The first day of sailing was on a 32 foot long boat. Sailing from Marseilles to local Islands with 5 of my friends. I was discovering sailing. It was 4 days of sailing and I loved it.
I started sailing Hansa in 2011. 303 Double. I am visually impaired, Classification B1
I like that it’s a small boat and it gives a lot of sensations to me. When you are blind you really FEEL the wind. For example when you trim the jib you immediately feel the sensation of speed (whether it is slower or faster and whether it is leaning over).
Another thing is that the controls are simple and close to me.
The Hansa is a good beginner boat. I like that I can sail with a partner because I cannot sail alone except in some situations like when I use my mobile app on my iPhone – SARA (Sail And Race Audio Guide). My team developed this software. It is made for every blind sailor and it is free on App Store.
I feel so good about being here in Hiroshima because what is very interesting is meeting lots of people from many countries, with many disabilities that are different to mine. It is a humane event and we sail together, discuss everything and we sing together. The Opening Ceremony was great.
It’s not finished so I cannot say. We come here to have a prize but for the moment it is not so easy. Day 1 we came first but the pleasure we took in the race was more important. The conditions were good and the start for us was excellent. It was nice competition with the Aussie team on the water and we won.
if I could sail with anyone in the world? I like to sail with Guyon – “Gillou”, my existing sailing partner.
