Two quads get NOOD- blind lady sailor wins

by Urban Miyares on 22 Mar 2005 The San Diego NOOD (National Offshore One Design) Regatta, Saturday and Sunday, March 19 & 20, 2005, held some surprises and excitement for the Martin 16 one-design fleet of sailors.

This two-person, sixteen foot, high-performance sailboat, originally designed to universally accommodate both sailors with and without disabilities in racing, met the challenge at the San Diego NOOD. Sailors with quadriplegia, paraplegia, total blindness, amputation, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, stroke and cancer survivors, and those without disabilities, coming from the San Diego-based Challenged America program, Northern California, Seattle, Washington, and Calgary, Canada, teamed up to race at the NOOD Regatta on San Diego bay.

Two fantastic days of Southern California Springtime sailing weather in San Diego -- winds on Saturday from the south at 10 - 12 knots, gusting to 15 with each passing cold front, and westerly at 12 - 15 knots on Sunday, under mostly sunny skies.

‘You probably will not see it anywhere else. Two quadriplegics racing in a two-person sailboat against others with and without disabilities, or a total blind female skipper, new to the sport of sailing, teamed up with an able-bodied sailor, winning their division in a regatta like the NOOD,’ said Urban Miyares, co-founder of the San Diego-based Challenged America recreational rehabilitation program. ‘This is what sailing is meant to be like, sailors from around the country, some having disabilities, enjoying a great weekend on the water of competition and friendship.’

Challenged America Sail Team member Linda Woodbury, skipper, with Steve Alvey of Calgary, Canada, as (able-bodied) crew, were winners of the Martin 16 one-design class at the San Diego NOOD Regatta. Linda Woodbury, City of San Diego Coordinator of Disability Services, is total blind and learned how to sail at Challenged America within the last year. Linda is also a backup crew member of the 2005 Challenged America Transpac Team.

For additional information on the ‘Challenged America’ programs, donating your vessel, sponsorship or volunteering, contact Josh Ross at ‘Challenged America’, 2240 Shelter Island Drive, Suite 206, San Diego, CA 92106, (619) 523-0368, email Ahoy@ChallengedAmerica.org, or visit www.ChallengedAmerica.org