SAILABILITY
LUCY HODGES MBE COMMODORE OF
BLIND SAILING UK
Lucy Hodges’ course to multi- medal winning sailor began on an RYA Sailability weekend aged 17. When we speak, the 48-year-old has recently stood on the winner’s podium of the Blind Match Racing World Championships for the sixth time. ‘A brilliant week,’ she says of the event in Sciez, France. ‘There’s no traffic on the lake – absolutely ideal – and you’re [sailing] right off the pontoon.’ Lucy thrives on that competition. ‘Life can get hard with a disability. There can be daily struggles. Racing gives me goals – I need to stay healthy, fuel myself well, train properly. It’s helped me maintain being open to life in general. It means I don’t sit back.’ She recommends interested
sailors seek out their local clubs and Sailability circuits. ‘There’s a lovely, fun camaraderie in club racing. You’re competing among people that are similar to you, but you’ve got a progression within the fleet. You don’t even have to have a boat – I see many offers for “Come crew with me”. It’s just about taking those opportunities.’ She adds: ‘If being competitive is not
for everyone, the healthiness sailing gives you – the being outdoors, being active – is just as valuable.’
Another is the boat itself: ‘The RS Venture Connect is a one-design boat, so it’s all about the sailors.’ It’s a self-righting 16ft keelboat version
of the RS Venture, with modifications to allow for a seated control system, such as the joytick or sip-and-puff control. These adaptions were given legal status by the class adaptions committee, ensuring they help the sailors control the boats without offering performance gains.
International racing Also in September was the Hansa Class European Championships on the Netherlands’ Sneekermeer (Sneek lake). The class benefits from a vigorous
Left Lucy (standing) and her team in the Blind Match Racing World Championships this summer.
grassroots circuit. For just ten pounds, sailors can pre-book a boat at a racing venue to join friendly competitions every fortnight. That may be why Paul Phillips of Frensham Pond Sailing Club became Liberty European Champion. Brett was at the event as coach
alongside 20 UK sailors and around 40 volunteers. ‘It’s an amazing class,’ he says. ‘Everyone supports everyone else. More experienced sailors can sail with younger sailors or they can sail independently. It makes the sport sustainable in young people coming through.’ Specialised organisations, GBR
Blind Sailing UK and Deaf Sailing UK, co-ordinate tuition and racing in their fields. Indeed, if British sailing has a champion, it’s blind sailing’s Lucy Hodges (see above). GBR Blind Sailing UK triumphed at the Blind Match Racing World Championships in France in June, sweeping all seven races. No surprise – Lucy is one of Britain’s most successful sailors, with eight consecutive golds in the Blind Match Racing World
rya.org.uk WINTER 2024 31
Above
Paul Phillips, just after winning the Liberty class at the Hansa Class European Championships.
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