Accessible Sailing

OYS prides its self on being an inclusive club and in 2010 will launch a pilot program in conjunction with Sail Ontario to provide access to the sailing experience for persons with disabilities. The program will operate as part of the OYS Sailing School and will use a specially equipped sailing boat designed for this purpose.

The Oakville Yacht Squadron is starting an accessible sailing program. Initiated by fellow OYS member Melissa Vassallo, there will be a free accessible sailing pilot program running July 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th with a children’s program running during the day from 9am to 4pm and an adult program running in the evenings from 6pm to 9pm.

Fundraising for this program is taking place on the waterfront at Appleby College, 540 Lakeshore Road West in Oakville, on June 13th. 9am registration. 10am start time. 1pm finish. The Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion event fundraises to ensure communities across Canada are accessible and inclusive to people of every ability.

This year the Oakville Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion Quality of Life project is the Accessible Sailing program at OYS.  Inspired by Melissa Vassallo’s story as an Oakville resident seeking ways to increase the accessibility of 16 Mile Creek, the money raised from this year’s event will allow for an accessible sail boat and associated equipment to be purchased to allow persons with a disability living in and visiting our Town to access the water.

Olympian Bernard Luttmer has graciously agreed to be the event’s keynote speaker. This will bring the big picture together as one of Bernard’s best friend’s, Nathan Cowan (whose family was previously an OYS member), passed away in the accident that left OYS member Melissa Vassallo as a person with a disability. Oskar Johannson, Nathan’s and Bernard’s best friend, is an Oakvillian who was to be the keynote speaker (his parents are current OYS members) but being the World Class top 4th Olympian sailor in the world that he is will be in Italy competing in a regatta the day of the June 13th event. Fellow Oakville Olympians Larry Cain (canoe) and Josh Cassidy (marathon) will also grace be at the event.

The event offers complimentary breakfast and lunch, with Starbucks coffee and Blackforest Pastries in the morning along with Shopsey’s hotdogs and Breyers ice cream in the afternoon. There is a live band playing throughout the day along with clowns, face painting and balloon animals for the children. There will also be lots of different local groups attending such as the Lions Guide Dogs with their puppies in training, the Fire department, and among others free sail boat and power boat rides offered after the event, from 1:30pm to 3pm for able bodies and people with disabilities, which you can sign up for at the event at the Oakville Yacht Squadron and CharterAbility tables respectively.

The event centres around a wheelchair relay race where able  bodied people compete against other teams and the clock to win a prize. The relay race hopes to bring awareness to the challenges people with spinal cord injury face. If you would like to financially contribute to the event you may do so by either registering a team to compete or by sponsoring the OYS team. Please check out the website for more details and register online at: www.wheelsinmotion.org/oakville