History

The beginning

Whitefriars Sailing for Disabled was founded in 1979 as a request by the late Mr Norman Piper, who was then the Chairperson of the Cheltenham and District Sports Association for the disabled. A request was made at a committee meeting that it would be a good move to have a sailing section. After a plea for anyone who had sailed to come forward, well, like most committe meetings Allan Woodyatt's attention was only on select words; when he heard "sailing" he stood up, only to be appointed the new Chaiperson of the sailing section: His excuse that the only sailing that he had done was on the Isle of Wight Ferry did not cut much ice... and South Cerney Sailing Club for the disabled was formed (SCSCD).

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First boat

SCSCD was presented with a Trimaran (Hotel) craft, kindly donated by the Princess Trust and presented at Brans Hatch. This boat was the start of people being able to get their own freedom, and it proved to be a winner. This all took place on Lake 12 (South Cerney Outdoor Education Centre), but being an education centre this meant that sailing was restricted to term times.

 

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Move to Whitefriars

In 1986 the club moved 2.5 miles down the spine road to lake 26 - Whitefriars Sailing Club: This is where we can be found today. In 1989 the name was changed to Whitefriars - Sailing for Disabled. In 1999 we applied to become a Registered Charity which was granted in 2000. This was a milestone in our task to provide Sailing for all disabilities, ages, race or creed.

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Building the fleet

With success also came problems; too many people were sat around getting bored. A look at our accounts allowed us to beg for a sponsor: Barnwood House Trust came to our aid and the older boats were replaced with a new one at a cost of £2,500 (50%). 12 months later saw another new boat of the same "Challenger" class, but being a single seater still left a few people waiting on the shore line. Telethon 88 a success saw us with a ten year old "Wayfarer" which is now coming up for it's 26th birthday, but they are a good work horse and allow two disabled people out at a time. In 1994 this was increased to two wayfarers, purchased for £2,000 with cash from our own funds. We were hoping to find a sponsor for this boat and hence give the boat a suitable name, but we are still waiting and the boat is called "The other one".

In 1998 a new class of boat was introduced into England from Australia - the Access Dinghy. This has been a major turning point in disabled sailing because we can place a potential sailor in it in most conditions, and with minimum instruction can leave them to it. The joy of this type of boat is that they are now made in the UK and they range from £1,500-£3,500 plus extras. They can also be fitted for less than £1,000 with servo-assist; to help less able sailors to control the boats independently. They are made in 4 variations: 2.3m single sail (1 or 2 seater) and the 303cm two sailed version also with 1 or 2 seats. Any of these variations can be used for casual sailing, or for serious racing. Some of our members do take part in races around the country; there are at least 9 meetings a year.

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Today

As a club we are always looking to expand our services to reach and enable more disabled people to enjoy the independence and freedom that sailing can offer. There are new classes of boat and better equipment being developed at the moment that enable people with more serious conditions to feel in control on the water. It is our aim to trial and purchase these boats to broaden our reach.

We also encourage our disabled members to develop themselves further by learning new skills; such as gaining a powerboat license: There is a new safety boat on the market that enables wheelchair users to control a powerboat from their chairs! These cost approximately £15,000 but would be a tremendous asset to the club and it's members

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