Zobaczyć Morze

See the Sea - a unique sailing cruise aboard the Zawisza Czarny tall ship

When I „saw the sea” for the first time, I realised how different ideas of what the cruise really is I had as a totally blind person. Those who have not  tried cruising will never understand it. It is not possible to describe that, it’s not even possible to give a blind person an idea of sounds, a spark of anxiety, a flavour of uncertainty, the will to overcome one’s weaknesses... The memories of the cruise compose an electrifying mixture of experiences. The project presented here aims to include blind people in the circle of friends of the sea (Roman Roczeń, a sailor and a singer, the originator of the project ). 

"See the Sea" is an innovative idea of “Gniazdo Piratów“ (The Pirates’ Nest) foundation. The project involves a sailing cruise in which blind and visually impaired people constitute half of the crew, most of them for the first time at sea. They sail with great Polish seamen on board the world famous Zawisza Czarny – a legendary Polish tall ship.

Although most famous Polish captains like to say that Zawisza Czarny is “the least comfortable Polish sailing ship in use,” it is also the one that has unforgettable atmosphere and tradition you can virtually sense on board. We have chosen it for the “See the Sea" cruises for its unique forecastle, whose structure encourages integration, as it combines the functions of a bedroom, dining room, and a living room. Unlike in the case of other cruises of this kind, Zawisza Czarny is not a special ship for the disabled. Apart from "a speaking compass”, it has not been adapted for them, so as to provide our crew with the genuine experience of the cruise, and let them really “see” the sea.  We train our visually impaired crew members in the so-called “hard skills”, such as navigation and steering, reefing, cordage, operating mechanical equipment, and at the same time develop their “soft" skills, like the courage to take up new challenges, new patterns of behaviour, starting and maintaining interpersonal relations in hardships of the sea life. Thanks to the invaluable experience they get from participation in the "See the Sea" project, the visually impaired youth significantly improve their prospects of living their everyday life to the full.

Our other goal is to train more professional sailors to work with the blind and visually impaired. Their practical knowledge will open way for more and more people with eye disorders to take part in similar undertakings in the future.

"See the Sea” project also aims at raising the public awareness of the ability of the visually impaired to get involved in various tasks even in difficult circumstances, and therefore break  the lingering stereotype of the visually impaired as hardly able to function in the society of the sighted.

More about the project

The idea of the project was born in 2005, when Roman Roczeń, a blind sailor, decided to engage his friends from the "Gniazdo Piratów" foundation in the organization of a tall ship cruise in which half of the crew would be the blind and visually impaired.

The first "See the Sea” cruise took place in 2006, and was a full success. The crew, with sixteen visually impaired members on board Zawisza Czarny, sailed from Gdynia to Oslo, and the experience they gained then remains priceless.

In the 2007 edition, we managed to organize a cruise for 33 people with eye disorders, who sailed from Gdynia to Amsterdam, and then back to Gdynia (the whole project was divided into two parts, the crew was divided into two teams that changed in Amsterdam).

Both previous editions of the “See the Sea” project were given much media attention. We had live TV and radio coverage from the most popular stations – the reporters accompanied us at the sea. Public television made and broadcast the documentary about the last year’s cruise, whereas the listeners of the most popular public radio station (Program 3), our main media partner, were offered a day-by-day account of the cruise and two pieces of reportage transmitted at prime time, in popular programs. Local TV stations reported Zawisza Czarny leaving and entering ports. The project also won a special award in the “Cruise of the Year 2006” contest organized by the public TV under the patronage of the Polish government. We believe that good publicity which we get from public and commercial TV and radio stations, newspapers, and the Internet together with this year’s project will help the sighted understand the way in which the visually impaired live and function in a society. 

See the Sea 2008

We are planning three parts of the cruise for three groups of 16 visually impaired crew members, which means that 48 people will get a unique chance to “see” the sea. Each watch will be shared in half by the blind and the sighted, which is important not only for the safety of the whole crew, but also for building up the sense of camaraderie and fellowship among its members.

This year, we are proud to be the participants of The Tall Ships' Races 2008 – during the second part of the "See the Sea 2008” cruise (from Bergen to Den Helder), our crew will get the chance to compete with young people from other countries during this unique maritime festival that gathers thousands of sailors and millions of observers every year.

ROUTE AND SCHEDULE

1^st part:  Gdynia – Bergen, via Copenhagen and Skagen

2^nd part: Bergen – Den Helder (participation in The Tall Ships’ Races organized by The Sail Training Association – a great international maritime festival involving the regatta and other special events, whose aim is to propagate the idea of educating the youth (15 – 25 years old) on board the tall ships. This unique feast of seamanship attracts millions of sailors and visitors of all nations).

3^rd part:  Den Helder – Gdynia, via Helgoland, Kiel, Karlskrona.

Organisers

“Gniazdo Piratów” Foundation 
ul. Ogólna 5

01-702 Warszawa,  
Poland

contact: Adres poczty elektronicznej jest chroniony przed robotami spamującymi. W przeglądarce musi być włączona obsługa JavaScript, żeby go zobaczyć.