Kiwi SKUD 18 Team heading to the IFDS Worlds

by Tim Dempsey on 2 Jul 2010
As part of New Zealand's quest to win gold in the 2012 Paralympics, Sailability Auckland members Tim Dempsey and his crew Jan Apel are heading to the IFDS (International Association of Disabled Sailing) World Championships in Medemblik, Netherlands from July 9 – 14.

This is also the first of only two qualifying regattas for the 2012 Paralympics. The top six nations at each regatta will qualify their country.

‘Selected as the boat for the 2008 two-person Paralympic competition in Beijing, the SKUD18 is a strict one design class. Sailors will be seated on the centreline for Paralympic events, but the boat can be configured to suit different sailors' needs. Perfect for training younger sailors before they move into high performance skiffs or dinghies, the SKUD18 is also ideal for those not-so-young sailors who cannot hike like they used to but still want the excitement of high performance racing'

Sailed in its Paralympic configuration the team must be male/female and the person on the helm must have an IFDS Functional Classification of 1 or 2 (Classification is based on the level of your disability and ranges from 1 being the most disabled through to 7 at the mild end) It's bloody hard work for the crew so they definitely need to be at the mild end of the scale.

Although Tim has been sailing for a number of years, Jan was only introduced to sailing through the Sailing Simulator based at the Otara Spinal unit less than a year ago. The pair have made great progress despite only sailing together for just under four months. They are coached by Robert Hielkema and are currently training three times a week and are based at Sailability Auckland's base at Z Pier, Westhaven Marina.

During a training session 10 days ago we broke our mast and need to raise about $4,000 for a new rig so we can get back into our two boat training programme once we get back from the Worlds. Our next international regatta will be Sail Melbourne in December.

If you can help the team out with funds or would like to discuss sponsorship opportunities please contact Brendan Tourelle at btourelle@gmail.com or you can contact Tim Dempsey after the Worlds at timdempsey@xtra.co.nz or, if you want to have a closer look at a SKUD 18, feel free to head down to their compound at Z Pier or check them out on the water.

To track the team during the Worlds, go to http://ifdsworlds2010.com/