sails – go guys go!
The chatting and banter was real, warm and witty, in no time at all there were little in jokes, and humour was evident every hour of every day.
I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t hard work, but oh boy was it fun and rewarding. As a sighted crew you accompany the crew to the showers and heads ashore, or to the shops, the takeaway, the beach and even to the pub!
So if I asked if anyone would like to accompany me ashore, I frequently had someone holding my arm and on the other side an arm linked through mine and following on or with a hand on my shoulder. I certainly wasn’t lonely. We did everything together and laughed the whole time.
Patience being essential, a gentle nature and an ability to converse freely and easily were my assets, oh and I could sail.
My greatest joke amongst my friends before I left for the journey was that I had to count everyone continually to make sure we didn’t lose anyone overboard- so who fell overboard, yep yours truly!
Would I go again – certainly, with my new friends, everyone loves to sail, it makes absolutely no difference how much vision we have, sailings just sailing, but it’s the company that makes a great sailing trip – I can say that’s what I was lucky enough to enjoy.
Viv
