Silver Gate YC to Host Cruise for Disabled
SAN DIEGO -- The 50th annual Wheelchair Regatta is set for 8 a.m. to noon June 7 on San Diego Bay, followed by lunch and entertainment at Silver Gate Yacht Club, which hosts the event.
Hundreds of physically and developmentally disabled individuals will be welcomed aboard dozens of yachts during the event, with more than 300 yacht club member volunteers -- along with representatives of the Marines and Navy, helping guests aboard the boats. Guests will enjoy a scenic tour of the bay, along with refreshments, food and entertainment.
The Wheelchair Regatta originated in 1960, when Louis Mason ignited a spark in the imagination of Dr. J. Clark Short, a member of Silver Gate YC. Mason, then president of the Good Sports Club, was enthusiastically explaining that the “good sports” are able-bodied folks who are the hands, eyes, and ears and legs for those who don’t have them: the handicapped members of the Indoors Sports Club. Short, now deceased, asked Mason how “his people” would like a harbor cruise. Mason replied, “You get the boats, and I’ll get the people!” Silver Gate YC and the Mason family have continued to do just that for 30 years.
From a Simple Cruise to a Major San Diego event:
As Silver Gate YC grew, so did the Wheelchair Regatta. From 30 cruisers on nine boats the first year, the event has some years had as many as 600 cruisers on more than 50 boats. And the regatta is not just for individuals in wheelchairs: The club invites physically and developmentally disabled individuals from more than 30 groups including the Blind Community Center, several senior residences, and various organizations who support children and adults with disabilities. The sheer magnitude of the undertaking requires months to develop and execute an efficient and effective plan. Skippers and crews from all over the San Diego donate their time, boats and fuel. The club partners with the Marines and the Navy, other area yacht clubs, entertainers and dignitaries with one goal in mind: to make this a day our guests will always remember.
The Perfect Day:
The day starts early. At 6 a.m., breakfast is served to all volunteers. Between 8 and 9 a.m., the guests arrive. While they wait to board their boats, entertainment is provided by clowns, bands, face painters, jugglers and others.
The bay cruise is carefully orchestrated and narrated: The route goes past the seals and dolphins of the Naval Ocean Systems Command to Ballast Point, then crosses the channel continuing south past North Island Naval Air Station to the aircraft carriers, past Seaport Village to the Coronado Bridge and returns by the San Diego Convention Center and the tuna fleet, with the ever-changing skyline as a backdrop.
For more information, visit www.sgyc.org.
This article first appeared in the June 2009 issue of The Log Newspaper. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
