Both Team Paradise SKUD 18's have been living quite a life this summer in 2009! Since mid July, the T.P. SKUDs went on a 4 city, 3 state tour of the North East to expose more people to both the joys of disabled sailing and the sporty nature of the SKUD 18.
Sail Challenge Inspire, a foundation began by SKUD 18 Paralympic gold medalist Maureen McKinnon-Tucker and her husband Dan Tucker, chartered the two boats for the multiple purposes of:
Holding a learn to sail clinic for the disabled at Sail Salem, Salem, MA.
Making boats easily available for important disabled events in New England
Providing the many Adaptive Members a chance to try out the boats Piers Park Sailing Center.
Maureen is the Adaptive Coordinator for the PPSC program on Boston Harbor. She notes, "People with disabilities don't get the chance to even see such fun & sporty boats customizable for their disability, never mind get a chance to sail one. This was a great opportunity for Boston area sailors."
One of PPSC's quadriplegic members loved his first SKUD sail so much and the comfort & control of a motorized canting seat he said, "After a SKUD, I don't ever want to sail a Sonar again!" He is planning to applying the technology used in the motorized canting seat to the Sonar next season.
For the past few years our Adaptive Sailors have only heard about the SKUD, but had no access to one. Unanimously, everyone enjoyed the boat, and especially downwind with the spinnaker up! We were especially proud to have the National Blind Team stop by PPSC and try out the boats with their longtime coach, Arthur O'Neil and Blind World's bronze medalist, Mark Bos. Local advocates and staff from our neighboring sailing centers in the area came over to also give the SKUD a try. Youth sailors just gawked in awe at the sight of these sporty, clear-sailed, fully battened boats sailing about in a harbor usually inhabited with only traditional New England styled keelboats.
The SKUDs were also chartered during three regattas giving three first-timers a new chance to race one and three international competitors access from Ireland and England. Overall, the SKUDs were used by folks with a broad range of disabilities such as: Muscular Dystrophy, Paraplegia, Quadriplegia, Traumatic Brain Injury, Leg Amputation, Multiple Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's Disease and Cerebral Palsy.
Special thanks first goes to AAPD - the American Association Of People with Disabilities who provided the important seed money for the project. Many more thanks goes to Magnus Liljedahl and Team Paradise, Mat Rosa and Hugh Freund at Piers Park Sailing Center, Sail Salem, Dave DiLorenzo at Courageous Sail Center, Gene Hinkel, Shan McAdoo, Bob Jones and Dan Tucker. The transport details port to port were mind blowing, and it took a village to make it happen - thank you to that village as they made the project able to cover a lot of ground and serve a number of folks from the North East!
Plans for 2010 include sailing centers in Charlotte, NC, and ski country in New Hampshire!!
For more information and to support this program, please visit www.sailchallengeinspire.org
Maureen McKinnon -Tucker
Sail Challenge Inspire