‘Raise the Sails’ fundraiser Aug. 21
By Sandra Miller
Beacon Hill Times/Back Bay Sun
Community Boating has been turning landlubber youths into independent sailors for more than 60 years.
“Over 2,000 kids are exposed to sail training, learning about taking care of your crew, responsibility, leadership, maintaining your equipment -- these are tremendous lessons when transferred into real life,” says CBI board member Gary du Moulin.
For the past 17 years, CBI has raised funds to help support its $1 youth memberships, their Junior program, raising $35,000 last year. CBI’s Aug. 21 “Raise the Sails for All” fundraiser, at the Liberty Hotel, will feature auction items includes a flight to Nantucket, a trip to NYC, a stay at a Tuscan villa, various sailing equipment, and gift certificates from Charles Street merchants.
This year, CBI also hopes to raise funds for its Universal Access program, which launched last year with 150 sailors who are blind, in wheelchairs, or otherwise experiencing challenges that kept them from sailing independently.
“You’ll see a person sailing and never know they are disabled,” says Du Moulin, a six-year CBI sailing veteran. “They are having the same experiences an able-bodied person has.”
Sailors get access to specially equipped boats, transfer equipment, and help from CBI staff, for a $1 membership fee.
“We developed some of our Mercury Keel sailboats with a lot of adaptations, which are actually brilliant,” says Charles Zechel, executive director of Community Boating Inc. “We have some who want a sailboat ride, to others who want to sail independently.” Zechel says that this summer, the program is “bursting at the seams” with participation.
CBI’s immediate goals are complete accessibility. Right now, the CBI facility is “accessible, but not optimal,” says du Moulin. “Wheelchairs go down to the docks and boards are rough and worn. We make it happen.” One motorized device, called a davit, slips around the disabled sailor for transfer into boat seats retrofitted with straps and seatbelts to support the upper body.
More funding can support additional CBI staff training, dock improvements, and technology such as swivel seats in the boats. If du Moulin “had a blank check,” CBI would get “sip and puff” technology so quadriplegics could blow into a straw to control a boat.
“Some of the technology is incredible. The reward is seeing these people come in and challenging themselves despite this wide range of disabilities. How do we improve and make this program better? There are an infinite number of ways, depending on funding … to let that person be mobile. To react to the wind and control the boat, shift from side to side in the boat as the boat turns in the wind.”
Membership for the disabled sailors and their guests can be for a short sailboat ride for therapeutic recreation or a more learn-to-sail class structure, leading to ratings and expanded sailing privileges. This summer, the program runs from June 16-Aug. 31.
The Universal Access program receives financial assistance from the Dept. of Conservation and Recreation’s Universal Access Program, the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Office of Public Private Partnerships, and Genzyme Corporation. This year, Genzyme kicked in an additional $4,000 so the summer 2008 program could expand to 7 days a week, says du Moulin, who is also Genzyme’s senior director of quality compliance.
Funding for the Junior Program has been consistent, but “it’s an extremely demanding program stretching our resources,” Zechel says. “We have to do fundraising, and get other support because that $1 just doesn’t cover it.” CBI’s fundraising target is $35,000 before expenses, the same as last year’s fundraiser earnings.
CBI’s Junior Program members get instruction and unlimited use of boats, windsurfers and kayaks, along with land-based dances, CBI’s Junior Olympics, and other team-building events. The adult program offers sailing, windsurfing, and kayaking to sailors 18 years and up, 7 days a week through October 31. Membership includes instruction, unlimited use of all boats, discounts to events and CBI gear. Members also can attend seminars, fundraisers, Friday Night BBQs, Helmsman parties, and other social events throughout the season.
Box:
Community Boating is hosting its 18th annual "Raise the Sails for All" fundraiser auction, Aug. 21 at 7pm at the Liberty Hotel. Tickets are $100 per person, and the night will feature cocktails, hors d'oeuvre and an auction. Call CBI at 617.523-1038 to purchase tickets, or go www.community-boating.org
