[Greater-baltimore] Let's Go Sailing

Ringlein, Ellen ERinglein at nfb.org
Wed Aug 1 12:28:08 UTC 2012


Hi Mark,

I am interested in participating as a sailor.

Ellen

-----Original Message-----
From: greater-baltimore-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:greater-baltimore-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Riccobono, Mark
Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 5:35 PM
To: greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Greater-baltimore] Let's Go Sailing

Dear Federationists,

During the July meeting of the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the NFB of Maryland, we received a presentation from the Downtown Sailing Center (www.downtownsailing.org<http://www.downtownsailing.org/>). DSC is a place I have been meaning to visit in order to help build a relationship with the Federation so I volunteered to pursue this partnership. I had the pleasure of visiting their offices and dock today and must say I was quite excited by the visit.

I am now coordinating our first venture with the Downtown Sailing Center in the hope that it might be the gust of wind we need to go forward. The rest of this message gives you some detail about the DSC’s Ya Gotta Regatta on September 22<x-apple-data-detectors://1> and how you and your family can participate. This message has something for all of our members—blind and sighted—so please read further. This will be a great preview for Meet the Blind Month and a great start to our partnership.

At the end of this message I have pasted the description of the 9/22<x-apple-data-detectors://2> event from the DSC website. This is a public event and it represents the final big accessible sailing event of the season. This is also the annual fundraising event for the accessible sailing program. You do not have to raise money to participate in this educational venture but you will see below that I am encouraging some of us to make an effort in support of this program.

For the NFB’s participation in the Regatta there are three opportunities for participation. We will call them Sailor, Buddy, and Spectator.

Sailor: The NFB has been asked if we might put together a team to run a heat in the Regatta. A team would consist of 8 blind people who would each captain a boat and race against each other. Keep in mind that this is a fun event and experience with a sailboat is not necessarily required. However, to be one of the sailors, you do have to make a few commitments. First, since we have never participated in an all blind Regatta we will want to have at least one training session. The DSC proposes Monday, August 27, from 5-7 PM<x-apple-data-detectors://3>. We may be able to find an alternate date and/or additional dates to “train” but it sounds like Mondays are best. Second, this is a fundraising event for DSC. Therefore, I think it would be good if the eight sailors committed to helping with the fundraising aspect of the event. Therefore, since I signed up as the first sailor, I committed the NFB team to collectively raise at least $500 for the accessible sailing program. Thus, if you wish to sign up for one of the seven remaining sailor spots, I would ask you to commit to helping with the $500 fundraising. By the way, in exchange for our fundraising we will get the NFB logo on the event t-shirt. I view the sailors as our out front people for this partnership as I am certain the first all blind Regatta in the inner harbor will get some attention.

Buddy: A buddy is a sighted companion who rides in the boat with the blind captain purely to provide directional information (buddy was their word not mine). Like sailors, buddies need not have prior experience. DSC would want the buddies to also participate in theAugust 27<x-apple-data-detectors://6> training. Buddies could participate in training on a different date—it is less critical that the buddies be trained on the same day we test out the concept. If we have Federation sailors it would be nice to have Federation buddies as well but it is not essential. If we do not have enough volunteers, DSC will pull from its volunteer base. I tend to think that 16 Federationists are even better than 8 so it would be nice if we had our own folks. Additionally, those who have Federation experience would be best equipped to make this event as powerful as we would want it to be.

Spectators: Friends and family of sailors and buddies as well as other members of the chapter are welcome to come participate in the event, cheer on team WHOZIT, and spend time learning about sailing. DSC said it would dedicate a couple of boats to our spectators so this would be a very nice thing for other members of the chapter who simply want to learn more about sailing.
Buddies and spectators are also welcome to help team WHOZIT meet our $500 fundraising pledge.

Although the DSC has a site to sign up for the Regatta, it would be good for us to know how many Federationists will be in attendance. Thus, please do NOT sign up online. Please write directly to me atmriccobono at nfb.org<mailto:mriccobono at nfb.org> if you wish to participate. The most pressing thing is for us to confirm our eight sailors. There are currently seven spots left—since I am taking one—and this will be first come first serve. If you are interested in being a sailor or a buddy, please let me know ASAP. If you are interested in coming as a spectator, it would be nice to know prior to our next chapter meeting.

Now, in case I have not interested you yet, here is what the DSC website says about the event:
Top of Form
Mark your calendars! Saturday, September 22, 2012<x-apple-data-detectors://9>, is the date for this year's Ya' Gotta Regatta, the free, end-of-summer culmination race for the Downtown Sailing Center’s (DSC) free, volunteer-driven Access-ability Sailing<http://www.downtownsailing.org/Default.aspx?pageId=650085>program for people with disabilities.

"Regatta" is a sailing term that means race. While most of our accessible sailing programs are educational, the Ya'Gotta Regatta is an event where sailors can get out on the course, show what they know and kick some butt!
Ya' Gotta Regatta is a fun race, but it is a race... and whether it’s your first race or twentieth, plan on some on-the-water competition and fun. Sailors with disabilities may have a coach or assistant in their boat if necessary. Come and try it out!
If you are a sailor with a disability and don't want to race (or you are a friend, family member or member of the interested public), you should show your support for the event by spectating. Invite friends, family and others, and help us get a crowd!
Local celebrities regularly attend and help present awards, including the coveted "Ya' Gotta Cup." Past guests have included TV, newspaper and radio personalities; the mayor of Baltimore City; the police commissioner; and many other important local figures from private, corporate and nonprofit backgrounds who attend to show their support. There is always free food and drink, as well as live play-by-play race commentary by DSC staff.

Federationists, let’s use this as a great opportunity to change what it means to be blind and try something new and exciting (or just get our feet wet).

Sincerely,
Mark Riccobono




Sent from my iPhone with built in nonvisual access and connectivity to an external Braille display. Who says accessibility is hard to do?
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