Cathal MacElhatton, Chairman of Foyle Sailability said, “This is our second time running the two day event. We were simply astounded by the level of interest and the success of last year’s event. Through a great voluntary effort we managed to provide 150 people with disabilities access to the water over a two-day period and using a variety of vessels. Since then, we have been very fortunate to have secured our very own specialist Access 303 dinghy thanks to Ocean Youth Trust Ireland, Foyle Port and the Loughs Agency. We named her ‘Foyle One’ and hope that this will be the first in a fleet of disabled accessible dinghies.”

Foyle One, which was funded by the Loughs Agency and Foyle Port and managed by Ocean Youth Trust Ireland and Foyle Sailability is a specially adapted dinghy - one of a number of Access 303 dinghies available for the forthcoming regatta on 18th and 19th of June at the Foyle Marina in Derry city.

He continued, “This year we are running the two-day event again in Derry city in advance of the arrival of the Clipper boats and we are seeking expressions of interest from people from the Foyle area (Derry, Donegal etc) interested in taking part. We are asking interested, individuals and groups to contact Foyle Disability Resource Centre on 028 7126 6593 or email foylesailability@gmail.com for expression of interest forms.”

Foyle Sailability is a cross border initiative supported by three local boat clubs - Lough Foyle Yacht Club, Lough Swilly Yacht Club and Moville Boat Club, Derry, Donegal and Limavady Councils, Foyle Port, the Loughs Agency, Derry District Sports Council and with corporate sponsorship from Cable and Accessories and Fujitsu.