Disabled Sports

Well, we still haven't done much with the boat since so I may as well talk about something else that is very dear to me. Paralympics and Special Olympics have always caught my eye on television but I never really looked into it. It was more one of those things that I'd watch completely entranced but when it was over, I'd resume my usual life.

That changed when I volunteered for disabled sailing last year and they started partnering me up with a variety of disabled sailors for daysailing. My initial approach was like walking on eggshells. Volunteers were not allowed to ask sailors what their disabilities were. Some had trouble communicating. We also had to get a lot of them on and off the boat with the help of a small crane and that created a lot of worries like whether or not they're comfortable, are they going to slide in the sling, is the wheelchair positioned properly, are they going to thrash around, and so on.

It's my second year here and the familiarity with how things work transformed into confidence. The cranes and slings are just necessary tools. And you start picking up on facial expressions and other cues pretty quickly on sailors who can't or have trouble speaking. I've started partnering in races and it's been amazing. The vibe is similar to any other sailing club. By this, I mean we race hard, we scream our fair share of expletives on the course, we have our own brew of sailing club gossip, we party after races and regattas... and boy, do we party.

I think I've come to a point where I sometimes even take disabilities for granted and I'm not sure if this is any better than being oversensitive. There are always people who just want to cruise around and let you do all the work and I'm fine with that, disabled or not. But anyone who shows just an inkling of comprehension and physical ability to pull on ropes or steer must  try at least once if they're partnering with me. I want to see them at least learning that wind blows from a direction and watch that light bulb go off in their heads. It seems like such a waste otherwise. Maybe this is can be a bit too demanding but no one's complained so far.

There is a second reason for my fascination that's much pettier and possibly a bit unsettling. I simply like gadgets. Boats for the disabled are rigged differently. Different wheelchairs have different functions from your day-to-day use to sports-specific. There's a wide range of prosthetics. And these are just the physical examples. What if a person who was blind through nerve damage was able to see through the use of electronic instruments embedded in their brain? There's just something strangely creepy but absolutely enticing about combining human flesh with non-living material.

At the extreme of this concept, I could even say that a sailboat is an extension of one's body. The boat is doing all the swimming. I'm talking to you through a computer by typing with my fingers. The fact that we use different extensions differently makes every single human being abled in some ways and disabled in others. You may probably never have the ability to see an image digitally transmitted from your eyes to your brain.