Registration is open  Sail for the Visually Impaired (SVI)

Please read all of the following information BEFORE registering for this event.

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The Sail for the Visually Impaired will be on October 9, 2021.  The event committee has approved the date and implimented high personal safety standards.

The Covid-19 Delta variant requires the American Legion Yacht Club to take a very cautious approach to this special day.  Important decisions have already been made to protect all participants, including the Visually Impaired, Volunteers and boating Skipper plus their crew.  At a minimum, this includes:

1. All participants (visually impaired, volunteers and sailors) must be fully vaccinated.
2. All participants are required to show proof of vaccination.
3.  The entire event will be conducted outdoors.
   
4. All food service and social programs will be conducted under awning.
5. There will be a maximum number of participants allowed at the facility and on boats.  This will be below the 2019 event numbers.
   
6. All American Legion Newport Harbor Post 291, City, County, State and Federal COVID prevention protocols will be followed by all participants.
   

We recognize that these restrictions may cause a hardship for some people.  We trust that these are only restrictions for 2021 and not future SVI events.

Review the following forms before you begin the registration process.  

• Visually Impaired Person and/or Companion (Groups may enter additional participants as guest registrations) - Medical Release - Canine Treatment Release
  
• Boat Skipper and Crew  - Waiver of Liability
  
• Volunteer 

Reservations will establish your place in line.  Final reservations will be established after all documents are presented via the online system.  People will be served on a first-registered first-served bases.  Personal requested or special needs will be accommodated as much as possible.

A medical release must be acknowledge at registration.  Click here to read the medical release.

If you have a service dog that you will leave with ALYC representatives during the event, please print and fill out the Canine Treatment Authorization and bring it with you on the day of the event.  We will use this document to check your dog in and out of our care.

History

The annual Sail for the Visually Impaired (SVI) has grown to become one of the most important and well attended philanthropic events in Newport Harbor.   Each year, over 250 blind or visually impaired guests and their escorts spend a day sailing with volunteers from the American Legion Yacht Club and other area yacht clubs.  There are over 150 volunteers acting as sailing skippers, crew, escorts to and from the docks, meal servers, guide dog sitters, check-in personnel, marina control, parking assignment, and other positions.

SVI had humble beginnings, starting in 1990, when Bonnie Gibson and Bobbie Reed of the Women's Sailing Association - Orange County (WSA-OC) took 15 blind people sailing on a 40-foot sailboat.  A year later, in 1991, American Legion Yacht Club (ALYC) Commodore J.T. Tarwater established ALYC and Post 291 as the host for SVI.  Commodore Tarwater’s legacy continues today as the ALYC not only continues to host, but also manages the organization and leadership of SVI.

ALYC is proud of our legacy as the host of SVI and delighted to lead this event.   As always, SVI is one of the highlights on our annual calendar.

Additional inquiries or questions for this year's SVI, please email SVI@ALYC.com.