Losing my vision at the age of 8, due to Stargardt's Disease, sailing has been a very unfamiliar concept for me. I spent many years living in the deserts of Western Australia and in my 30’s moved to Perth, Western Australia’s capital city.

Stargardt’s Disease is a degenerative condition which has meant that my sight has diminished to a narrow band of peripheral vision in both eyes,

which allows me to catch glimpses of my surroundings with very little detail.

Thanks to the very generous support of my wife Frith and our friend Gary, I was introduced to sailing on the Swan River in 2019.

While I’ve taken my time in learning the various concepts of sailing, I was invited by Kylie Forth, skipper of the Lost at See blind sailing team, to join the crew on an adventure to France to compete in the 2024 Blind Sailing World Championships.

Over the last month or so, I have been on an intensive learning regime to bring my skills at managing the main sail up to racing standards. It has been a great experience so far and I can’t wait to try my hardest to help the team come back to Australia with gold.