Our objective is to provide the fun and freedom of sailing at sea on one of our specially modified, modern sailing yachts for all disabled people, their family and carers.

Our trips range from local cruising of about three to four hours around Torbay, up to longer coastal and cross-channel passages, including overnight stays aboard for the more adventurous.

In our 2018 summer season from April to September ‘Free Spirit’ undertook over a hundred and ten trips carrying nearly four hundred disabled members.

We utilise RYA qualified volunteer skippers and crew, all with DBS clearance who are experienced in working with our disabled members and who encourage them to participate as fully as possible in the seagoing sailing experience.

We encourage and support, when funding and grants permit, our disabled members and volunteers to take relevant RYA training courses through our in-house RYA registered training centre. Several disabled members have already participated in this scheme up to RYA ‘Day Skipper’ level.

The Disabled Sailing Association (DSA) is an ‘RYA Sailability’ affiliated and approved organisation. We were established as a charity in 2005 by six disabled people who loved sailing at sea and wished to encourage and provide the opportunity to others with a disability to enjoy sailing.

We are a non-profit making organisation, fully reliant on external funding, donations and voluntary contributions. Today, individual  membership stands at over two hundred, excluding the care centres, rehabilitation centres, respite and day centres who use our facilities regularly.

We have been able to provide sailing for all ages from 4 to 104 (!) years and through the whole range of disabilities which include blindness, deaf blindness, learning difficulties, chronic illness and people who are confined to their wheelchairs.

Both our current boats fully comply with the required RNLI sea safety checks and recommendations and are specially adapted for people with a range of disabilities. Wheelchair access is provided via a specially designed ramp and makes them accessible for those who have very limited mobility.

Enjoying the fun and freedom of being at sea, handling the boat and the social company of working together in a small team builds confidence, friendships and social skills. As an outdoor activity it promotes a healthier lifestyle and freedom from the usual four walls.

Sailing is a great tradition in Torbay and until the DSA came on the scene many of our disabled members felt excluded from this great activity. Our boats are in a prominent position in the harbour and they are regularly seen by the local community and visitors to Torbay allowing them to see for themselves the ability, and not the disability, of our members.