State President
Greetings to all Queensland Sailability Volunteers.
It’s now the middle of our sailing year and it’s high time we put together some news of what’s happening with SQ and around the Branches.
Feedback from our first State Conference at Tin Can Bay in February has been very good and has led the SQ Committee to look toward another conference next year. It’s my hope that we may be able to invite all our volunteers to attend.
SQ consists of a committee of nine people coming from Gold Coast, Bayside, Shorncliffe and Tin Can Bay. We are hoping that a further member will join us shortly from Mooloolaba and that we can widen branch representation at our AGM later in the year. The tyranny of distance in Qld. may limit our ability in this direction.
SQ has been largely unfunded and has traditionally relied on donations and support from our larger branches, particularly GC where Sailability Qld. had its genesis.
We have recently, however, been able to attract substantial ongoing financial support from Aspect Property Group in Brisbane and this will enable us to further the cause of Sailability in Queensland. Much of this funding will be applied to the promotion of new branches in central and north Qld.
A representative of SQ will be joining a Yachting Queensland team visiting Townsville,
Cairns and surrounds in July in order to prosecute that aim. A PowerPoint presentation has been prepared and this can be viewed at: www.sailabilityqld.org on the SQ News page.
An article on Sailability will appear in the next YQ Magazine and we hope to have articles appearing in such publications as The Coastal Passage.
Around the Branches:
Gold Coast is operating at capacity with up to 100 disabled sailors joining them on sailing days and they are actively seeking a site for a further branch, possibly between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Bayside is also operating near capacity with between 60 and 70 sailors each sailing day, however their capacity will expand substantially when their new pontoon arrives later in the year. Bob Jackson at Bayside has put together a very good DVD presentation entitled “A Day at Sailability Bayside”. It may be of instructional or even motivational value to your branch members. It can be viewed on Bayside’s News page at: www.sailabilityqld.org
Shorncliffe have seen an expansion in sailor numbers and Peter Garden and his team are putting their new dinghies to good use.
Sailability Mooloolaba are the ‘quiet achievers’ among us, sometimes operating three days in a week. President John Cooke was recognized for his Service to Sailability at the Australia Day Awards with Sunshine Coast Senior Citizen of the Year.
Our congratulations go to John (and his team) for a well-deserved honour.
Barry Ryan and his team are going great guns at Tin Can Bay with 3 new dinghies now on line as well as a new safety boat and a quad bike to move them around. The TCB folk did a great job organizing our state conference and were very successful in maximizing local publicity for Sailability and their sponsoring TCB Yacht Club. Such publicity is invaluable to any branch and is an indispensible aid to success.
President Gary Matherson and his team at Bundaberg have managed to attract valuable financial support from Woolworths, The Commonwealth Bank and Wide Bay Australia Bank and have had an outboard motor donated by Bundaberg Port Authority. Gary is looking towards new dinghies to replace loan boats from SQ and at more storage at Bundaberg Sailing Club.
Gary has had a struggle to get the necessary approvals for a crane mount on the Club pontoon but construction and installation has commenced- I’m sure his relief is enormous!
Pres. Bernie Atkins and the folk at Capricornia have seen a good increase in community support and volunteer numbers have grown as a result. Lack of infrastructure at the Causeway Lake where they sail is an ongoing problem and the team is working hard to improve this situation.
It seems that there is a critical size that needs to be reached by a new branch before operations become easier, with volunteers more readily attracted and community support more forthcoming. SQ is seeking to assist our smaller branches in this effort in every way we can.
The Access dinghies delivered in recent times have had quality problems, and price seems to be very high, so SQ is looking for alternatives that may suit. This is likely to be a slow process with great care needed and with no guarantee of success.
A number of our sailors have just competed at the Access World Championships in Rutland UK with the following results:
Belinda Hill (GC) 6th, place 2.3 single
Sonja Gilmore (GC) 16th place 2.3 single
Warren Hawkins (Bayside) 20th place 2.3 single.
Hearty congrats. to Belinda, Sonja and Warren for a very creditable performance so far away from home!
Don’t forget to visit SQ’s website at: www.sailabilityqld.org . You’ll find loads of info including branch news, volunteer training programmes and tips on rigging and maintenance.
Your branch can update it’s details, add newsletters, photos and lots more.
We see it as a valuable means of communication within and outside the SQ community and a good resource for information and ideas.
Behind all successful organisations is a committee and your group will shortly be calling for nominations and announcing the AGM. People are often reluctant to step forward but I urge you to attend the meeting and speak to your President beforehand about nominating. It doesn’t have to take up a whole lot of your time and he needs your support.
As a final comment, I want to remind you of the value of the contribution we make to our disabled friends. Often in the hurly-burly of life we can lose sight of the little things and sometimes become disillusioned, especially when our clients can’t or don’t respond obviously to our efforts.
Even for clients who are unable to communicate or respond directly with us, or even when they fall asleep in the dinghy, sailing each week becomes a very important part of their often-very-restricted lives; just ask the carers that accompany them about that! These extracts from a carer’s note to the volunteers at Bayside leave us in no doubt as to the benefits of our work and the value of our friendship with our sailors. The full text can be found on the website under Bayside News.
“for the last 4 years I have…..been supporting a couple of guys to go sailing. The guys are always in great spirits and… keen to hit the water and the good feelings continue for the rest of the day….. I can see that all the people who go sailing … have the same experience… I’m not sure how it works- perhaps the movement of the water…or the thrill of the occasional windy day with it’s dose of salt spray…. I only know it does work.
“You’re all making a big difference in the lives of people who sometimes don’t have it so good…..You’re all bloody heroes!”
My very best wishes to all and I hope to visit your group over the next few months,
State President John Hamaty
