PUBLICATIONS

Facing the Wind- a manual for teaching blind and visually impaired persons to sail

Copyright;1991 The Carroll Center for the Blind contact:www.carroll.org


Sailing Blind- A manual for the instruction of sailing techniques for blind persons and sighted instructors.

1993 New Zealand Council for Sailing for Vision Impaired Persons, Inc.
2000 Second edition.
Contact Don Mason, info@sailingblind.org.nz


 Video

A videotape of the BSI Regatta in Miami, Florida, USA has been completed and is available. To cover the costs of duplication and mailing, there is a nominal cost of $25 US. If purchasing the video you must:

    • indicate the video format of your country/region (VHS, PAL, SECAM, other)
    • include payment of $25US with your request (check or credit card- Visa, MC)
    • The 26 minute video is professionally produced by Jill Beach Productions and provides a summary of blind sailing and the 1999 Championship Regatta, while highlighting the achievements of Carlos Riveron, blind sailor from the Miami team. We have arranged to duplicate and distribute the video at cost to you and we encourage you to use it for your team’s fund raising efforts, as well as to promote blind sailing in your region.

      Order form


ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT

 

http://www.tacktick.com/

Marine electronics specialist, Tacktick Ltd, unveiled a new personal Audio Compass for use by visually impaired sailors at an RYA Sailability event attended by HRH, the Princess Royal at the Royal Thames Yacht Club on April 10th 2003.

The Tacktick Audio Compass is a fraction of the size and weight of its predecessors and fits easily into a pocket. Since it does not need a power supply, installation takes only minutes. It can be attached to any vertical surface and can be easily transferred from boat to boat. Audio output is through a single earphone, which attaches comfortably to either ear and does not distract fellow crew members. The instrument also has an LCD numerical course display for use by partially sighted helmsmen.

Commenting on the launch of the Tacktick Audio Compass, Clive Clifford, CEO of RYA Sailability, said, “Blind people have long enjoyed the sport of sailing but until now electronic audio compasses have been far too expensive for them to own personally, the launch of the Audio Compass from Tacktick is about to change all this. This new audio compass is relatively cheap to buy and compact enough to fit into your pocket; it will make a considerable impact on the sailing of many visually impaired people. ”

The Tacktick Audio Compass is based on the company’s market leading Micro Compass and uses the same low current drain which permits sustained operation using the built in solar cells. The Audio Compass also uses the same flux gate compass technology, which provides vastly superior performance in heavy sea conditions.

Control of the compass is via two push buttons located on top of the instrument. The helmsman can lock-on to the present boat heading by holding down the right hand button and change course when necessary by momentary presses of the left or right buttons. When locked-on, deviation from the course results in beep tones with pitch depending on the course error. As the course error increases so does the rate of beeping. Holding down the left hand button returns the compass to standby.

A full Description of operation and costs can be found On the RYA website. This link will lead you to the page. http://www.sailability.co.uk/