Organizers cancel 2018 Sail for the Visually Impaired

ORANGE COUNTY — It appears this year’s Sail for the Visually Impaired, or SVI, will be canceled, according to organizers. The venue traditionally used as the home for the annual SVI won’t be available to organizers, according to a statement sent to The Log by Doug and Melanie Green on behalf of the Women’s Sailing Association of Orange County, or WSA-OC.

This year’s sail was scheduled for Oct. 6.

WSA-OC, with the assistance of the American Legion Post No. 291, American Legion Yacht Club, Lions Club and other local service organizations, has put on the SVI sailing event for the past 28 years.

“Unfortunately, about three weeks prior to our 2018 SVI event, we have learned that the venue where the SVI event is typically hosted will not be available to us,” the Greens’ emailed statement said. We have explored relocating the event but due to the complexity of the SVI and our concern for the safety of our participants, we have decided it is best to postpone this popular event until a new venue can be secured.”

The Greens stated the event, which takes blind visually impaired individuals out onto the water to take the helm of a sailboat or trim the sails, would return in 2019.

Bonnie Gibson and Bobbie Reed launched SVI as part of WORSA (which became WSA-OC) in the late 1980s. Braille Institute students, veterans and other community members have since actively participated in SVI.