Wealden Sailabilty, a charity based in West Kent was established 15 years with the core aim of making sailing accessible to anyone with a disability. The charity is organised and run completely by volunteers, who enjoy nothing more than assisting others in enjoying their time on the water. Whether this is working towards personal sailing goals, ultimately leading to sailing solo or just enjoying the freedom of being out on the water. However, to provide these opportunities the charity relies heavily on donations. Recently they decided that they could do with raising funds to replace the sails on their fleet of 11 Hansa 303W dinghies.
The charity has a long-standing relationship with Freemasonry, a number of lodges in the Province have supported them over the years, and our Provincial Charity Committee were very keen to continue to support the work they do. To this end, the committee considered an application and donated £3700 to the charity, which was enough to cover the costs of replacing a total of 40 sails. Wealden Sailability was so pleased with the support that they decided to brand the sails with the Provincial Logo, and invite members of the Province to see the dinghies set out on the lake with the wind in their sails.
It is always fantastic to be able to support local charities in their endeavours to provide opportunities for their communities. We hope that Wealden Sailability are now on course, with a strong wind behind them, to continue as a premier provider of sailing for the disabled community in Kent.
