Sailors with disABILITIES

Jacquelin Magnay
December 18, 2008

KIRK WATSON was on a boat, quietly working away on trimming the mainsail. At the end of a great day on the sea for the corporate clients, Watson picked up a harness and attached it to his dog, Tiller. And then it dawned on those on board. "Ah," noted one visitor, "that's why that dog was there." And Watson was thrilled - no one had noticed he was blind.

 Watson, 35, is about to embark on his sixth Sydney to Hobart adventure on David Pescud's boat, Sailors with disAbilities.

His trusty four-legged eyes, often lying quietly in her special corner on boats for short trips, gets to fly down to Hobart so she can enjoy the dockside festivities.

"She loves a good party," Watson said.

On cue, Tiller wags her tail.

Watson has grown up on the water around Sydney, and when his vision started to deteriorate at the age of 16 - a result of a disease called retinitis pigmentosa - he was shattered at the thought that he would have to give up sailing.

"I thought I would have to give it up, and I certainly didn't think I would get to the level I have and I certainly didn't think I would do a Hobart," Watson said.

He now has just 2 per cent vision - enough to simply differentiate between light and dark. He got Tiller five years ago, just as he embarked on his first Sydney to Hobart race. He can still remember the feeling of accomplishment and wonder, and imprinted the sight he could faintly make out as the boat was coming into Hobart: the Organ Pipes, spectacular dolerite columns up to 125 metres high on the side of Mount Wellington.

"It is an amazing feeling at the start," Watson said. "Obviously, I can't see how close the boats are,  I am just concentrating on what I have to do on the boat, but the atmosphere is electric.

"And then slowly all the spectator boats drop off and then getting to Hobart is just a great feeling. I can still picture in my mind how beautiful it is around Tasman Island and I can picture the Organ Pipes."

Watson said he worked closely with the helmsman on board to establish non-verbal communication. He laughed and said that mainly consisted of a big shove or a knock to the head to get moving.

"Sailing is not all about seeing - when it is three in the morning and pitch black a lot of the other crew look to me because I know where things are," he said.