A Devon woman says she hopes her appearance on a popular BBC adventure challenge series will encourage others with sight loss to take on their own challenges.
Tricia Sail, who has uveitis and is registered as severely sight impaired, and her fully-sighted friend Cathie, are taking part in the third series of BAFTA-award winning BBC programme, Race Across the World, which returns to our screens at 9pm on 22 March, after a three-year hiatus.
The duo are among five sets of pairs competing to race across the second largest country in the world – Canada, starting off in Vancouver in the west with the aim of reaching the destination of St John’s, Newfoundland – North America’s easternmost city – a 16,000-kilometre journey.
The challenge is made even more difficult as the teams have to undertake the journey without smartphones, internet access, and credit cards, armed only with the cash equivalent of the airfare to fly the route and with a camera crew in tow.
Tricia said one of her aims in taking part in the series was to challenge perceptions and demonstrate to viewers at home that “having sight loss doesn’t stop you from doing anything” – including landing a new job.
She works for RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) as a community connections co-ordinator for the UK's South West and says her colleagues have been asking her lots of questions about the show and are looking forward to tuning in to see how she got on. Tricia says she started working for RNIB last year after taking part in the race boosted her confidence to find a new job.
And it was her friendship with Cathie which helped ensure the duo were able to face the daunting prospect of trying to cross the second largest country on the planet. Tricia said: “I have known Cathie since we were 13, I had watched the first two series and thought that looked like such fun. I messaged Cathie and encouraged her to apply, so I think initially she wasn’t sure what she had signed up for, but after she found more about it, she was really excited to be involved."
"The Canadians were so friendly and gave us so much help along the way, with free food and lifts. It was quite moving, we got to hear people’s life stories too. I got to see and do things I didn’t think I’d be able to do like watching wild bears at the side of the road, it was incredible."
The pair are no stranger to adventures – just a few months after filming the series in Canada in 2022, they travelled to Peru to hike Machu Picchu, a trip originally scheduled before landing a place on the TV series.
Tricia says although there were many challenges in taking part in the show, she has absolutely no regrets. “If someone asks if I would do it again. I definitely would, it’s incredibly good fun. One of the best things was getting to spend quality time with my best mate. I think we complimented each other really well, she's the brain and I’m the brawn. She plans everything meticulously and I am like a bull in a china shop, but we work well together. We learnt a lot and she probably tamed me while I pushed her on a little bit.”
Tricia, who lives in Exeter, is a community connections co-ordinator for RNIB, working with other blind and partially sighted people and those affected by sight loss, to reduce isolation and ensure people to access the support and services they need. RNIB’s Community Connections work is made possible thanks to the support of players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.
If you want to see how Tricia, Cathie, and the other contestants get on, you can see the first episode of the show on Wednesday 22 March at 9pm on BBC1 and iPlayer.
If you are affected by sight loss and would like to find out more about opportunities to connect and share experiences with other blind and partially sighted people, visit the community connection section of the RNIB website.
What is the RNIB?
We are the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
Every six minutes, someone in the UK begins to lose their sight. RNIB is taking a stand against exclusion, inequality and isolation to create a world without barriers where people with sight loss can lead full lives. A different world where society values blind and partially sighted people not for the disabilities they’ve overcome, but for the people they are.
RNIB. See differently. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk
