Sailing into Wellness, which offers educational and therapeutic programmes for “at-risk” young people and adults, has been recognised for its expansion as a result of a Rethink Ireland Sports to Impact Fund award.
It is one of three national sports organisations – the other two being Special Olympics Ireland and ExWell Medical - which use sport to increase inclusivity for marginalised groups.
Rethink Ireland says the groups have thrived and expanded to reach more socially excluded people despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Sports to Impact fund is made up of 50% private philanthropic funding, self-raised by the three awardees. The other half comes from Government, through the Department of Rural and Community Development via the Dormant Accounts Fund.
As The Irish Examiner reports, Sailing into Wellness founded by Colin Healy and James Lyons was declared a critical service during the Covid-19 pandemic and was able to continue its invaluable work.
The project acquired two 20-foot (six-metre) Hawk class sailing vessels which can be launched by trailer from any pier. Healy and Lyons also acquired use of the 56 ft (17-metre) timber ketch, Ilen, which was built in Baltimore, West Cork to a design by Conor O’Brien, the Irishman who sailed around the world in 1923-25.
Last year, it offered courses in Kinsale, Howth, Co Dublin, on the River Shannon, in Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, and has extended to Carlingford, Co Louth.
With over 900 participants to date, it hopes to extend to the west this autumn. Those who wish to progress from day sailing to longer voyages can do so through three-day “voyages of recovery”.
At first, it was difficult to convince potential backers of the value of the model. As Tessa Kingston, counsellor and psychotherapist from Kinsale, explains, adventure therapy is well developed in North America, Canada, Australia and Scandinavia, but not so advanced here. Along with Leonie Conway, she is a full-time instructor with Sailing into Wellness.
“It has a different impact on everyone,” Kingston says. “The impact may seem so slight that it happens organically.”
Read more about the experiences of Colin Healy and participants Eoin Barnes and Natasha O’Brien in The Irish Examiner here