Footloose has its new boat!
Last month Footloose put a deposit on an immaculate 2006 Catalina Capri 22 at Windworks in Shilshole. The owner accepted the offer and after several weeks of inspections and insurance reports, Footloose is the new proud owner. She is named Inspiration and she will live up to her name for many years to come as sailors with disabilities are able to experience the joys of sailing on her.
The kickoff event for Footloose this year was May 4th and Inspiration was the star. All the volunteers and sailors were lined up to go out. I had the privilege of taking out Aaron, a quadriplegic, and his caretaker, as well as a friend from high school, who offered to be the photographer. There was not much wind when we scooted out of the marina and raised the sails, but when we turned to look back at the marina we were surprised to see we had crossed halfway to Bellevue! Inspiration is a smooth sailing little boat that knows how to move around the water in the light conditions often experienced at Leschi. Aaron typically sails on a Martin 16, where he has full control of the boat via electronics, but he had a great time in the “big boat” and is looking forward to learning more about how big boats sail.
Inspiration has been a smashing success so far and I still cannot thank you enough, the excellent members of SBYC, for helping Footloose along in the next chapter of her life. As we enter our 28th year of operation we are moving ahead confident in Footloose position to serve the disabled community for another 28 years!
We still have Columbia sailboat to replace. If you would like to help with that purchase head over to the Donate page and be sure to leave a note that the funds are for a new sailboat. https://footloosedisabledsailing.org/donate/
This summer, we have a full schedule. One of our most anticipated events is the Blake Island trip. This year we will be at Blake Island July 21 – 23. We need boats to help ferry the sailors from Elliot Bay Marina to Blake Island on the morning of the 21st and back to EBM the morning of the 23rd. If you can help, let me know so we can plan capacity- ben@lobaugh.net.
And as always, you are welcome to check out any of our events. They are listed on the calendar on the Footloose website- just drop in! https://footloosedisabledsailing.org/events/
