#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - A new accessible pontoon and ramp in Galway Harbour will enable disabled sailors to get fully involved in events to celebrate the Volvo Ocean Race finale next weekend, the Galway City Tribune reports.
The permanent pontoon has been set up at the docks in the city centre, giving wheelchair users complete access to and from boats moored in the marina - along with the thousands who will be given the opportunity to learn to sail during the VOR weekend.
A highlight of the festivities will be the Irish Disabled Sailing Association regatta, which will see over 100 sailors with physical disabilities in competition on Galway Bay.
Previously the only access for disabled sailors in Galway was via a small slipway at Galway Bay Sailing Club in Oranmore, which made boarding and alighting an awkward process.
But the new pontoon is hoped to leave a lasting legacy for the City of the Tribes - and encourage many more wheelchair users to get afloat.
“The rehearsal last week went really well," said Liz Gantly of the Galway Speeders Club, which promotes sport for young people with disabilities. "We are hoping to have over 100 disabled people from all over the country trying out sailing during the Volvo Ocean Race.”
The Galway City Tribune has more on the story HERE.
