LOCALS from all walks of life threw caution to the wind and
tried their hand at sailing on Lake Boga this week.
The two-day Sailability
event, which ended yesterday, was held in celebration of International Day of
People With a Disability on Monday.
Specially built dinghys supplied by
Yachting Victoria’s Sailability program allowed students from Lake Boga Primary
School, Swan Hill Primary School, and the Swan Hill Specialist School, as well
as Murray Human Services clients and individuals to have a go at sailing, with
help from volunteers from the Lake Boga Yacht Club and Mallee Sports
Assembly.
Val Genes, who has a vision-impairment, ventured down to Lake Boga
on Wednesday to go for a sail and to soak up the atmosphere.
Before her sight
deteriorated five or six years ago, Ms Genes had been speedboating and water
skiing before, but had never tried sailing.
Until the Sailability program,
run by Yachting Victoria, came to the Swan Hill region for the first time last
year it would not have even crossed her mind.
“It’s about having the
opportunity to get to do something I would never usually get to do,” she said.
“It gives you confidence and puts you back in the real world.”
For more on this story, see Friday’s edition of The Guardian (7/12/12).
