Visually Impaired Sailor Emily Wright Taking Part in the Annual Round The Island Yacht Race 2022

Now time to take to the waters to hear all about how visually impaired sailor Emily Wright first took up the sport of sailing as one of the activities on offer from the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. Emily has not only completed her RYA Day Skipper certificate, notching up many nautical  miles with the trust but Emily will be racing round the Isle of Wight on Saturday 25 June with the Trust for the annual Round the Island Yacht Race 2022.

Emily also has her sights set on representing Great Britain in blind sailing championships having recently started training with GBR Blind Sailing.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey who has done a bit of sailing himself caught up with Emily to find out how she is feeling about taking part in her first Round the Island Race with the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and how the recent training has been going with GBR Blind Sailing.  

Emily began by telling Toby how she first heard of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and how Ellen’s story of coming 2nd in the single-handed Vendée Globe round the world yacht race at the age of 24 shows young people that they can achieve their goals and reach their dreams no matter what life throws at them with the support of the trust too. 

Emily then gave Toby an insight into what is involved in studying for and completing her Royal Yachting Association Day Skipper Certificate and how the trust were there to support and help Emily in the preparation for her day skipper theory and practical courses.

Toby then asked Emily how she was feeling about taking part with the trust in her first Round the Island Yacht Race on Saturday 25 June 2022 and how the preparations had been going before then asking Emily about her recent training with GBR Blind Sailing with her sights on representing Great Britain at international and world Blind Fleet and Match Racing Sailing championships.

Toby will be catching up with Emily after the Round the Island yacht Race to find out how the race went for Emily and the rest of the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust team.

To find out more about the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust do visit the Trust’s website - https://www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org

And if like Emily you would like to get into sailing and racing as a blind or partially sighted person then do visit the GBR Blind Sailing website where you will find out more about opportunities to get into sailing and race training -

(Image shows Emily sat on a Yacht out at sea. She is wearing a life jacket, black waterproof clothing and a wooly hat and is holding a mug of tea of coffee whilst smiling towards the camera)