Volvo Ocean Race - Lindsay Dibowitz sails on board Team Alvimedica

by Team Alvimedica on 15 Nov 2014 Sailing as a guest on board Team Alvimedica today for the Volvo Ocean Race practice race was Lindsay Dibowitz from Cape Town. It was a special day for Lindsay, but then again, every day since March 2008 has been special.

'I had a coronary failure six years ago, a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), an episode of sudden death syndrome. I was resuscitated nine times and was in the hospital for three months in an induced coma. I had stents put in, and I've heard all about Alvimedica who provide stents for heart surgery. And so I was invited to come and sail with the team today. The fact that I'm even here is very cool.'

Team Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright was delighted to have Lindsay along for the race. 'A lot of what we do is an attempt to bring sailing to other people, and to bring opportunities to people who wouldn’t normally get them. Lindsay suffered a major heart trauma and has worked really hard to overcome it. She has put up some great results in the triathlon arena, and those are the kinds of people we resonate with. We’re really excited to have her on the boat with us.'

Since beating the odds to make an incredible recovery, Lindsay knew she had to look after her heart like never before. From having done very little sport, she took up swimming, cycling and running and started doing triathlon. In January this year she completed her first Ironman 70.3. Now she is addicted to sport, which is good news for her heart. 'I've had to work on my heart, it doesn't come easy to me, because the oxygenation levels are lower for me than for most people. But the heart is a muscle that needs to be worked and needs to be taken care of. The only way I know to take care of it is to work on sport and exercise and make it work hard.'

Lindsay’s story has gone on to inspire others to take up sport too. 'I never expected I would end up inspiring other people to get off the couch, but it’s wonderful. I'm part of an amazing organization in America called Ironheart, which has a racing team. It encourages people with heart problems, whether it's genetic or due to heart failure, to do some kind of sport. It's been the most incredible journey for me.'

Today’s outing onboard Team Alvimedica’s VO65 race boat was the latest chapter of her exciting life. 'I’ve been on a boat many times before, but this has been my first time sailing on a boat, and being in a race. Just not being seasick was my goal! It's really exciting to meet the crew, and very exciting to see Cape Town from a different perspective, from out on a yacht.'

She hadn’t appreciated just how demanding the sport of sailing can be. 'I must be honest, I thought sailing was quite a relaxed sport, until I started doing some research into the Volvo Ocean Race and Team Alvimedica. Having seen them in action, I cannot believe just what athletes they are. It's really exciting to meet them.' Team Alvimedica website