“Disability isn’t a barrier to taking part.” That’s one of the key messages behind Dart Sailability, a charity which goes out of its way to get more than 800 people with disabilities out onto the water every year. Neil Stevens has just taken over as chairman, in the next two years the ex-RAF pilot hopes to raise lots of money for the group and get more people with mental health problems involved. Steph Woolvin went to meet him….
A few years ago Neil Stevens was a pilot flying through the skies with the likes of Prince William and members of the teen pop sensation One Direction in the back of his helicopter! Now he’s retired from his air-borne career he’s chosen the water as his new playground. He and his wife Nici moved to Dartmouth last autumn and the pair threw themselves into town life joining a handful of clubs in their first three months. Neil went straight to the yacht club and became one of their safety boat drivers, having gained the qualifications needed earlier in his career. “I go out on a Tuesday evening helping the dinghy club. But I really wanted to get my teeth into a bigger project so when I found out about Dart Sailability I signed up straight away.”
The group, which started in 1997, is part of a national scheme enabling people with disabilities to try sailing and regularly take part in water-based activities. The Dartmouth team have an impressive fleet of boats including specially adapted vessels like the 'Farries Flyer' powerboat. This large grey landing craft can accommodate up to 12 people and with dual controls it means more-able sailors in wheelchairs can drive it. As it can pull right up onto a beach it’s the ideal boat to take people on jaunts up the river to spot wildlife before stopping off somewhere for a summer picnic or bbq.
The club also has six Hansa dinghies, these have a heavy keel making them virtually impossible to capsize. They are used as training boats so people with disabilities can join courses to learn how to sail them solo. Wheelchair users can be hoisted into them using specialist machinery on the quayside at the club’s base at Noss Marina. Neil says Dart Sailability tries to help people reach their goals: “We provide opportunities for those who may have thought it impossible to ever get onto the water. When they’re travelling on the Dart with the waves lapping up and the wind in their hair it gives them a real thrill and many feel a new sense of tranquillity and freedom. We also provide courses for more serious sportsmen and women who want to learn to sail with courses delivered by our own qualified instructors. Some of them go on to compete alongside able-bodied sailors.”
Neil took over as chairman last month (April 2019) and says it’s his job to stay on top of all the paperwork, making sure they keep their charitable status in tact and remain on the right side of health and safety laws. He will regularly attend board meetings and make sure the training officer has everything he needs in terms of equipment and up to date manuals and certificates. The club has 113 members who regularly attend events, courses and day trips helped along the way by a team of 60 volunteers who drive safety boats, organise training courses, arrange fundraising events and help get users in and out of boats. Neil says they need a lot of helpers as it can take five or six people to get one person into a boat using a hoist.
As well as manpower the club needs a lot of cash to keep afloat seeing as one quayside hoist can cost up to £7,000, and Hansa dinghies range from £2,000 to £6,000. They have a hard working fundraising team who put on a range of activities throughout the year such as raffles and talks. They are also given donations from individuals and companies, grants from trusts and some legacies left in people’s wills. Neil says people are very generous: “I think many see this as a worthwhile charity and are very kind in their support. We don’t receive any government funding and all our operations and governance is done by volunteers with no paid staff.”
Sailing is in the blood for Neil as his grandfather was part of a square-rigger team which went around Cape Horn in 1902 and he was a merchant seaman during the First World War. Neil says his father introduced him to sailing when he was very young; “I learnt to sail at his feet really. At the age of eight I was put in a single dinghy and pulled along at the back of our family boat! After a few years it was sold and we got a little catamaran.” Neil went on to experience many other modes of transport when he joined the RAF. He was a helicopter pilot instructor based at RAF North Holt and would frequently convey senior generals, cabinet ministers and members of the Royal Family.
He once made a special journey flying through the clouds above the UK answering questions from a curious Prince William about the merits of joining the RAF. Neil moved around a lot with his job and lived in Hampshire, Northern Ireland, Hong Kong and Germany. He says throughout his military career he made sure he got lots of water experience. “I achieved a coastal skipper qualification which means I can operate within site of land. I spent a few weeks going off on the Challenge 67 boats which are steel-hulled yachts built for racing ‘the wrong way’ around the world, against the wind. I didn’t go all the way round, but I did a stint as watch leader from Barcelona to Malta.”
After four decades in the RAF Neil went on to become a commercial helicopter pilot for 10 years. “I worked for a property company and would fly prospective-buyers to see different sites around the UK and abroad. It wasn’t all business; I would take people down to Castle Hill at Bideford for shooting trips and sometimes took the bosses to Greece. I was a glorified taxi really but it was good fun!” He says of all the VIPs he’s had ‘in the back of his cab’, the biggest coo for him was flying the pop band One Direction as it got him a large bunch of brownie points with his daughter!
Neil is due to serve in the post of Dart Sailability chairman for two years and in that time he hopes to see the membership grow. “I’d like to get more young people involved and, if possible, I’d like to widen participation. At the moment the charity mainly helps people with physical disabilities, but I think it would be great if we could include people battling mental health issues. Getting out on the water can improve general wellbeing, reduce stress and anxiety, help build resilience and increase confidence.”
When Neil isn’t on a boat of some kind you can find him either walking his beautiful red setter Lilly or standing at the roadside cheering on Nici as she pounds the streets in her trainers. “She loves running and is always entering races. She has done the London Marathon a few times now. I asked what she wanted for her birthday this year and she said she wants to run the Budapest Marathon! So that’s where we’re headed in October.” Neil prefers to chill out by listening to 60s rock ’n’ roll with a gin and tonic in hand!
Dart Sailability operates on Tuesdays and Saturdays from May to September. If you’d like to join or become a volunteer go to www.dartsailability.org
First published in By The Dart magazine May 2019
