Mark Farries - Dart Sailability Principal

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Mark Farries

Mark Farries, Dart Sailability

Mark Farries - Dart Sailability  Principal

Mark Farries bustles around in Dart Sailability’s prefab at Noss Marina, making me a cup of tea. The wind blows outside and it’s overcast, but all is surprisingly cheerful and homely inside this little hut filled with the paraphernalia of sailing.

Mark and a small team have spent the morning working on the boats used by the charity to take the disabled sailors out on the water: it’s part of their annual maintenance programme and Mark comments that “we all enjoy it really, pottering about with boats!”

Fibre optics scientist Mark is a smiling, enthusiastic host and takes me through how he became part of the charity in 2002, and then became principal in 2005.

“I had just been offered a pay rise at work and instead I asked to cut back my hours!” he laughs, “I was working so much at the time, I wanted to do something for the community, but had trouble finding something I was enthusiastic about. I had been sailing on the Dart and saw the sailability boats out one day. Chatting to the founder, Bob Scull, I thought it sounded much more interesting than the other volunteering things I’d seen and started to help out.”

Mark had been an enthusiastic sailor since his childhood in Surrey, and saw an opportunity to help.

Running Dart Sailability is no small commitment: the charity has 10 sailing boats, all specially adapted for use by disabled sailors; five power boats, with one safety boat which has the ability to pick up those who go into the water without having to pull them over the side; 45 volunteers and more than 100 disabled sailors on the books ranging in age from 11 to their mid 80s! It sounds like a hefty logistical challenge, but Mark waves it away. The hard work is necessary to achieve the aim: to help people who wouldn’t be able to normally get out onto the water.

“One lady said to me recently that in her life she is pushed around all day in her wheelchair and the only time she has complete freedom to go where she wants, is when she is in one of our boats,” said Mark. “That’s what it’s all about really, giving people the chance to enjoy sailing and get out there. We have a huge range of people who come to us: from those who have a trip in one of our motorboats to go up the river to those who are competing for cups at Regatta!

“Whatever their reasons for wanting to get out on the river we have never refused a sailor because of their disability. Wherever possible, we work towards them getting out on the river on their own. We’ve even had people go out on the motorboat on a stretcher and they loved it!”

Mark says that the support of the community is vital and he is sometimes overwhelmed by the support.

“Noss Marina gives Dart Sailability a lot of support and we have sailors up and down the river donating equipment to us which we can sometimes use or often sell to raise funds. Our sales of equipment have, thanks to the hard work and dedication of one of our volunteers, brought in more than £50,000, which is just incredible. All of our volunteers contribute masses to our work, whether they come in now and again or every week for hours on end. But all of us do it because we love to help others. What better reason could there be?”

The charity also works with special schools to help young disabled people and those with learning difficulties. Mark describes this as a brilliant part of their work that was very rewarding.

“We aim to help anyone who needs this kind of support to get out onto the water, and when they do it’s marvellous to see,” he said. “We cater for all skill levels and have competitions and sailing with the Royal Dart Yacht Club every week in the season so anyone who discovers a competitive streak can follow it. Frankly many of them are brilliant sailors who push it to the limit when they are out there – they have a ball!”•

First published December 2013 By the Dart