Project Overview

Currently there is not roll-on wheelchair accessible yacht for taking people in wheelchairs out sailing in Australia. This project is to develop a suitable moderate sized yacht (25’ to 30’ long) with excellent stability to enable:

• Taking people, who use wheelchairs, for a safe and comfortable sail on the bay (in mild weather), including those who require their own special support seating of their own chairs, who could not sit on a normal yacht deck without customised lateral and back supports.
• Providing a next level of yacht for existing disabled sailors, like myself, to progress from the current range of Sailability yacht dinghies (ranging from 2.3m to 3.6m long) extensively used for disabled sailing – see Sailability website http://www.sailability.org . By having a larger yacht, with onboard sleeping and toilet facilities, many of these sailors could experience overnight sails on Port Phillip Bay.
• With experience, disabled sailors should be able to participate, in such a yacht, in normal club racing in open waters, around the Bay. If this team can be assembled from Western suburb sailors (most likely) then a major landmark will be achieved.

As the Project Managers, I (Colin Johanson), and wife Moira would be a major providers of our own personal funds towards the project along with Moira's interior design skills and utilising Colin's technical skills as a qualified Ergonomist (Human Factors Engineer) as I have previously developed a range of disabled equipment including: wheelchairs for marathons (one of these was the first to beat the runners in the Melbourne Big M marathon in 1980), snow and water skis for snow and water (the snow ski design I negotiated a sale to an American manufacturer on behalf of the original designer and builder, at no profit to myself). I also have extensive design skills and utilises computer aided design software. I was also awarded “2006 Viewer’s Choice Winner” on the New Inventors TV program for my novel electric wheelchair design that we are currently trying to commecialise.

I am a wheelchair using sailor who has been Australian champion twice in the 3.6m Liberty (3.6m Access Dinghy single hander), 2nd (in Italy) and 4th (in Australia) in the Worlds, finalist for Victorian Disabled Sailor twice; and finalist for Australian Disabled Sailor of the Year once. Also “Chairman of the IFDS Technical Committee” (who along with the International Paralympic Committe, control World and Paralympic sailing competitions and rules), Vice President and Public Officer of the Access Class Association for Measurement and Racing and a member of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria (in Williamstown, where we also live, and where the yacht would be based). I also had training by Yachting Victoria to teach the Disability Awareness program to yachting Coaches, Clubs, and Race Officers as part of their courses. I am also part way through a Coaching for Yachting qualification and was president and major contact for Dockland Sailability for over four years, along with a previous Committee member of Sailability Victoria. I am currently trying to establish a Sailability arm of RYCV. Note: All of these are volunteer roles with no payment of even expenses.

Yachting is an excellent sport for integration of people with a disability into mainstream sports – it only requires suitable equipment. This has been shown by Sailability programs where, as an example of both its success and integration, at State and National competitions over 100 -200 sailors participate and include about 70% disabled sailors, >40% female competitors, all sailing together in classes based purely on sailing disability. This is a major achievement of integration of disabled and female sailors into what was previously deemed a male dominated sport. Sailing in the Paralympics is a large event with now three classes (one of the few Paralympic sports to have increased classes for China, most have been decreased) and Australia is a powerful country in sailing with many medals in Paralympic and World Championships.

Sydney and Perth have a couple of 24’ Sonar yachts that are used for Paralympic sailing training, but Victoria has none and these are only day-sailing, sports yachts, with out on-board accommodation. We want to create another level of sailing in Victoria and show it is viable and possible to the rest of Australia.