BAY AREA ASSOCIATION OF DISABLED SAILORS

Our Mission
We believe sailing is the sport where disabled people feel most able. Thus, BAADS seeks to make all aspects of sailing in the San Francisco Bay Area accessible. This includes full participation in teaching sailing, cruising, racing, and developing engineering designs for adaptive equipment to benefit people with diverse abilities

Sailing is an exciting, elemental experience. With the wind brisk and the waves washing against the hull, there's an undeniable feeling of camaraderie as all aboard become part of the triad of nature, boat, and crew.
The Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors strives to make this experience accessible to all BAADS members, their families, friends and caregivers. Whether you get about in a wheelchair, navigate with a cane, or are able bodied, BAADS exists to open this exhilarating sport to you.

Travel directions for the blind to BAADS location

A Message from Our Commodore

BAADS 20th Anniversary celebration ended with the Orion participating in South Beach Yacht Club's Lighted Boat Parade. 2009 begins a period of refining the significant progress made in the past. Our second USA National Access Class Dinghy Regatta will be held again this year (see racing). The dinghy program attracting a wider population will provide a more formal dinghy training schedule. The Keel boat program continues on Sundays with a more structured training program and another skipper certification class providing a source of qualified skippers to meet an ever increasing demand. The Orion, our fleets 36 foot Islander will be outfitted with additional equipment to begin BAADS first Coastal Cruising Training Program. Qualified teams of sailors will be assembled to invite BAADS inclusion into the larger ocean sailing community.

Ed Gallagher,
Commodore

In an era of uncertain economic conditions, BAADS needs to expand its fundraising efforts to meet the ever increasing cost of it's programs. South Beach Yacht Club's facilities and Community Room provides a comfortable and inviting atmosphere for meetings and celebrating. BAADS annual events such as the infamous Pirate Party, as well as other very popular outings provide a continuous stream of festivities. (See Calendar). As BAADS is located in the center of the world's High Tech Industry we are continually updating our accessible equipment with state- of-the-art technologies. BAADS outreach to an ever-expanding circle of both disabled and Inner-City populations instills confidence, communication skills and appreciation for the environment.

"One man's blind ambition: Doing it all without seeing a thing". Ed Gallagher talks about how he 'sees' with Skype on the Today Show

On November 10th, 2005 Scott Duncan and Pam Habek made sailing history by achieving their first milestone becoming the first legally blind people to cross the Pacific Ocean! Follow their story

WEB PARTNERS
South Beach Yacht Club
St. Francis Yacht Club
America President Lines
West Marine
USA Sailing
American Sailing Association
Java House

USEFUL LINKS
www.disabledtraveladvice.co.uk/
Advice for the Disabled Traveler