The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Able Yachtsman
Para sailor Mike enjoys the thrill of the wind in his sails.
In partnership with:
Overview
TV reporter Rene Wyndham interviews Mike, a disabled yachtsman who explains how he manages to go sailing solo. Filmed in Plymouth Sound, Mike's risk assessments seem informal but planning for the worst is part of sailing. Nowadays disability sailing offers recreational sailing with specially adapted yachts designed and developed for use by wheelchair users and for people with reduced mobility.
Advances in technology and programmes to encourage disabled people into sailing have also yielded positive results. Rules regarding safety at sea and disability awareness courses for coaches have increased take-up of the sport for recreation and competition. Para World Sailing is one of the few sports where disabled and able sailors may compete on equal terms and in mixed gender teams. Team GB regularly medals at the Olympics, the Paralympics and the Worlds in the competitive sailing categories. According to the European Disability Forum, one in two disabled people have never participated in leisure, cultural or sporting activities of any kind.
Related
Watch for free
Ian Dury Ian Dury
Biopic 1983 52 mins
Blockheads lead singer talks about how becoming disabled has affected his life and music.
Watch for free
Y Gwr O Gwr Yr Aran Y Gwr O Gwr Yr Aran
1978 29 mins Location: Llanuwchllyn
Teacher Frank Letch of Llanuwchllyn, Gwynedd discusses his life and living with his acquired disability in this TV documentary. In Welsh with English subtitles.
Watch for free
A Day in the Life of Kevin Donnellon A Day in the Life of Kevin Donnellon
1972 28 mins
An episode of World in Action documenting the life of 11 year old Kevin and how he and his family live with the effects of the drug Thalidomide.
Watch for free
Disabled Graduate Disabled Graduate
News 1981 6 mins Location: Cambridge
Disabled graduate Peter Thweeney simply wants the opportunity to be economically independent, and has ambitions to become a lawyer.
Watch for free
Disabled Boy Invents Speech Machine Disabled Boy Invents Speech Machine
News 1973 5 mins Location: Cambridge
Anglia TV report on the young disabled entrepreneur that has invented the Lightwriter, a communication device that won a British Design Award
Watch for free
Championship Swimmer Championship Swimmer
Current affairs 1967 1 mins Silent Location: Exeter
Champion swimmer Linda Hockworthy returns to the pool after a recent leg amputation.
Watch for free
Dingles of Plymouth Dingles of Plymouth
Advert 1960 1 mins Location: Plymouth
A charming regional commercial for Plymouth’s best loved department store.
Watch for free
Millbay Laundry Millbay Laundry
Advert 1960 0 mins Location: Plymouth
Help keep your relationship on track by outsourcing your laundry!
Watch for free
Model Clipper Sailor Model Clipper Sailor
Current affairs 1965 2 mins Location: Plymouth
Former shipwright turns his talents to model-making.
Watch for free
Comely Caviar Comely Caviar
Current affairs 1984 1 mins Location: Plymouth
Reporter tests the theory of caviar heightening libido.
Watch for free
Last Cooper Last Cooper
Current affairs 1967 5 mins Location: Plymouth
The last apprenticed cooper in the Royal Navy’s Royal William Victualling Yard undergoes a trusso, an ancient rite of passage.
Watch for free
Liberté Liner Liberté Liner
Current affairs 1961 5 mins Location: Plymouth
Cruising into the history books SS Liberté makes its final voyage stopping at Plymouth en route to Le Havre.
Watch for free
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Watch for free
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Watch for free
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Watch for free
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.