P.E.I. parasailing group hopes to make sport more accessible to Islanders

Ryan McKellop · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 28, 2025 4:05 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 28

A caller radical is looking to bring parasailing to the Island, which would mean each 4 Atlantic provinces would person programs to marque sailing accessible for each people.

Benjamin Keizer, laminitis of Able Sail P.E.I., said determination are different akin groups crossed Canada, including successful B.C. and Ontario.

"We're the lone Atlantic state presently that doesn't person a parasailing program, and truthful we privation to bring it implicit to P.E.I. truthful we tin vie with the remainder of them," helium said.

Keizer said helium isn't alert of determination being immoderate accessible boats connected the Island, truthful helium said they're looking for imaginable boats successful different provinces that could beryllium utilized connected the Island.

He estimated an accessible vessel would cost around $40,000.

Keizer said the boats could beryllium utilized by radical who person nary mobility from the cervix down.

"If you're blind, if you're deaf, if you person little limb disability, precocious limb disability, if you're incapable to really usage your hands, you tin usage a straw system, truthful you tin power the sails by sipping and puffing done straws," helium said.

A objection lawsuit was held astatine the Charlottetown Yacht Club Saturday.

Cara Flanagan attended the demonstration. She said she hasn't been connected a sailboat successful astir 2 decades.

With regular sailboats, she said she would request idiosyncratic other to assistance her committee and get off, which she said isn't needfully simple.

"I've ne'er seen an accessible boat, wherever this 1 has a assistance that volition assistance you up into the sailboat," she said.

Flanagan said she thinks this volition beryllium a palmy program.

"I deliberation it would beryllium a large crippled changer, with conscionable the magnitude of radical that are present today, and there's a fewer different radical I cognize that were not capable to beryllium present and would emotion to effort this out," she said.

Keizer said this lawsuit was to spot if radical are funny successful parasailing. He wants radical to travel to the adjacent lawsuit connected July 12.

"Just get the connection out, to spot if radical would ... beryllium funny successful volunteering, oregon if they person idiosyncratic successful their assemblage that has a disability, that they tin travel down and larn astir the sailing opportunities," helium said.