Taking the wheel and making water sports accessible for everyone!

Wetwheels founder and record-breaking yachtsman Geoff Holt, sits down with KtoA magazine and talks about leading the way in providing disabled individuals the opportunity to access the open water. Making memories that last a lifetime and turning dreams into reality for those who may otherwise never have had the chance.

Wetwheels was founded by Geoff Holt MBE in 2011, its founding principles are to provide truly barrier-free opportunities for all disabled people to access our coastal waters as a shared experience with friends and family.

Being on the water offers freedom and independence often denied to disabled people. But more than just a trip around the harbour, everyone is an active participant on a Wetwheels experience and everyone, including those with profound and complex, often life-limiting disabilities, are given the opportunity to take the wheel and for a moment in time, to be Master and Commander of a powerboat.

Powered by twin Suzuki 325hp engines, each boat is capable of speeds up to 30 kn but the experience is not always about going fast, it’s about feeling the wind in your face, seeing wildlife you only see on TV and having a sensory experience that genuinely changes lives.

Geoff Holt says; “As a disabled person myself I know how few opportunities there are to have a really fun, adrenaline fuelled experience, out in the fresh air with my friends and family. I have been a passionate sailor all my life, and so I wanted to create something where everybody, even wheelchair users like myself, could get out onto the water and share those same feelings of independence and joy that you only get at sea. It might just be the feeling of sea water splashing on an outstretched hand or the salty spray in your face, it may be watching dolphins come and play alongside the boat, each trip is unique and means different things to different people. Above all it is an opportunity to forget about our troubles and just enjoy being at one with nature. It is a highly sensory experience with sights, sounds and smells many would have not experienced before. Since founding Wetwheels we have taken collectively almost 100,000 people onto the water and it has to be one of the proudest things I’ve ever done.”

Wendy, mum to Bob, one of Wetwheels’ disabled participants, says, “Bob has one of the most severe forms of epilepsy - LennoxGastaut syndrome. It’s rare and debilitating and causes uncontrollable seizures every day. Up until the age of 16, Bob was able to walk and talk, but the epilepsy wiped out many of the skills he had worked so hard to acquire. He now requires 24/7 care, can’t walk and has palsied arm and lack of gross and fine motor skills.

Wetwheels allows me to focus on something both delightful and stimulating. Seeing Bob laugh, feeling the spray on his face, and watching him enjoy the moment, it’s so uplifting for both of us. Seeing him being able to take the wheel on the boat - he loves that! It gives him such a sense of power that he never gets to experience anywhere else and you can tell he just absolutely loves it.

He can’t talk, but he has a very expressive face and smile. As a parent, you get to know your child’s unique communication methods, and this is without a doubt the one thing in his life that consistently brings him joy - no, more than joy, it’s ecstasy! He smiles, he laughs, he loves everything about it and it’s pure delight for him. Seeing him light up

during these trips has been life-changing for both of us.”

Wetwheels now have eight identical boats around the UK serving coastal communities, often those areas with a higher indices of poverty and hardships. Our fleet take in excess of 10,000 people a year onto the water and are located in Port Edgar in Scotland, Whitby, Dover, Portsmouth, Hamble, Jersey (CI), Torbay and Falmouth.

Wendy sums up Wetwheels perfectly; “I come away feeling happier, more relaxed, and less worried. Standing at the back of the boat, watching the spray, feeling the wind and the speed, hearing the birds, seeing the sun glisten on the water, knowing my son is safe and enjoying himself and we’re also doing something exciting together – it feels like a strange sort of meditation to me. It’s magical.”

www.wetwheelsfoundation.org

“As a parent, you get to know your child’s unique communication methods, and this is without a doubt the one thing in his life that consistently brings him joy – no, more than joy, it’s ecstasy!”

Want to take the wheel?

Disabled Sailors Association

The Disabled Sailors Association offers unparalleled sailing opportunities for disabled individuals, particularly wheelchair users, who are often excluded by other organisations due to high costs or logistical challenges providing access.

With fully wheelchair-accessible yachts that enable participants to steer and control the boat and use all facilities, alongside specially designed dinghies that are unsinkable and uncapsizable, they are a truly unique organisation in the world of accessible sailing.

They welcome individuals with all types of disabilities, including those using electric wheelchairs. Friends, families, and carers are also encouraged to join the experience. Since the launch of its first boat in 1966, the organisation has provided nearly 50,000 people with the joy of sailing and now offers over 2,000 sailing opportunities every year.

No disability is ever turned away. With fully accessible controls, participants can choose to actively sail or simply relax and enjoy an amazing experience as passengers. Their yachts are based at Port Solent near Portsmouth, Hampshire, while its dinghies are available for use at Ringwood, Hampshire. Dinghies can also be purchased or, in some cases, secured on long-term loan.

www.disabledsailing.org

Disabled Sailing Association

The Disabled Sailing Association is a UK based sailing charity, offering “Safe and affordable sailing for disabled people”. Based in Torquay Devon, but welcoming members from far & wide, our aim is to give everybody, no matter their disability or disadvantage, the opportunity to enjoy the health benefits of ocean sailing and to promote an active lifestyle.

The crew are all volunteers who have been assessed as competent by the DSA Training and Standards Group. Most DSA skippers hold RYA qualifications and all have many years sailing experience. All crew have been fully DBS checked reflecting our high safeguarding standards, given that we are dealing with more vulnerable adults and children.

www.disabledsailingassociation.org.uk