Making waves: Sailor shows Spirit of Hong Kong in bid to reach Rio Paralympics

For years, insurance salesman Foo Yue-wai could only dream of learning how to sail. A wheelchair user for more than a decade because of polio stemming from childhood, he decided to pursue that dream by teaming up with Sailability, a charity that provides boats and training for people with disabilities to get out on the water.

Foo, 43, showed such initial talent that within the first year of sailing he was representing Hong Kong internationally. He’s now hoping to qualify for the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year. It’s for this can-do spirit that he’s been nominated for the Overcoming Personal Challenge Award of this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, organised by the South China Morning Post.

“It’s a sense of freedom,” Foo says. “It’s just so relaxing and enjoyable. You’re out there close to nature; it’s such a good feeling with the waves and the wind, the sun on my face.”

Already an accomplished pistol shooter, who had represented Hong Kong internationally, Foo’s competitive nature, combined with the discipline to keep calm under pressure, helped him to become a high-calibre sailor in a relatively short time.

“I want to encourage more people [with disabilities] to do this because you can really release the pressure,” says Foo, whose 13-year-old son also volunteers at Hebe Haven Yacht Club, near Sai Kung. “You can have had a bad day, yet once you feel the wind and the waves, it makes you feel so positive.”