With his blind and solo tour of Lake Geneva, Olivier Ducruix proves that sailing is accessible to all

Olivier Ducruix won his bet: complete the tour of Lake Geneva in three days, alone on a dinghy adapted to his handicap. Left on 24 march of the nautical base of Saw-sur-Léman, near Thonon in Haute-Savoie, he returned to the starting point on 26 March. three days with 12 to 25 nautical miles (22 to 45 km) per stage, i.e. 5 to 8 hours of sailing per day.

Despite inclement weather, the sailor was able carry out This journey baptized Liberty Raid, of the name of used dinghy boat, A Hansa Liberty, self-righting support, specially adapted for people with disabilities.

GPS and vibration belt

Olivier was quite alone on his boat, making the adjustments himself. Autonomy made possible thanks to several technical tools. To start with SARA Navigation (for Sail And Race Audioguide), a free guide application on iPhone dedicated to visually impaired sailors. Afterwards, a tactile weather vane connected via Bluetooth to a belt placed around Olivier’s belly indicated to him by vibration the direction of the wind. Designed and produced by Olivier and his small team, the weather vane is still at the prototype stage but has proven itself.

Cat Bell!

But technique is not everything. Sailing is also a question of feelings and observation. How do you know if the sail is fading (that it is deflated) when you can’t see the telltales, these little bits of wool installed on the top of the sail which oscillate and allow you to know how does the wind flow along the sails? There, it was the D system that solved the problem…with a cat’s bell attached to the sail. “When the sail floats a little, the bell activates” explains Gilles Guyon, the director of the Sciez nautical base.

From a Zodiac, Gilles followed Olivier’s nautical raid, staying in radio contact with him to ensure his safety, particularly in the face of risk of collision or obstacles. “This is the next challenge and development to come” confirmed Marine Clogenson, computer engineer, “because for the moment, these tools do not exist”. This may be the last big obstacle to overcome to allow blind people to really navigate in total autonomy.

Attract sponsors

The raid also aimed to find new sponsors to finance projects and in particular the vibrating belt used by Olivier. Asked about this by the Handirect media, he confided that in the spring, “10 copies would be made available to clubs which already welcome a visually impaired public in France and Switzerland. Then this belt can be acquired by associations, clubs or individuals. If we manage to find enough support from sponsors, we may be able to make it available for free. Otherwise, it will be sold at cost because there is still a manufacturing price, excluding engineering and design.”

The Cecivoile project

It is no coincidence that Olivier Ducruix embarked on this Raid Liberty. In 2017, he was the instigator of the Cecivoile project with UNADEV (National Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired). The goal: develop the practice of sailing for the visually impaired by proving to the general public and clubs that this practice is possible despite the handicap. In 2020, UNADEV has also signed a partnership agreement with the French Sailing Federation (FFV) in order to develop hand-sailing in the nautical bases of the FFV.

Note: the Sciez nautical base will host the French disabled sailing championships in May, for the Pentecost weekend, from May 26 to 29, on Lake Geneva.