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Sail able: Paralympian leads boating
lessons for the disabled
By Doug Dalena
Staff Writer
Published May 13
2007
STAMFORD - Rick Doerr
applied his forceful grip to the sides of his wheelchair and expertly
maneuvered down a steep ramp onto a floating dock at Brewer Yacht Haven
Marina.
Supervising the rigging of three sailboats, he gave last-minute
instructions to three sailors who were preparing to apply the lessons he
had just taught them on the water.
When Doerr isn't busy
preparing to chase gold at the 2008 Paralympics in China as skipper of
the U.S. Disabled Sailing Team, or coaching high school sports in
Clifton, N.J., he puts people's hands back together in his day job:
plastic surgery.
But yesterday, he was teaching sail trim - the art of positioning and
shaping sails to produce the best boat speed and control - and other
sailing techniques to a small group of disabled and non-disabled sailors
as part of a program sponsored by the New England Competitive Sailing
Center.
The nonprofit program, run out of Yacht Haven, offers sailboat racing
clinics and sponsors regattas for disabled people, but its courses also
are open to those without disabilities.
Tamara Vermette has been sailing for seven years. A stroke four years
ago left her with only partial control of the right side of her body.
She sold an Etchells racer and a larger Beneteau - boats that she had
sailed for two seasons.
"It was too hard to sail with one person," she said.
Vermette saw a notice about yesterday's training session on the sailing
center's Web site, www.necsc.org. She said she thought it would be a
great way to enjoy sailing with people who could understand her physical
challenges.
Vermette got in touch with friend Britt Hall, who - like Doerr - sails
out of Noroton Yacht Club.
"She knows my disability. She said, 'Sure, come on down, and we'll sail
together,' " Vermette said.
Vermette said the Norlin Mark III 2.4 Metre racing boat that the group
uses is an excellent vessel for her to sail. It's not too different from
the Etchells she used to own, and all the controls and lines are inside
the cockpit, making them easy to reach with her good arm. Steering is by
pedals, but some boats are rigged with hand tillers for people who can't
use their legs.
So as Doerr shouted out tips and encouragement from a marina launch
piloted by 2.4 Metre builder and NECSC Vice President John Kruger,
Vermette tacked and jibed around Stamford Harbor under sunny skies,
propelled by near-perfect southeasterly winds.
"That's it, Tammy," Doerr shouted over the rumble of the boat's outboard
motor, as Kruger took turns driving the boat and reminding Vermette and
the two other students to stay in the channel.
A couple of hours later, Hall had Vermette talking about her next time
out on the water.
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
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