Yes it's true, it's anchors away for any budding pirate, or recreational sailer who happens to be blind, thanks to satellite technology. Using the GPS product provided by HumanWare, I was able to navigate a boat some 13 kilometres around the Gippsland lakes.

On a recent trip with a friend to the Gippsland lakes in Victoria, I decided to put the BrailleNote GPS through its paces. The lakes area is an extensive network of lakes that lead from the inland parts of Gippsland to the Tasman Sea and ultimately the Pacific. When my friend and I hired a small putt-putt boat at the jetty, I resolved to give driving and navigating a go.

After my friend drove the boat out of the port, she let me take the wheel. The GPS system, which allows me to have speech access to the functions of a GPS receiver, let me know how far I was from port, how fast we were travelling and the direction to the port. As we reached certain points, I could create markers in the GPS system. As we travelled I could feel the wind on my face increase and the sea became rougher. I said "Lee-Anne, I think we are heading out to sea" I also confirmed the direction with the GPS. She replied, "don't panic Steve, we aren't", I replied "I'm not, but I'm sure we're going in the wrong direction". As we travelled further, the water became even rougher and we realised we were in fact heading out to sea. I also confirmed the direction with my BrailleNote.

As we went back on course, and onward I made further markers in the GPS. When it came time to head back, I was able to drive the boat back exactly along the path we had already come from. Except for the going out to sea part. As we approached each marker, the GPS gave me bearing, distance and using the clock face, it told me where things were. Lee-Anne took the wheel for the final part back to port. I was telling her that we were 50 metres from port, 40 and so on. I sounded like one of those guys in Houston control when a shuttle is docking on to the International Space Station. Then the computer voice said 15, 10 and "arrived" just as we hit the jetty.

I feel sure that I may well be hearing on the news of the first blind person navigating across the Pacific in a boat using a GPS system. The BrailleNote GPS and other similar systems open new recreational ideas for people with disabilities. The idea of a blind navigator would have sounded as preposterous a few years ago as the idea of a driver or pilot who is blind would to many people now.

I am happy with my putt- putt boat and my BrailleNote GPS for now, but like the navigators of old, I keep looking to the stars, to guide my path on Earth. Just as one day in history someone dreamed about going up into the sky, I encourage every person who has a disability to dream of flying their own GPS guided vehicle there.