Dana Point : Braille Students to Take Tour of Harbor

Visually impaired adults throughout Orange County can get a tactile tour of the Dana Point Harbor during the sixth annual Touch for Sight starting Tuesday.

The three-day event will take Braille students fishing in the deep sea, shopping in the Dana Harbor area and exploring the ocean in the Orange County Marine Institute’s floating laboratory.

People of all ages may participate, although most who have signed up are senior citizens, said a representative of the Braille Institute’s Orange County center, which is co-sponsoring the event along with the Dana Point Harbor Assn.

“This encourages our students to do things they might not ordinarily think of doing,” said Julie Juliusson, spokeswoman for the Braille Institute. “Often, our students think because they lost their sight, they’ve lost the ability to enjoy things like fishing. Our program gives people the self-confidence to do the things they used to do.”

The tour will start at 10 a.m. at the Dana Wharf with a display of equipment to help the blind and partially sighted.

Later that day, the students will take a chartered fishing expedition from the wharf.

On Wednesday, local historian and author Doris Walker will lead the students on a walking tour of the harbor, followed by lunch at a seafood restaurant.

The last day of the Touch for Sight tour will feature a voyage on the marine institute’s new 70-foot vessel, the Sea Explorer.

The students will be part of the first public tour using the science vessel, which will be outfitted with a video hookup so passengers can observe the ocean floor and handle samples of sea life brought up by divers.