Our Mission: Our mission is to develop personal leadership skills and team building skills through the sport of sailing for everyone regardless of ability. Our vision is to see people empowered through sportsmanship to become leaders with strong character development in their communities. Conquer Personal Challenges, Serve Others and Lead with a Positive Influence.
Sailing for Everyone: Sailing is a sport and recreation for everyone. We utilize bio-technology to remove boundaries for anyone participating in the sport. Voyages Unbound, is a non-profit leadership development and community-based sailing program. The club includes anyone who has experienced a loss or disability to sail for fun and/or competitively. The sport of sailing and an integrated community allows anyone to conquer challenges and reach their maximum potential. The sport is an activity and skill set that can be used on the water competitively or recreational. Local training and sailing events will be held at Tempe Town Lake and Lake Pleasant. However, please remember that no sailing experience is required.
A Level Playing Field:
Sailing as a sport is an ideal catalyst for bringing together members of a community.
Those with disabilities can often be forgotten in our community.
Sailing fosters connections that include minorities, high risk youth and those with disabilities.
The key here is that no one wants to be sidelined into "special" or "only" programs.
Consequently, our boats use technology that level the playing field for everyone, so a person with of any ability can sail with or next to a friend or family member equally!
Accessible Boats:
The program utilizes small boats that are sailed by 1 to 4 people on Tempe Town Lake.
Larger team boats are used at Lake Pleasant for racing and cruising.
The program has boats that are accessible to accommodate almost any need.
Some are specifically designed so that a person sits low inside the boat instead of leaning over the side.
This allows even a people with special needs to sail them alone with training.
Several aspects of the design include:
- Ballasted centerboard or keel ensuring that the boat will not capsize.
- Hull design, designated to promote stability and responsiveness.
- Roller reefing system, to adjust the size of the sail to suit various weather conditions.
- Adaptive technology that can be controlled by any moving body part. This allows people with profound needs to sail their own boats.
Leadership:
The principles of sailing parallel personal leadership principles.
The boat becomes a "hands-on" lab.
Learning decision making in the boat relates
to principles of navigating the winds of change in the marketplace of life.
The helmsman must read the direction of wind, chart a course, and trim the sails to use the force of the wind to efficiently get to one's desired destination.
Likewise teamwork is another essential element in today's world.
Whether one agrees with the helmsman or not, communication and cooperation are critical to the success of the team.
People and Places:
Volunteers, friends, and family members are actively involved with
- sail training,
- making adaptive modifications to the boats,
- program management,
- assisting participants with disabilities.
