Adaptive sailing (Freshwater Seas)

Freshwater Seas

Volume 1, Number 12, December 1998
www.freshwaterseas.com

Joystick controls and sip-and-puff control
systems enable low- and high-quad paraplegics
to sail and race. (Photo courtesy of
the Y-Knot Sailing Association.)

Adaptive sailing: who, what, when, where and how.

Robert Bethune

Once upon a time....

Once upon a time, "sailing for the disabled" could only have meant holding a regatta to benefit a charitable organization that worked with "crippled people."

No more.

To be sure, fundraising regattas are still a valuable aspect of recreational sailing. The Leukemia Cup regattas, held all around the country, have been very successful fundraisers for the fight against that disease, and many other examples could be offered. Now, however, there is a major difference: instead of acting as the passive beneficiaries of sailing activities, people with disabilities are now direct participants. Developments in yacht design, electronics, and ergonomics, along with a profound change in attitude among disabled people and those who work with the disabled, have moved disabled people off the beach and into the boats in ways that were not dreamed of even just a few years ago.

What's more, some of the technology being developed for and used by disabled sailors just might find its way into mainstream sailing as well.

The programs

Sailing for the disabled has become a well-established activity in Canada, with programs in most provinces. As Keith Hobbs, who works with the disabled sailing program at the Nepean Sail Club in Ottawa, points out, "The growing popularity of adaptive sailing can be explained by the sense of freedom and movement that is generated with every participant." There is a good list of adaptive sailing programs at the Canadian Yachting Association website. There is another terrific list of accessible sailing clubs at The Sailing Web.

The SeaLegs program, a New York City operation, offers this insight: "SeaLegs believes a sailboat is a microcosm containing all the physical and psychological stimuli utilized in the rehabilitative process. Furthermore, sailing provides the opportunity to participate with or against able-bodied individuals on a recreational or competitive basis. This integration reinforces the goals of rehabilitation: leadership, communication, autonomy and problem solving in a demanding environment." In other words, sailing is the perfect sport for the disabled.

In the United States, events such as the Chicago Yacht Club's Independence Cup and the North American Challenge Cup are giving competitive adaptive sailing programs a high profile. The Buffalo Community Boating Center program is an excellent example of the kind of community-based adaptive sailing program now coming into existence. The Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program in Chicago has a facility at Burnham Harbor specifically designed to meet the needs of disabled sailors.

For 1999, the North American Challenge Cup program will feature two levels of competition: regional regattas in San Francisco, Annapolis, Seattle, Chicago, Long Beach, Miami, and Newport. The final competition will be held in Chicago. The 1999 Mobility Cup will be held at the National Yacht Club in Toronto. World-level competitions will take place in several venues; visit the ISAF disabled sailing website as the years goes on for further information.

Unusual programs

Most programs are involved with daysailing or round-the-buoys racing. Not so the Ro-Ro Sailing Project of Waterlooville Hants, England. This facility offers a 35' fully accessible cruising yacht and 35' and 56' accessible cruising catamarans. The purpose of their program is to allow disabled people to go ocean cruising.

Most programs are aimed at people disabled by paralysis. However, there are also programs targeted for the blind. SailBlind is one such; it operates out of the Courageous Sailing Center in Boston Harbor. Another program for the blind, which includes the World Blind Sailing Championships, is run from Shake-A-Leg in Miami. Programs for the blind require principally a teaching approach adapted to blindness; the boats generally don't require specific adaptations.

For those who want to be absolutely sure they stay dry--except perhaps for perspiration--there is a program called Sunny Acres Sailing, Sipping, and Soaring Society devoted to land sailing. They sponsor events on the dry lakes near Reno using sailing craft somewhat similar to iceboats with wheels, designed to run on the smooth, dry salt beds of the dry lakes.

The boats

What does a boat need to be for use in adaptive sailing? The requirements really are common sense, and most of them aren't so very different from what most people want in a boat: stable, dry, easily controlled, easy to get into and out of. The specific modifications for adaptive sailing only become extensive when used by people who don't have full, or even any, use of their arms and legs.

Most boats used for adaptive sailing are set up for two people: the disabled person has access to all controls, and an able-bodied trainer, assistant or companion can access the controls if necessary.

It needs a cockpit layout such that a person who can't use their legs can be helped aboard and helped off easily, and can stabilize themselves in the cockpit comfortably.

Photo courtesy of Nepean Sail Club, Ottawa.	This seating arrangement keeps a person with limited mobility near the sail controls.
Photo courtesy of Nepean Sail Club, Ottawa.	This cockpit adaptation allows a person with limited use of the legs to control most trim lines.

It needs a running rigging design such that all controls are led to one cockpit position. If the boat is to be used by people who can't use their arms, the controls need to be powered. Self-tacking jibs are common, and a variety of interesting devices assist a disabled skipper in handling the boat.

The boat needs to be stable and dry. A person with limited mobility cannot easily duck spray. Also, there's a definite confidence element; a person of limited mobility needs to feel safe in the boat.

Boats specifically made for adaptive sailing

Freedom Independence 20

The Freedom 20, built by Catalina Yachts, features the unique Freedom unstayed mast system. At 20' 6" it is one of the larger boats used for adaptive sailing.

The Freedom Independence has been designed for extraordinary accessibility: freeboard is low and sidedecks are uncluttered to facilitate getting aboard. The Independence was designed by Gary Mull, a noted America's Cup naval architect and designer of the Freedom Yachts fleet which includes the Freedom 28, 30 and 36.

Photo courtesy of Sailing Web.

The Independence cockpit is equipped with two pivoting seats for helmsmen and one crew person. The specially-designed seats are counterweighted beneath the cockpit sole. Two wheelchairs may be accommodated in the cabin and there is adequate room for sails and gear.

The Freedom Independence has added stability due to the ballast ratio and vertical center of gravity. The mainsail is fully battened for quiet, aerodynamic efficiency and the jib is self-tending. The unstayed Freedom spar eliminates troublesome standing rigging and the danger usually associated with an uncontrolled jibe.

Though safety and accessibility were foremost in the design parameters for the Freedom Independence, lively performance was not to be compromised. This 20-footer combines an excellent sail area-to-wetted surface ratio.

2.4 Metre

The 2.4 metre class is a widely raced one-design keelboat, especially popular in Europe. It is a stable, unsinkable, easily controllable racer with all lines led beneath the deck to the cockpit. The Norlin version of the 2.4 is definitely the dominant boat in the class. It will be the boat sailed in the single-handed class at the 2000 Paraolympics in Sydney. It is a small boat, just 13.8 feet long with a beam of only 2' 8" and a draft of 3' 3".

Photo courtesy of Sailing Web.	The 2.4mR shares the classic look of the much, much larger 8-, 12- and 16-metre boats.
Photo courtesy of Nepean Sail Club, Ottawa.	You'd think you were looking at a much larger boat until you look closely at the proportion between the person and the boat.

Sonar

The design brief for the Sonar was to produce a stable, comfortable club racer for a non-athletic crew that would have good light-airs performance, a sit-in cockpit, be able to carry a spinnaker, and be self-rescuing, clean and simple.

Photo courtesy Shumway Marine.

The response to the boat has been excellent, not least in that the very characteristics that make it a good family boat and club racer also make it a good adaptive-sailing boat.

Martin 16: The Martin 16 is probably the state-of-the-art adaptive sailing boat.
Access dinghy: The Access dinghy comes in two sizes:
Hobie Cat with trapseat: The Hobie-cat can be sailed with a trapseat: a seat mounted outside the ama. Usually one mounts two of these, one on each ama. A disabled sailor has to decide which to use for a particular course; when the disabled person is on the lee side, the rest of the crew uses the other trapseat or normal hiking to balance the boat. It makes for a wet, but wild ride; Hobies have a well-justified reputation for exciting sailing.

Sailing in events such at the International Hobie 16 Trapseat Regatta in Sydney, Australia, quadriplegic sailors have gone head-to-head with the able-bodied and come out winners!

1997 International Hobie Cat Championships,
Pittwater, Sydney, Australia. Photo courtesy
Sailability Australia. Photo by Serena Ovens.

Here we see trapseats set up on two Hobie 16's. Note the paired seats on the boat in back.

A sailor has to have some ability to use the torso and arms to compensate for the motion of the boat, but these seats are used successfully by a number of quadriplegic sailors in international-level competition. The theme in disabled sailing in Hobiecats seems to be integration of crews and racing so that disabled people are on an equal footing with the able-bodied.

Sunbird: The Sunbird is the original adaptive sailing boat. The class symbol seen on the mainsail, based on the international sign for disabled access, is unique in that it's the only class symbol based on such a reference.

Photo courtesy of Sailing Web.

The first Sunbird, modified for adaptive sailing, was presented by Margaret Thatcher to Rick Hansen on the occasion of his "Man In Motion" tour. The boat, named "Iron Lady", was later given to Sam Sullivan, a quadriplegic sailor, who used it as the nucleus of what is now the Disabled Sailing Association of British Columbia. DSA-BC soon had three fleets with a total of 16 of these boats in service in Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna.

The Sunbird is a 16-footer, with a beam of 4' 4" and a draft of 3' 4" (keel down.) She carries 300 pounds ballast, and can be crewed by one or two people.

Challenger: The Challenger trimaran is popular for adaptive sailing in the UK. Unfortunately, there is not much information about these boats available in this country.

Handling the boats

The most demanding boat-handling situation in adaptive sailing arises when the boat is to be operated alone by a quadriplegic. The extreme case of this is when the skipper is unable to use arms and legs. The Martin 16 and other boats can be equipped with an array of devices to handle this situation such that a fully disabled person can be fully in control of the boat.

As Steve Alvey points out, "With the availability of the Martin 16 Autohelm/Windlass systems, the Mobility Cup ’98 roster included five "high quad" sailors: Rene Dallaire (Montreal, Canada), Jose Rui Marques (Portugal), Chris Loscerbo (Victoria, Canada), Ed Thompson (Calgary, Canada), and Terry LeBlanc (Vancouver, Canada). With safety vessels standing by, these sailors sailed "solo", controlling their Martin 16s using only their breath, and demonstrated that they were able and competitive in the closely matched fleet of Martin 16s."

Photo courtesy of Sailing Web.	One of the really remarkable technological developments for adaptive sailing is the "sip and puff" control. A person who has no use of arms or legs can still control a sailboat using an electronic interface driven by the breath. Inhaling or exhaling through the mouthpiece ("sipping" or "puffing" actuates the control mechanism, seen here on a Sunbird.
Photo courtesy of Steve Alvey, DSA-Alberta	The skipper has his right hand on the electronic joystick control of the Martin 16 windlass system. The windlass itself is directly in front of the pilot's seat. The twin drums control the main and jib sheets, which are wound proportionately in unison. The windlass can also be controlled by a sip-and-puff device. There is a provision for a fine-adjust on the jib sheet.
The Autohelm joystick unit, here shown mounted on the right, can also be mounted on the left. A cable connects the unit to the windlass, and the unit can also be connected to a SeaTalk interface. Via SeaTalk, the unit can be connected to an Autohelm	Photo courtesy of Steve Alvey, DSA-Alberta
Photo courtesy of Steve Alvey, DSA-Alberta	In turn, the SeaTalk interface can control an ST4000 or other tillerpilot. Shown here is an ST4000 controlling the tiller via a long extension and actuator.

Access to the boats

A person with limited use or no use of their arms and legs needs assistance getting into the boat and getting seated. They need to feel sure of their safety given the special needs created by their lack of mobility. Other than that, they need the same instruction any other beginning sailor needs.

A blind person needs orientation to the boat, good descriptions and verbal orientation to what's going on, and help in learning how to use tactile and audible cues in sailing. Aside from those considerations, again, they need to learn what every sailor learns. One blind sailor, Marlaina Lieberg of Seattle, says she learned to steer the boat by the feel of the wind on her cheek--a technique able-bodied sailors have been using since the first sailor hoisted sail.

Most disabled sailors will need assistance with launch, recovery, and transportation to and from the sailing facility.

Hardly an imposing list, is it?

Changing attitudes and perceptions

To understand how important the ability to sail can be for a disabled person, read Brent Foote's account of his first sail after he was told he would never walk, let alone sail, again. Imagine how Carlos Steffens felt after winning a race at the Mobility Cup after not sailing since 1984.

To participate in sailing, a person with disabilities--whether quadriplegia, blindness, deafness, or any other form--will require assistance at some point. It might be launching the boat, it might be getting on board, it might be needing an able-bodied assistant or crew. However, regardless of the nature of the disability, with proper assistance and equipment, a disabled person can sail--and in so doing, can, at least for a time, enjoy the kind of freedom, personal action, and mobility that most of has have the good fortune to take for granted.

Sailors and sailing organizations should not simply plunge into adaptive sailing programs willy-nilly. Proper information, proper training, proper planning and proper communication are all necessary. However, sailors and sailing organizations should not view these necessities as forbidding obstacles. Everything that needs to be done to have a successful adaptive sailing program can be done with exactly the sort of team effort, information gathering, planning and execution that any number of sailing groups manage every time they stage a large regatta, host a rendezvous, or even put on the commodore's ball. Adaptive sailing is one of the most rewarding possible ways for a sailing organization to serve the wider community. There is not reason not to move forward in this area.