Our Philosophy

The Visually Impaired Sailing Association (Visa-gb) is a small charity run by and for blind and partially sighted members to encourage and empower through offshore sailing

How does it work?

As visually impaired members of Visa-gb you will have the opportunity to be an integral as part of the crew on all our trips.  You’ll steer the boat, put the sails up and trim them, haul lines, cook, clean as well as be involved in planning the trip, what we do on the trip and planning the menus and getting in our provisions. You will get a taste of all the tasks required to make a sailing trip work. To settle any nerves there will be a qualified sighted skipper and mates on board to help you out.

Empower

We aim to empower every visually impaired adult that sails with us to become a crew member that sails the yacht and help to run the sailing trip. You will not be a passenger you will be full crew member.

Encourage

Whether you are visually impaired or sighted volunteer on our trip, you are encouraged to develop your skills. The team will make sure you’re encouraged to play a full and meaningful part and allow you to use your strengths and work on your weaknesses and share your skills expertise and experience with fellow crew members and volunteers.

Enable

Training will be given to you on how to sail or to improve your sailing, you don’t need any sailing experience to be part of the Visa-gb team. All you need is a willingness to learn and be part of a team that contributes to sailing the yacht and help with all the tasks that are needed for a successful trip.

Enjoy

It’s a key aspect of every trip that everyone on board contributes to making the yacht a happy place.  Enjoying the sailing, enjoying the company and enjoying the experience – it’s what keeps people coming back!

 

Established in 2009 by Visa-gb’s founder, Colin Fowler, whose philosophy was to empower visually impaired sailors. This remains the case more than a decade later.

The Visually Impaired Sailing Association is a registered charity and is affiliated with the Royal Yachting Association (RYA)

  Registered Charity Number 1178077

Address: The Visually Impaired Sailing Association

C/o Pocklington Hub, First Floor, 3 Queens Square, London WC1N 3AR.

Email: info@visa-gb.org.uk

Facebook link: Facebook Visa gb

 

 

Follow the link for more information on our aims and our people