Amongst many other activities, we run an adapted offshore sailing vessel called ‘Knoticat’ which is based in beautiful Poole Harbour, and is capable of sailing along the spectacular Jurassic Coast and in The Solent.  She is a fully converted 10 metre catamaran and is one of only a tiny handful of craft in the entire United Kingdom offering completely free sailing trips to the disabled, their carers and family. 

We have been offering these trips with the help of unpaid volunteers since 2001 and since June 2007 under the guidance of a much needed professional skipper. We are proud to have taken out just short of seven thousand delighted passengers to date.

The necessity for our service has increased dramatically since a decision was taken in 2007 by the large ferry operators in Poole Harbour, not to allow any disabled people aboard their vessels unless they are able to walk unaided.  This means that ours is now the only vessel that we know of to accommodate all year round, unrestricted and free sailing trips for all disabled and their carers. 
We have enquiries from all over the country, and can hardly keep up with demand!

Unfortunately the financial burdens of running an operation like this are constantly escalating, especially as safety legislation becomes increasingly complex.  The need for support has never been greater and everything depends upon securing funding from our friends and supporters. Furthermore we are very well aware that ‘Knoticat’ is now an old lady of 35 years, and if we are to continue offering this service to future generations of disabled, we must purchase a new boat. 

The Sports Forum is currently considering replacement options including a brand new Chinese catamaran called the Voyager 10.

From what we have seen so far she seems to fill our requirements, but her purchase price is approximately £100,000.  This is a dramatically reduced sum, compared to the other options we have seen to date, but it is still a lot of money for us to raise. 

We will succeed, we will not say our personal goodbyes to the enjoyment we have all felt for the unique service we offer, without making sure that our children and their children after them, can take any disabled family, friends or clients out on a boat that we will have provided for them.  That is our pledge to our descendants.

Therefore can you help us to help the disabled by funding any, or any part of our operations or plans?  Regardless of the value of your donation we would be delighted to hear from you.

We work closely with disabled organisations throughout the region, in particular Sportability, the M.S Society, and Phab Ltd to which we are affiliated and we can provide you with references if you require them.
 
Further details of all our activities can be found through the medium of this website, but if possible, why not come and visit us, we would be delighted to show you what we do!

If you require any other information, or if we can be of any further assistance to you, please contact. All our contacts are listed on the Contact Us page.
    
Finally, thank you for taking the time to read this.