Being part of the winning team at the 2010 Blind National Sailing Championship in Newport, R.I. was very special. I t was about as fulfilling and rewarding as it gets. These blind men and women are awesome and very inspirational to be around. It is a growing sports and I'm blessed to be a part of the development. Blind Sailing is like a college football game, awesome moves and fabulous plays are being traded with obvious errors. No lead is big enough and anything can happen and it happens quickly. The intensity and competitiveness is fierce and like any other sailing event, the most prepared teams usually does the best.
I had not come to Newport to actually sail, but merely to promote Team Paradise and lend my support to anyone in need. The Blind Sailing Nationals is now a part of the Clagett Memorial Regatta which also includes the other Paralympic classes, Sonar, Skud18 and 2.4mR boats. We were using the nice fleet of J-22s, owned by Newport Sailing. In my view the event is turning into a premier, "must attend" disabled sailing event during the Summer season. Team Paradise had planned on bringing some of our own boats and equipment, as we did in previous years, but for one reason or another that plan did not come through.
When JP Creignou, Janice Bartleson, Diane Fowler and Dave Bannister asked me to fill in for Diane, who preferred not to sail, I jumped on the opportunity! I had coached Jan and Dave in Miami, so it was a "natural" for me. I wanted to see if Janice could apply what we had worked on and be able to handle the pressure. I knew that I would be able to help the team and make a difference, just what I always wanted with any team. The real truth about blind sailing is no different than any other sailboat racing. It comes down to the crew you can put together, including the one sited crew-member who can touch lines and ropes, call the tactics and use his agility. Legendary Tuft's University Sailing Coach, Ken Legler has filled that position for years, winning several titles in a row with skipper "Inky" Sengil Inkiala. Past champion, Duane Farrar had Kay Van Valkenburgh guiding their team and the three of us were the top teams at the event. The blind teams benefitted by our presence and they really appreciated our help. The other teams didn't seem to mind either. We al hope that we can expand Blind Sailing and make the racing even tighter between all the boats.
Blind sailors are divided in to B-1, B-2 and B-3 classifications. Basically, B-1 sees nothing while a B-3 has limited peripheral vison and also hugely effected by ambient light. At the World Championship regattas they race within their own classification, but at this regatta we all raced one and other. We had seven boat and I venture to say that most skippers where B-1. It favored our team for sure because J-P is a B-3 and Janice a B-2. JP and Janice had raced in this regatta several times but never managed to beat the "Inki" Team. Janice vision is degenerative and she can see less now than a few years ago when we last raced together. Janice is what they call "blind as a batt". J.P. on the other hand has reasonably good vision in ideal conditions, but sailing with him makes you realize why he can't drive a car. He is legally and classified blind. How about this; he was hit square in the face by the boom last year, because he didn't see it coming! I've been graced by the boom before and I know of people of have been knocked out and even died by the boom hitting their head, but never heard or seen anyone hit straight on the faces before. It was not a pretty sight.
We all learned so much at this event. It was an experience that I would not want to be without. Trying to understanding some of the challenges of a blind person is #1. Finding ways to utilize their other senses is #2. Hearing and feel needs to be expanded on and also touch needs special attention. Having a strategic plan and constantly "paint" the tactical picture to the crew members made a big difference. Sort of getting everyone on the same page so that tacks and other maneuvers not would come as a surprise. It's all very challenging, but also very rewarding. I'm describing the winning tactics in a separate report Preparing for the Blind Nationals - What we did to win! But in short, Janice has developed strength, sensitivity and balance by working out and spending time on the water. JP is an ace sailor with terrific feel and attitude. He is a "humble master" and a team player, but fights many worries and concerns during the race due to his vision impairment. Bottom line, you only need to clear an obstacle or a stern by a small margin, boats are insured and he can swim. Racing is all about excitement in a safe and controlled way. Nobody is going to jump up and bite you and if you fall, it will not be on asphalt. If you need a helmet, may so be it and some smart people wear them.
We raced all the races even though we could have left the racecourse early on the final day. The 3-day event had no racing on the first day due to strong and gusty winds. Races were postponed on the second day, but the excellent Race Committee juggled the different classes on one race course and they manage to get four races in. We struggled a bit with pointing upwind, but we were blazing fast down-wind. Racing was very tight with several lead changes. We would win and lose by minuscule margins. Our tally was 2-1-1-1 has we headed back to port after a fun day racing.
The conditions were much lighter for the most part for the final day of racing. We had five races and the excitement continued. The forth race was extra special because we jumped out in a big lead, but lost the main halyard at two occasions and had the jib-sheet tangled up causing another loss (I'm sure that other teams have similar stories to tell). The wind shifted big on the last run of the standard windward-leeward-windward-leeward course and we somehow managed to cling on for the win. I contribute that to not giving up, great focus and a big portion of luck! Five "bullets" in one day was sweet.
The following paragraph is am excerpt from Jan Harley, Media Pro Int’l press release: "Second through fifth place went to teams from The Carroll Center for the Blind (Newton, Mass.) who participate in the center’s SailBlind program which is run out of the Courageous Sailing Center in Boston. Sengil Inkiala (Waltham) and Nancy Jodoin (Newton) with Ken Legler (Reading) and Harry Berman (Hull) were second overall on 15 points, followed by Duane Farrar (Watertown) and Nina Kagan (Boston) with Kay Van Valkenburgh (Marblehead) and Bob Costello (Medfield) with 27 points. Matt Chao (Newton) and Ryck Lent (Waltham) with Lisa O’Connor Dalton (Hull) and Bill Rapp (Rockport) were fourth with 30 points, while Jason Wallenstein (N. Billerica) and Bruce Howell (Needham, Mass.) with Mike Dinning (Natick) and Mary McKinnon (Quincy) finished the series with 41 points for fifth place overall."
We will be back next year for sure!