Words by: Mike Rawbone

Sitting in the HHYC bar one evening in April 2009, the then Commodore of HHYC; Mark Houghton commented to me that HHYC should consider doing more for the local community and in particular, for those who had a disability "rather like the RYA does in the UK with their Sailability program" he suggested. Seeing the chance to start something new and really worthwhile at HHYC (and for that matter - in Hong Kong) I got Mark to pay for my bar bill and volunteered to give Sailability a go!

"What a thrill," gasped 20 year-old Cynthia Zhang Ying Chan, as she clambered ashore after her first trip at the helm of one of our Access 2.3 dinghies.  "It was so exciting I'll bring my younger sister next time, she said.

Cynthia, like her sister, is visually impaired.  They experience difficulty with distance seeing.  But under the expert guidance of Sailability volunteer Katrina, Cynthia was able to guide the dinghy from our HHYC pier out into the main Sai Kung channel and back again.