By Paul Richoux

We can all agree that fishing is one of the most pleasant and relaxing activities a person can do. But for some people, those who are really passionate about it, it can also be the stuff on which you build a great friendship.

By the late 1970s Alan Faulkner and Bill Buchanan were the best of friends and had a long standing ritual of fishing together on a little boat. And as the rat said to the mole “There is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats”. Then one day a harsh blow was dealt to Bill Buchanan. A violent fall from a tree broke his back and left him a wheelchair user.

Can do attitude

Alan Faulkner immediately rallied to the side of his friend. All of those who cared for Bill wondered what they could do to help him adapt to life as a wheel chair user. How could they ensure he carried on doing the things he enjoyed? Alan knew how much Bill enjoyed their fishing excursions and asked himself “How can Bill and I carry on fishing”?

Active thinking

The little boat that they were used to simply wasn’t practical any more for Bill’s wheelchair. Adapting a wheelchair to be more sea worthy seemed too tall an order, so Alan set out to build a boat that was more wheelchair user friendly. He immediately got to work coming up with a design for a boat that Bill could comfortably use. He then took his design to the people who could build it for him.

Enter the wheelyboat

The wheelyboat (as the new design was to be known) came into being in 1985. It was launched at the fishmonger's hall before the Prince of Wales. The Mark I (the first of many designs) sort of resembles a landing craft. It comes right up onto the shore and lowers its front to create a platform which a wheel chair user can get across easily.

The legacy

Bill and Alan continued fishing for many years, and, with the advent of the wheelyboat, came The Handicapped Anglers Trust (renamed The Wheelyboat Trust in 2004), a charity who’s goal it is “to promote and provide its newly developed Wheelyboat to fisheries”. Furthermore The Alan Faulkner Memorial Award was created to reward “the game fishery that provides disabled anglers with the most outstanding service, opportunities, facilities and access”.

Alan Faulkner sadly passed away in 2002 and Bill Buchanan followed in 2007 but The Wheelyboat Trust continues to promote open access for disabled people on waters everywhere; a charity who’s origins lie in the simple pleasures of friendship and a love of fishing.

Find out more about The Wheelyboat Trust by clicking here