On Thursday 20^th June, Tom and Derry supported by Peter and Pete began their first sailing session and it proved to be a truly ‘oar’- inspiring day! (See what we did there – and many more nautical puns to come!). 

Neither Tom, Derry, Peter or Pete have been on a sailing boat and so this is a TITANIC opportunity for everyone. We’d like to thank Alan from Outreach Sailing – this is going to be an ‘OAR’some few weeks.  For our first session Alan showed us the engine and the checks we needed to make – the filter, the oil and the fan belt.  Alan then took us through how to cast on and cast off and the different knots needed, after a couple of practices we were away!! 

 

As it was our first time out on the boat we stayed within the marina and we took it in turns at the helm (steering wheel) and we steered the boat around the marina. We learned that port is left and starboard is right and that ships normally pass each other on the “port” side (left).

It was great to be the 'Captain of the Ship', the weather was gorgeous and it was lovely to be with friends.  Over the afternoon we learned to “step on” and “step off” the boat to practise how to moor it on the jetty. 

Derry said “I was a bit unsure before I came here, I’ve never been on a yacht and I didn’t know what to expect but yeah, it’s been brilliant.  I’ve been learning knots to tie the boat on and off and I’m really looking forward to when we got out on the Mersey in a few weeks”. 

Peter said “It’s great for people we support to learn new skills, try new things and meet new people - but it is also good for me too.  I’m getting to learn something new as well, something that I probably wouldn’t have tried myself”.

Diane Hesketh CEO of Natural Breaks said “We are really lucky to have so many wonderful opportunities on our doorstep for the people we support to try new things and gain new skills, and for our staff to get to try these things too and how wonderful is the weather for everyone!”.

If you would like to find out more about Natural Breaks and who we work - this is us!