Though many wounded veterans may no longer be able to walk, the College of Charleston is at least giving them a chance to earn their sea legs.
The J/22 sailboat before it’s refurbished and modified to meet the needs of disabled sailors.
This spring the College will unveil a modified J/22 sailboat that will allow the disabled, including both veterans and non-military, to cruise the Charleston Harbor and learn how to sail. The College’s forthcoming adaptive sailing program was inspired by the success of a three-day sailing clinic operated in May 2014 between the College and Hope for the Warriors, a nonprofit group that assists wounded vets and their families. During that event, nine veterans came to the College’s sailing facility and learned how to safely operate, and race, a sailboat.
This year, College sailing officials want to expand the opportunity for adaptive sailing to more people with more severe disabilities, including those restricted to wheelchairs. To do this, former College sailor Kurt Oberle ‘94 has volunteered to install a bench seat and handles in the cockpit of a sailboat – improvements that will make it possible for paraplegics and amputees to more easily switch positions during a tack or jibe, when the boat’s mainsail is switched from one side to another as the skipper changes direction. Oberle, who owns High and Dry Boatworks on James Island, is donating all of his firm’s labor free of charge. Additionally, local sailor Doug Peterson donated the sailboat and the U.S. Sailing Association has given $5,000 to pay for materials.
The boat is scheduled to be ready by mid-April, when a handful of wounded veterans are slated to arrive in town and use some of the College’s boats during Charleston Race Week. Then, on May 9, 2015, the College will host the Wounded Warrior Regatta with the National Sailing Hall of Fame, which is based in Annapolis, Md.
Helping veterans readjust to civilian life despite serious physical and psychological injuries is a
Sailing instructor Jacob Raymond ’14 at the College’s Sailing Center at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant.
cause close to the hearts of College sailing administrators. The director of College sailing, Greg Fisher, has a son who served in Afghanistan. And the College’s director of sailing education, Jacob Raymond ’14, is a veteran of the Iraq War. Deployed in Baghdad as a National Guard military policeman in 2007, Raymond survived frequent mortar attacks and a roadside bomb that exploded next to his Humvee and caused him a concussion, scrapes and bruises.
READ: Check out a College of Charleston Magazine article about Jacob Raymond ’14 and his life at the College following his deployment to Iraq.
Upon his discharge, Raymond said, it was difficult to integrate back into American society. A significant part of his rehabilitation, he says, was enrolling at the College as an English major and becoming part of the sailing program, even though he previously had virtually no experience aboard a sailboat.
“Sailing is therapy,” says Raymond. “Whether it’s just cruising the harbor and watching the sunset 
or the adrenaline rush of racing. It’s soothing.”
Raymond acknowledges that sailing can be an intimidating sport, for the able-bodied and disabled alike. But yet there is great satisfaction, he says, when someone overcomes obstacles to sail with confidence.
“There’s this giant bond among us,” he says of those whom have overcome their fears to master control of a sailboat.
Beyond helping fellow veterans, for the last four years Raymond has volunteered with local Special Olympics athletes out on the water and also helped teach community sailing classes using College boats. With a new, disability-friendly sailboat being prepared for action, he’s excited about helping introduce even more people to the sport of sailing.
“Getting wounded veterans sailing is certainly something I am incredibly passionate about,” says Raymond, “but the boat will provide the whole community a great service.”
