Luiz Cesar Faria, Darke Mattos and Rossano Sa Leitao launched their Sonar for the first time ever on September 3^rd.

 

The first disabled sailing team ever to represent Brazil at the Paralympics is especially thankful for the support that Brazil’s Adaptive Sailing Confederation, the Brazilian Paralympic Committee and the Brazilian Sailing Confederation have given them.

 

The team qualified for the Paralympics Sonar event at the 2007 IFDS World Championship in Rochester, New York by using a borrowed boat. In the meantime, they have trained in Brazil in Solings and purchased their new boat in time for it to be delivered to Qingdao for the 2008 Paralympic Sailing Regatta.

 

Brazil is the homeland of some of the greatest sailors in the world. Torben Grael has more Olympic sailing medals (5) than anyone in the history of the sport. Robert Scheidt claimed his fourth Olympic Sailing Medal, a Silver, in the Men’s Olympic keelboat competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

 

Bernice Chiarello, the physiologist for the Brazilian Paralympic Committee and her husband has been working with disabled sailors for the past nine years. Keeping abreast of the classification of disabled athletes in Brazil, she recommended to Faria, Mattos and Sa Leito that they sail together because their combined disability ratings added up to 14, ideal for the Sonar.

 

Chiarello also founded the Adaptive Sailing Confederation in Brazil in 2003. It has worked with over 40 sailors in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and twenty sailors out of its three other centers.

 

Faria, Mattos and Rossano were sailors before they became disabled. Faria has sailed with Torben Grael’s brother, Lars Grael, who is a two-time Olympic Bronze Sailing medalist in the Tornado. Lars Grael lost his leg after being run over by a powerboat while racing a Tornado. He has been the Minister of Sports in Rio de Janeiro and an interim president of the Brazilian Sailing Confederation.

 

The first time that Grael returned to his yacht club in Niteroi, Brazil following the loss of his leg, Faria helped him up the yacht club stairs. Grael returned the favor for his friend when he made a hospital call to Faria while Faria was recovering from an injury that cost him his leg. Grael assured Faria that he would be able to sail again. 

Faria took to the water as soon as he could and coaches sailing in Rio de Janeiro.

 

Faria was one of the first to step up to the plate and volunteer for Brazil’s first Paralympic sailing effort in 2004. Says Grael of Faria, “he is an example of how to come back. Without a Sonar class of other competitive Sonar crews to sail against, his campaign has not been easy. Mariola (Faria’s nickname) is an example of endurance and Olympic spirit.”

 

Grael continues to try to compete on an even playing field with able-bodied sailors and was leading the Brazilian Star Trials for the 2008 Olympics against Star World Champions such as Robert Scheidt and Alan Adler for a good portion of the regatta.

 

Grael is also spearheading an America’s Cup challenged mostly comprised of disabled athletes. The campaign is called the Argo Challenge. The Argo team competed in the Rolex Maxi Cup in Porto Cervo through September 6^th and not only won the ORR Division with in the 18-boat Mini Maxi Class, but it was given a special award by the Maxi Association for the message that it is trying to convey and its team spirit.

 

 

Sitting with the entire Brazilian Paralympic team en route from Qingdao to Beijing the day after the Medal Presentations, Farewell Celebration and reception that followed, I asked Sa Leito, who lost his hands in an explosion in a laboratory and has multiple advanced degrees, what did you take away from this regatta? “Knowledge,” he said. “We started racing a year ago. The Paralympics is our third competition. We competed in the 2007 IFDS Worlds, the 2008 Miami OCR and the Paralympics. We learned how to tune the boat by asking the Israelis and the Germans and last year Serge Jorgensen (the President of IFDS) gave us assistance with tuning the boat. We also trained with the Greek team.”

 

While there are two other Sonar crews in Sao Paolo, they are looking forward to the arrival of Jens Kroker. The Gold medal skipper who acknowledges that he sails extremely well with crews that haven’t been together for long, will be working in Sao Paolo. Imagine the boost to the Brazilian Paralympic program that will come from the foreign aid of Kroker!

 

Much of the funding for the Brazilian Sonar comes from the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, which is funded with proceeds from the national lottery. The team is looking forward to the purchase of more 2.4 Meters and the first SKUD 18’s in the country and the growth of disabled sailing programs.