The Sailability Taranaki Trust was thrilled to recently receive a $44,000 grant from the New Zealand Community Trust towards a storage shed.
Sailability was established in 2012 and enables people with disabilities to experience sailing on the Waitara River, 20 minutes north of New Plymouth.
Sailability Taranaki has over 300 members.
"The grant from NZCT will allow us to construct a storage shed to house the yachts and rigging, ensuring the safety and longevity of the gear so that the sailing programme can continue into the future," spokesperson Jan Holdt says.
The Hansa yachts are built in Australia for the world-wide Sailability programme. They can take two people side by side or sailed by one person. Steering is done with a central joystick and volunteers encourage the participants to steer the boat on the water.