Sailing with feeling

Dane Grace

Sailors rely a lot on sight, even with the Global Positioning System

and sometimes radars.

This weekend, some will sail by feel.

The American Legion Yacht Club and the Women’s Ocean Racing

Sailing Assn. will team up to sponsor the 15th annual Sail for the

Blind from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Newport Beach marina.

This year will feature a breakfast, a two-hour sail through Newport

Bay, lunch and entertainment for the expected 150 or so participants

who cannot see or are visually impaired.

Women’s Ocean Racing Sailing Assn.Vice Commodore Bobbie Reed

helped establish the Sail for the Blind 14 years ago. She and a

former association member, Lauri Lewis, first thought to have the

event while Lewis worked as a teacher at the American Braille

Institute in Anaheim.

Touched by the experience and Lewis’ students, Lewis and Reed

decided to share their love of sailing.

“We thought it’d be nice to do something for them for the

holidays,” Reed said.

For the first three years, the event’s boats sailed from Long

Beach. But when the event started attracting 50 people or more, the

American Legion offered a hand, and the home port of the event moved

to Newport. Reed has seen the sail come a long way from its first

turnout of 25 guests to her current cap of 200.

“It’s been getting larger every single year,” Reed said.

For the visually impaired, the event is more than just a day on

the boats. Doris Beardsley, a board member of the Orange County

chapter of the National Assn. of the Blind, has gone to the annual

sail for more than six years.

“Most of us don’t get a chance to get out in the ocean in a boat,”

Beardsley said. “When they turn off the engines and the wind catches

the sails, it’s very relaxing. It’s kind of neat to get out there and

relax.”

The public is welcome at the docks to watch the event and are

encouraged to register to volunteer for the event. The Sail for the

Blind has relied on the work of volunteers, and as the event has

gotten larger, more boats and volunteers signed on to help.

“We can always use more volunteers,” Reed said.

Private boats and captains have helped to pick up some of the

load. The racing association and the American Legion Yacht Club

provide one-third to half of the boats provided by the groups

involved.

“The community provides the rest of the two-thirds,” said Joe

Neill, an American Legion Yacht Club member and event worker. “We

couldn’t do it without the community.”

This year, 39 boats have signed up, and a few are making special

trips just to participate.

“A couple of boats are coming up from San Diego, and one is coming

down from San Pedro,” said John Hamilton, American Legion Yacht Club

event coordinator.

Because of his duties onshore, Hamilton lamented that he can’t

take passengers aboard this year. In the past, he relished the

opportunity to sail with the usually spirited crew.

“It’s such an uplifting experience, because the guests are so

enthusiastic and wanting to learn,” Hamilton said. “It just makes you

feel good.”

For more information on volunteering for the event or such future

events, call Bobbie Reed at (949) 636-6104, or go to

https://www.worsa.org.