Sailing for people with disabilities
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Volunteer with us

Volunteer with Sailability Wellington

Volunteers are essential to Sailability Wellington. From supporting our sailors on shore to rigging boats, dock management, sailing or behind-the-scenes maintenance, there is a role to suit everyone.

You don't need to know how to sail to volunteer

Our volunteers are a diverse group of people, from students to retirees, with different skills and experience to offer. What we share is a desire to help others experience the adventure and satisfaction that comes from sailing and being part of a sailing club.

There are different roles to perform

On sailing days, volunteer positions include:

  • supporting sailors onshore - meeting and greeting, offering encouragement, helping them prepare with life jackets, appropriate clothing etc
  • set up and pack down including boat rigging / de-rigging
  • dock management and assisting our sailors into and out of boats
  • skippering and helming for our sailors
  • crewing the support powerboat
  • preparing food and drinks for the other volunteers.

You can decide how much time you contribute

Some of our volunteers offer a few hours weekly or less, while others spend up to a full 7-hour sailing day once a week or more. It’s really up to you to decide what is possible.

You can also help behind the scenes

We have a team of volunteers who carry out boat maintenance at our Seaview workshop and work on ParAble.

Volunteers also make it possible for us to offer additional services, such as developing educational materials to supplement the learning programme for our school-based sailors. We’re always open to new ideas so please let us know if you have something you’d like to offer.

Our volunteers get as much from the club as our sailors

Being a Sailability Wellington volunteer is a rewarding, fun and safe activity. Regardless of your background, volunteering offers the opportunity to acquire new skills. We fund specialist first aid and safety training for interested volunteers. We provide a wide range of on-site training, for example, using the specialty equipment for assisting sailors into and out of boats, dock management, and so on. We also teach interested beginners how to sail and crew on our support boats.

All volunteers need to be respectful, of good character and able to pass a police check

All Sailability volunteers need a genuine commitment to Sailability Wellington's aims, particularly to its goal of enhancing the lives of people with disabilities through sailing opportunities. This includes:

  • a capacity to engage constructively and respectfully with our sailors, their family members and support workers, and other volunteers
  • a willingness to communicate honestly and openly with Sailability Wellington leadership about any issues or support / training needs you may have
  • a willingness to represent Sailability Wellington accurately and constructively to internal and external audiences.

Many of our sailors are young people or vulnerable adults. For this reason, all volunteers need to be able to pass a policy check if requested.

Resources

Volunteer registration

Download our editable registration form here

Download
Sailability operating procedures

A copy of the Sailability Wellington operating procedures

Download
Volunteer Code of Conduct

Download
Complaints procedure

Download

Contact us to know more

If you feel like Sailability may be a good fit for you or you wish to know more, please contact us
– info@sailability-wellington.org.nz or call 04-472-4546, or click the button below.

Contact us

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