Kids with disabilities get ‘out of their comfort zone’ sailing on Sydney Harbour

The harbour glistens in the sun off Darling Point and squeals of delight rise as Sydney to Hobart race yacht Kayle tacks starboard. Come aboard a charity’s life-changing voyage for kids with disabilities.

Kids from Granville don’t often have the opportunity or the means to spend sunny days on a private yacht like some of their Sydney harbourside peers.

That fact alone is not going to stop 17-year-old Rabab Ali embracing her new-found love of seafaring: “I was thinking to buy a boat when I grow up,” she says, from behind the steering wheel of Sydney to Hobart racer ‘Kayle’.

Rabab and nine of her classmates from Granville South Creative and Performing Arts High School had boarded the yacht some 90 minutes earlier with visible apprehension for a scoot around the harbour, weaving between the ferries and learning a thing or two about tacking in the process.

Two hours later, the nervous glances and heads hung low had transformed into wide grins and giggles at the dockside.

Angela had taken to steering like a pro, garnering a round of applause from the crew, while Rabab and Greta teamed up to hoist the main sail to skipper Kathy Veel’s joy: “They’ve just pulled up 200 metres of line … and it’s not light!”

Greta Alai, 16, and Rabab Ali, 17, from Granville South Creative and Performing Arts High School, hoisting the mainsail aboard the racing yacht Kayle. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Disembarking the vessel, 16-year-old Greta Alai summed it up best: “That was the best experience of my life”.

This was no ordinary school excursion – one that parents might be expected to fork out over $100 for – this was an expedition designed to give kids with disabilities a chance to enjoy the freedom of the open water for the price of a $5 bus ride.

Giggles on the bow as Kayle tacks starboard. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

For the last 30 years the Making Waves Foundation has been taking disadvantaged school students out on Sydney Harbour, teaching them how to sail a racing yacht and feel the wind on their faces, all aboard a vessel custom-designed to accommodate all manner of disabilities.

Granville South High School support unit teacher Karen Tookey said over the past eight years, the charity has helped dozens of the school’s students build up their confidence and develop a can-do attitude.

“We’re from low socio-economic backgrounds and different countries … and it’s giving (the students) a chance to come out and experience different things, getting them out of their comfort zones,” she said.

“(When they’re back in the classroom) they then think ‘yes, I can do it – I can have a go’.”

Twin sisters Melissa and Greta Alai, 16, take turns at the helm. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

The crew’s focus, Ms Veel said, is to encourage even the most fearful students to chip in and work together to accomplish something tangible, like raising a sail or pitching the yacht in a new direction.

“Because the boat’s so big, you need the whole team (to help out), so the girls have just been put – straight away – onto jobs they’ve probably never done before,” she said.

“Nothing happens unless you make it happen, on a boat – it’s really powerful stuff.”

Pupils from Granville South CAPA High School on the bow with Making Waves volunteer Terry Broomfield. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Head of Kogarah High School’s support faculty Jenny Hudnall has also seen first-hand the difference experiences like this make for kids who are deaf, non-verbal and intellectually disabled.

“It enhances what we’re already doing tenfold,” she said.

“They’re not just getting the yacht itself, they’re actually getting a whole day of community access where they’re able to practice all the skills we are teaching them in the classroom.”

Best friends Greta and Rabab. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Making Waves CEO Gareth Hogan said the charity’s goal this year is to introduce 7500 young Australians who have a disability or are otherwise disadvantaged to the sport of sailing, aiming to raise $200,000 through an end-of-financial-year campaign.

Already, the ‘Winds of Joy’ program is so popular “schools are almost fighting each other” for a slot.

“Essentially we’re hindered by our own success,” he said.

The foundation also runs three other programs – an eight-week sailing course for school students, a boatbuilding experience, and a semi-professional program for adults – and competes in the Sydney to Hobart crewed by people living with disabilities.

Originally published as Kids with disabilities get ‘out of their comfort zone’ sailing on Sydney Harbour