Never assume the obvious is true — William Safire

If you saw someone sailing a boat — what assumptions would you make? That they liked water? Could swim? Could see?

Just because someone can’t see doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy being out on the water.

As the World Blind Sailing Championships demonstrate, people with vision loss can take the helm and manage the sails just as well as anyone.

Technology can help

Instead of maps, sailors who are blind use talking GPS systems. Buoys armed with bells warn sailors away from rocks and other underwater dangers.

Grant Robinson, Vice President of the Blind Sailing Association of Canada, clearly loves his high tech toys. He has a new iPhone and explains how he can use it to find nautical charts. But “the emphasis is on using your natural nautical skills,” he stresses, “technology is just too much of a crutch.” Grant smiles as he says this, tucking his iPhone into his pocket.

Grant has 10 per cent vision in one eye and three per cent in the other, but he doesn’t let that stop him from guiding the Windward Angel through Toronto’s harbour. Sailors with vision loss guide the boat by touch and sound.

“You can hear how the wind is blowing and how it’s hitting the sails,” says Grant.

It’s also about other people. A support sailor can help a helmsman with vision loss to navigate, or a crew that is blind to trim the sails. The key is verbal communication and working together as a team.

To learn more, visit the Blind Sailing Association of Canada. Open your eyes to what people with disabilities can do.