Wheelchair Ahoy!

This article is presented by the magazin Paraplegiker with the permission of the MVS Medizinverlage Stuttgart.

Wheelchair drivers sail on successful course, since some possibilities come up to enjoy freedom of sailing to the fullest. For them experiencing the interaction of wind and waves is a special feeling.

01/05/2008

Wheelchair users of the German Protestant Youth in Dortmund go sailing with an integrative sailing trip. The young sailors put their heart and soul on it when crossing the Ijselmeer in the boat „Lutgerdina“. Together with able bodied teenagers and a skilled sailing crew they spend eventful days on the two master which is retrofitted to be wheelchair accessible. Participants get to know about navigation, they can determine the course or write the log. Seven of the twenty passengers on board are usable for Wheelchair drivers.

Dirk Pfeiffer already took part several times. “One of the greatest impressions I got through sailing is that everybody has to work together to move forward.” The sailing friend who sits in a wheelchair due to uncontrolled spastic muscle cramps by birth enjoys sailing since “it is a feeling of freedom in which you can forget sorrows of all-day life with view over the sea”. The braveness to try sailing made him much more self-confident and helped him to get over obstacles in all areas of his life.

A stable metal ramp enables him to get on the 34 metres long ship which is accessible in many respects: a lift, a drivable upper and lower deck and two disabled friendly bathrooms with panic buttons. The rest is done by teamwork, even when swimming in the open sea. Dirk Loose, coordinator of the integrative sailing trip, is enthusiastic about the sailors: “Teamwork has brought us many beautiful moments. I’ve been organising this for several years but I’m still fascinated by what we can reach together.” An accessible sailing catamaran is planned as well.

A unique sunset from the ship;
© fotodreamer/Pixelio.de

On May 5th the first disabled friendly big sailing ship in Germany was christened in Uckermuende’s harbour. Right from the beginning this ship had been fitted out with barrier free equipment. On deck of the sailing ship for twelve people special cranes and lifts for wheelchair drivers enable up to five wheelchair users to get in and out the. Special wheelchairs help with a safety system. Whether setting sails, conning or cooking in the galley – everyone helps as well as he can. This project which needed twelve years to be put into action was initialised by the association “Wheelchair sailors”.

The passionate sailor Annette Abrimenko would come on board as well. The 52-year-old wheelchair driver has already been on high sea sailing ships frequently and knows the wild sides of the sea. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean took 31 days and was just one of her bigger sailing adventures the English ship “Jubilee Sailing Trust” up to now. In Great Britain she sailed on comparatively big ships which gave her the chance to get to know her “physical and psychic limits”. Sailing changed her life. “It strengthened my self-confidence and opened new horizons”, says the fun-loving sailor. Where there's a will there's a way.

© Jan-Henrik Schultz