A SOCIAL enterprise offering sailing as a form of therapy will open a new headquarters in Kinsale this Friday February 6th.

The success story that is Sailing into Wellness uses the country’s last surviving wooden sailing ship, the iconic AK ILEN, to deliver therapeutic sailing programmes to those in recovery and other marginalised groups.

The charity’s new base on the Pier Road will be launched at 10am on Friday by Minister of State for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Jerry Buttimer.

Sailing Into Wellness creates programmes to benefit a diverse range of groups, including those with mental health challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders and other marginalised communities.

The new headquarters will provide a base for the organisation to reach more community-based organisations, as well as facilitating the transformation of seasonal training locations into permanent sailing hubs across Ireland.

Co-founder James Lyons said the hub will allow the charity ‘to deliver ongoing, inclusive and therapeutic programmes to our participants in Cork city and county’.

Three regional hubs are planned, which will increase the number of therapeutic sailing schemes across Ireland. In 2025, Sailing into Wellness delivered 116 therapeutic sailing programmes to 806 participants.