Boston Blind Sailing Inc

IN 2022, BBS RETURNED TO A FULL SEASON OF OUR CORE PROGRAMMING, CONDUCTING WEEKLY PRACTICES FROM MAY INTO EARLY SEPTEMBER AT OUR HOST CENTER, BOSTON'S COMMUNITY BOATING, INC (CBI,). THESE PRACTICES USUALLY CONSISTED OF VARIOUS DRILLS, STARTS AND SHORT RACES. SOME OF OUR SAILORS ALSO PARTICIPATED IN TUESDAY EVENING RHODES 19 RACING AT THE COURAGEOUS SAILING CENTER IN CHARLESTOWN. THE PARTICIPATION NUMBERS FOR BLIND AND SIGHTED SAILORS AND VOLUNTEERS WAS EQUIVALENT TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS. WE ARE LOOKING TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN ALL CATEGORIES IN 2023. IN EARLY JUNE, THE ROBIE PIERCE ONE DESIGN REGATTA FOR DISABLED SAILORS WAS HELD ON WESTERN LONG ISLAND SOUND IN NEW YORK AT THE AMERICAN YACHT CLUB IN RYE. BBS PROVIDED FUNDING FOR TWO TEAMS, EACH CONSISTING OF TWO BLIND AND ONE SIGHTED SAILOR. BBS ALSO PROVIDED THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN BLIND SAILOR JASMIN WASHINGTON FROM CHICAGO TO COME TO BOSTON AND SAIL IN THIS REGATTA WITH BLIND SAILOR DUANE FARRAR AND SIGHTED SAILOR SOLOMON MARINI. IN ADDITION, DUANE HOSTED JASMIN AT HIS HOME AND SHE SPENT TWO DAYS PRIOR TO THE REGATTA VISITING BOSTON AND SAILING WITH BBS. HER STAY INCLUDED A TOUR OF THE U.S.S. CONSTITUTION IN CHARLESTOWN. THE TEAM WON THE REGATTA, WHICH WAS JASMIN'S FIRST SUCH COMPETITION! THE SECOND BBS TEAM WAS SKIPPERED BY JASON WALLENSTEIN WITH BLIND SAILOR CHRISTINE DIAZ AND SIGHTED SAILOR SARA KAISER. THIS REGATTA BEGAN IN 2009 AND BBS SAILORS HAVE PARTICIPATED MANY TIMES OVER THE YEARS AND HAVE MADE MANY FRIENDS WITH OTHER BLIND AND DISABLED SAILORS AND THE YACHT CLUB ORGANIZERS AND VOLUNTEERS. IN JULY, BBS MOURNED THE PASSING OF OUR FOUNDING PRESIDENT, DAVID VIEIRA, AT AGE 71 AFTER A MONTHS-LONG BATTLE WITH HEART DISEASE. EVEN WHILE ILL, DAVE CONTINUED TO ATTEND BOARD MEETINGS VIA ZOOM AND REMAINED INVOLVED WITH BBS. IN MAY, BLIND SAILOR DUANE FARRAR DEDICATED HIS RUN IN A 5K ROAD RACE TO DAVE AND RAISED $600 IN DONATIONS FOR BBS. SIGHTED SAILOR RICHARD KELLY WAS APPOINTED TO FILL THE REMAINDER OF DAVE'S TERM ON THE BOARD. AFTER OUR ANNUAL MEETING IN NOVEMBER, SIGHTED SAILOR ANDREW ALLETAG WAS CHOSEN AS THE NEW BBS PRESIDENT. IN AUGUST, OUR TEAM OF BLIND SAILORS DUANE FARRAR AND WILLIAM FONTANEZ AND SIGHTED TACTICIAN RICHARD KELLY TRAVELED TO CHICAGO AND TOOK PART IN THE INDEPENDENCE CUP CLINIC AND REGATTA ORGANIZED BY THE JUDD GOLDMAN ADAPTIVE SAILING FOUNDATION (JGASF.) COMPETING IN THE SONAR DIVISION, THEY PLACED 3RD IN THE INDEPENDENCE CUP AND SCORED A SECOND PLACE FINISH IN THE CONCURRENT U.S. PARA NATIONALS TRIPLE-HANDED DIVISION. THE TEAM HAD A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE, MEETING AND NETWORKING WITH OTHER BLIND AND DISABLED SAILORS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY. FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THIS TRIP WAS PROVIDED JOINTLY BY BBS AND THE JGASF, RESULTING IN VIRTUALLY NO COST FOR THE SAILORS. IN OCTOBER, WE ONCE AGAIN HOSTED OUR OWN BOSTON BLIND OPEN REGATTA THAT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE 2019 PANDEMIC SEASON, HAS BEEN HELD ANNUALLY AT CBI SINCE 2016. A NUMBER OF RACES WERE SAILED OVER TWO DAYS BY FOUR TEAMS IN SONARS. BLIND SAILORS PAULINE DOWELL AND KATY BOYD, GUIDED BY SIGHTED SAILORS GRACE OLSEN AND LINDA EPSTEIN, TOOK THE TITLE AND WERE AWARDED THE INAUGURAL DAVID VIEIRA MEMORIAL TROPHY. BLIND SAILORS DUANE FARRAR AND WILLIAM FONTANEZ, GUIDED BY SIGHTED SAILORS ANDREW ALLETAG AND GREGOR DZIALAS, FINISHED 2ND. THIS REGATTA WAS CONDUCTED FOR A MODEST ENTRY FEE OF $80 PER TEAM. ALL THE TEAMS ENJOYED A POST-REGATTA BBQ ON THE DOCK AT CBI.