Inspiring a global sailing community to achieve the ultimate ambition: reinstatement to the Paralympic Games

As CEO of Sailability HK, Kay has seen the power of sailing to unite and inspire a diverse community. The program has grown from a fleet of two vessels to 40, with Kay and Mike donating the first two themselves, and given access to sailing to more than 28,000 participants.

Sailability HK has achieved success on the water, too, winning a bronze medal at the Asian Para Games in 2014 and hosting events such as the first World Sailing Para Development Programme in 2017 and the Southeast Asian Para Championships in 2018 and 2024.

Kay began sailing with Mike, first on Merlin Rockets in the UK and later joining Hebe Haven Yacht Club after moving to Hong Kong. She was working at the Nesbitt Centre, a charitable organisation which provides educational, training and vocational programmes for young adults with special needs, when she and Mike decided to start Sailability.

She says, “When we held our first training day, we had lots of people come along. We hired some wheelchairs from a local organisation here and then we set up our own committee, and we started from there. How did we choose our first sailors?

“We took 12 of my students down to Hebe Haven Yacht Club, and went out on the committee boat and transferred our potential sailors to a safety boat and then on to a dinghy. From that 12, we chose four, and every Monday, which was a sports day, they would go to the sailing club and learn to sail.

“Now, when we have people from various rehabilitation services in Hong Kong, who come along with Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists, we ask our para sailors to show them just how they rig the boats they will be sailing in, asking for support if needed, and also how they have learned the fundamentals of sailing, along.  Following this set up each of the organisation’s staff went out on the water with a Para Sailor at the helm showing the benefits of sailing and how it can also aid rehabilitation too.”

This experience of seeing how sailing can impact and change lives will be at the forefront of Kay’s ambitions for the Para Sailing Committee, particularly with Paralympic reinstatement high on the agenda.

“I always say ‘seeing is believing’ and at Sailability HK we have been really open to people coming along to see what we do and encouraging the sailors to tell their stories, which is really, really important. And it’s not just the life changes for the sailor. It’s also their families and having the opportunity to educate and encourage more people within the yacht club to see the abilities of those with various life challenges,” Kay adds.

Para Inclusive Sailing will be aiming to build on the positive progress, inspire more people around the world to discover the sport and ultimately reclaim its place at the Paralympic Games. The impressive results achieved by Sailability HK shows how important the sport can be to people within the community and future generations of Para Inclusive Sailors will be hoping to have the opportunity to represent their nation at the highest level from 2032.