A representative from vision Australia visited the State Sailing Centre in Victoria on the 14th of April, the following week the instructors ran a session for a group with a variety of levels of vison loss. Before producing a customised sailing session in hansa dinghies and Pacers at albert park lake the instructors attended a theory session in which they were able to use technology and materials to better understand the perspective of the participants. 

Firstly, here are some everyday tips to help someone who is blind or has low vision: 

• Let them know when you are leaving or moving away.  

• Say their name so they know you are speaking to them. 

• Speak and behave naturally – continue using your normal body language because your body position and facial expressions affect your tone of voice.  

• Shake their hand if it is offered. In dangerous situations say ‘STOP’ (rather than ‘look out’). 

• Always say if you are going to move objects or furniture.  

• When giving directions or instructions, be specific. 

• Try not to point or say, “over there.” Instead, direct the person to their left or right, for example, and use general measurements – ‘the chair is about two metres to your left’. 

• Close doors or open them fully – never leave them ajar. 

For a full list of tips or more information on, guiding someone who is blind or has low vision, behaving correctly around a Seeing Eye Dog, written communication or support for carers and family members visit here. 

Three easy first steps: 

Approach- If you think a person might need a hand – walk up, say “hello” and tell them who you are. “Hi. My name is…” 

Ask- Remember that not everyone who is blind or has low vision will want help, so say something like “would you like a hand with anything or are you OK?” 

Assist- Listen to their response and help accordingly. 

If they need assistance, touch the back of their hand with the back of yours. 

Instructor take aways from the theory session/ ideas for sailing session: 

Awareness/ surroundings 

Let them know what is going on around them Eg. If there is a commotion like people are yelling or clapping let them know what has happened Eg. “a boat has capsized on the water,” distractions like birds, people or boats can be disorientating when you do not know what is going on around you. 

Instructor tip: Describe what is going on around the group (James is passing you /us on the left) 

Vision Australia Tip: Never leave someone alone in an empty space, always anchor them to something, Eg. A table or wall. 

Hands on explanation - Orientation to the boat:

Have a rigged boat on shore – so they can feel the boat and learn the names and jobs of the different boat parts. Describe the part of the boat and where it is located. 

Instructor language: Do you mind if I your grab hand or do you want to follow my voice? 

Vision Australia Tip: You can tap on the part as a sound que for them to locate the part of the boat. 

Extra equipment you could use:

Using Arts and crafts to create boat models or a 3D Map of the area.  

In the recent years, we have seen the use of beacons to help people with vision impairment navigate their immediate surroundings and this technology could be used on course markers or other boats. Microsoft Soundscape use 3D audio cues to enrich ambient awareness and provide a new way to relate to the environment. 

Post theory session: 

To gain a better understanding of the perspective of the participants the instructors walked around building to see what they could find eg. Braille found on the Toilet doors or tactile paving on the stairs. 

One Instructor Clare Olding took the opportunity to make a 3D Map to help orientate the participants and allow them an understanding of factors like areas of thick weed and the island. 

The map was made of wood, had Clay arrows for the wind and blue tack for the weeds. It showed the outline of the lake, the other clubs, the state sailing centre, and the various jetty’s including the jetty used for their boats. 

All Instructors on the session were also asked to familiarise themselves with the booklet provided by Vision Australia. 

Here is an overview of the sailing session plan: 

Instructor De- Brief 

Introduction went at their pace and started when they were ready. 

Instructor Tip: To get Attention- “this is Clare speaking” (so they can start recognising voice)

The 3D map worked well  

Instructor Tip: Make sure when displaying the map that you orient the map to the real-life counter parts. 

The guide of boat- The normal order for explaining the various parts needed to be adapted to consider the parts they touched first.  

Instructor Tip: Make sure you cover everything but try to be flexible with the way you go about teaching the content. 

Takeaways from the sailing session: 

Clare said that while the group had a range of differing vision loss, the individuals were all “Fiercely independent”. The trick is to be flexible and patient and go at their pace and that the focus should still be on independence where possible. 

Never making assumptions about ability, just as not assuming the level of vision loss is the same for everyone also consider the participants other abilities Eg. Non-verbal, the more information you get beforehand the better.  

Always make sure you are still talking directly to the participant not the carer or adult. It is important to respect a person’s boundaries and independence and help in ways that support dignity. 

Blind sports

Australian Sailing Victorian office also teamed up with Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria to offer an OutThere Sailing Experience last Easter School holidays to seven teens and 2 pre-teens who were blind or have low vision. 

For an article on how those sessions went view this article:

https://www.sailing.org.au/news/outthere-sailing-reaches-out-to-new-communities-/ 

For an exercise to develop skills to support people with vision loss view this article:

https://www.sailing.org.au/news/blindfolded-sailing-for-coaches-and-instructors/

For Other Information/ websites 

• Vision Australia booklet 
• Blind sports