Three of The Best
JazZ Turner crosses the Celtic Sea as Craig Wood makes land after 74 days and Dani A. Pich gets ready to sail blind around the Isle of Wight...
It’s a very good time to be even marginally interested in sailing at the moment. There is a lot of top stuff going on, perhaps more good than bad, and if a few big egos just agreed to disagree and get on with it, we might just have an America’s Cup in a couple of year’s time to add to the good news. We shall see.
SailGP is thriving to survive, the maxis are having a ball in the Med, the 5.5 Metres are simply looking glam in Poland and the Women’s World Match Racing Tour is showing us all what good looks like. Rolex need to sponsor that Tour fast. It’s the hottest property in sailing right now.
But I come off the peak of the sport at a grand prix level and all its politics, to what really, truly inspires me and I have three examples to share that have blown my socks off in recent days.
First up, I just can’t help but be totally engrossed in the most remarkable of solo around Britain attempts by Jazz Turner. I’m on the YB race Tracker hourly. She’s almost through the Celtic Sea right now and heading out to the west of Ireland and the Atlantic Ocean in short order. It’s slow progress at 4.5 knots but there’s determination just oozing off her 27 foot Albin Vega ‘FEAR’ and what’s more, she set off with a target of raising £30,000 for Brighton & Newhaven Sailability and as at this morning stands at £28,754. That is incredible.
Even more incredible is that Jazz’s condition leaves her unable to bear weight on her legs with her joints prone to dislocation, and she lives with the constant risk of fainting, seizures, and allergic reactions. Sensibly she anchored off Torquay to let the weekend storm roll over, and the messages of support that the sailing world sent her were just brilliant. Obviously she felt gutted to stop but my goodness if you had seen the weather in Britain this past week, you would have run to port and hidden. Jazz spent a day just gathering herself, taking on the right nutrition for her condition and getting some rest. This is tough, beating relentlessly - and she even managed to tidy her forepeak which by her own admission was a mess and seal her leaking porthole windows.
Jazz is doing the remarkable. Please support her if you can either monetarily or by just sending her a Facebook message of encouragement. Her Go Fund Me page is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/project-fear
Last night though, my good friend Matt from the outstanding Andrew Cassell Foundation highlighted to me another massively inspirational individual in Craig Wood who has just made landfall in Japan having become the first triple amputee to sail solo across the Pacific.
I don’t really know where to begin with my admiration for what Craig has achieved. Craig is a veteran who started sailing with his old man at the age of 10. After his injuries, he started sailing again with the Andrew Cassell Foundation in Cowes having been inspired by Andy and as Matt says “was campaigning a Sonar as a training partner in Rio at the 2016 Paralympic Games and could have gone to the next Games.”
As we all know, the stooges at World Sailing royally messed that one up, and Craig’s shot at the Paralympics was denied. This is why it matters that we do everything we can to get sailing back on the agenda as a demo sport for Brisbane 2032. I’m hearing positive noises out of Australia, plus I have every faith in Hannah Stodel at World Sailing to keep delivering. She did a great email update today and there’s momentum building. Terrific to hear. Keep the pressure on Hannah, you’re doing outstanding work.
But for Craig, who started sailing in Cowes in 2010, he left the Paralympic scene and bought his catamaran. What’s more he met a Canadian (I’ve never met a bad Canadian - good choice Craig) - and he now has a third child on the way. Inspirational stuff and it just shows that the community of sailing is strong and can deliver life-changing outcomes. Craig’s family have stayed onshore whilst he completes his epic solo crossing and 74 days without seeing land has yielded the greatest result. Delighted for him as an alumni of a superb Foundation run from my home club, the Cowes Corinthian YC, that is peerless in my eyes.
As Craig says: “I am raising money to support other amputees across the world, with funds donated to Blesma and Turn 2 Starboard, two of the charities that helped me the most when times were difficult throughout my upcoming bid to become the first triple amputee in history to sail Solo across the Pacific Ocean (in fact any Ocean I have since been told)”: You can DONATE HERE
One final thing to mention and that is that plans are now set for my great friend Dani A Pich, the blind sailor from Barcelona, to attempt the mother of all challenges and sail around the Isle of Wight in a rudderless, boom-less Pati Catala catamaran this summer to raise awareness of the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic bid.
Dani has been training like a banshee in Barcelona and is as fit as Ben Ainslie in his Laser prime. We’ve received unbelievable support from all over the south coast sailing community to support this challenge with Peter ‘Morty’ Morton offering a guard vessel, the top marine photographer Tim Jeffreys agreeing to drive and create promotional videos and photos, and Lymington legends Simon and Tom Rogers lending not only their talent but a big RIB to come Round the Island with Dani as a support/rescue vessel.
Furthermore, Dani himself has been deep in technical development (supported by Grant Dalton) with a range of devices that allow him to picture what he’s sailing into. Me and Dani will be in constant contact via VHF with me acting as his eyes in case of danger but the technical vest that he created assimilates waypoints and obstacles so that in his mind’s eye, via vibrations and sounds, he can picture what’s before him.
It truly is the greatest advance in blind sailing in decades, perhaps ever, and Dani will be giving it the ultimate test in Cowes through July ahead of the attempt. We have ‘Code Green’ weather-dependent standby dates where the tides are optimal and if he does it, it will be one of the truly great feats of disability sailing.
You can support Dani A. Pich’s Round the Island Challenge HERE
So much good going on. Take an interest. Drop a message and spare a buck or two if you can to any one of these incredible people doing incredible things in our sport.
They really are the very best of us.
Magnus Wheatley