Sailing by sense

MIAMI

Night Moves skims smoothly across Biscayne Bay at sunset as Robert Rodriguez works the bow of the 22-foot sailboat, pulling on sheets to maneuver the sails as the sun dips behind the Miami skyline.

Rodriguez, who is visually impaired, can't see the stunning skyline and can only make out the shape of the sails. His onboard grace comes from his memorization of the boat, his instinct for the timing of his moves, and the trust in the commands being yelled by a sighted sailor at the helm of the boat.

"I assist in the sailing of the boat with a pretty wide range of senses," Rodriguez said. "I trim the boat by the feel, by the angle of the heel of the boat. I can sense when the boat slows down and speeds up. I tend to sail barefoot so I can feel the vibration of the boat. My ears can hear the wind."

Rodriguez got his first taste of sailing four years ago, when he heard about Shake-A-Leg Miami, a sailing organization which offers sailing lessons to people with various disabilities as well as able-bodied wannabe sailors. The blind sailing program has been in place since 1994.

For the 38-year-old Rodriguez, sailing was on a list of goals he created after he was diagnosed with cone-rod dystrophy a decade ago. The disease is a degenerative disorder, and Rodriguez says he loses about 3 percent of his vision every year. While he can still see shapes, eventually, he'll be completely blind. But instead of being hindered by his disability, he chose to challenge his other senses at sea and sought out sailing lessons at Shake-A-Leg.

Shake-A-Leg Miami was established in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami in 1990 by executive director Harry Horgan, who previously set up a similar program in Newport, R.I.

The nonprofit organization, which operates on $1 million a year, works year-round with more than 8,000 people, of which approximately half are physically or developmentally disabled.

A car accident made 56-year-old Allen Fiske a paraplegic 20 years ago. A lifelong sailor, he thought he had to give it up. But he started sailing again through the Newport program before moving to South Florida, where he became outreach director at Shake-A-Leg Miami.

"When you become disabled, to some extent, you lose control of aspects of your life," he said. "This enables you to have some sort of control back in your life."

Although estimates vary, there are approximately 10 million blind and visually impaired people in the United States. Of that number, approximately 1.3 million are legally blind, according to the American Foundation for the Blind.

There are several blind sailing programs around the country and the world, with competitions several times a year.

Rodriguez' last race was at the World Blind Sailing Championships in Lake Garda, Italy, last September. His team came in 10th out of 14 boats in his division.

In world competitions, blind sailors race under one of three categories of vision loss, on a scale from B1 to B3. B1 is completely blind. Rodriguez is considered a B2 racer, though he'll eventually become a B1 racer as his vision degenerates.

"When I started, I knew in my mind that progressively my vision was getting worse," he said. "So from the very beginning I would sail with my eyes closed, so I wouldn't get used to sailing with vision."

But even though his moderate vision loss will eventually become worse, his teammates say his skill is top-notch.

"Robert moves like a ballerina on a boat," said Marco Oquendo, an able-bodied sailor who calls out commands to Rodriguez. "He's very agile. When I first met him, I didn't know he was visually impaired."

Rodriguez said his bond with Oquendo is strong, based on the trust that each must have in each other.

"I'm the canvas and he's the painter," Rodriguez said. "I realized the only way I can do it efficiently is to be void, literally void of anything. I become an extension of him and try to execute instantaneously, which is hard to do because you have to respond after the commands are given."

Rodriguez and Oquendo, a Coast Guard reservist, are half of a four-member team training for the Blind National Championship in Newport, R.I. on Aug. 19 to 21.

They've been training for weeks and taking part in weekly friendly races against other boats, manned by both disabled and able-bodied sailors.

Night Moves is one of more than a dozen sailboats out on the bay on a recent Wednesday night, and it's a rough start as the wind whips the small sail, the jib, into a frenzy, making it nearly impossible for Rodriguez and Oquendo to get the boat out of the marina. They lower the jib and rely on the main sail until they get out into open waters.

The first of three races that night has already been missed, so they rush to get to the starting line in time for the second one.

"Three, two, one ... tacking," Oquendo yells. "Coming about!"

Everybody ducks to avoid being hit by the boom and jumps to the other side of the sailboat to shift the weight, while Rodriguez works the sails.

"It's mind, body and soul," Rodriguez said. "You've got to think, you've got to react. You're dealing with nature. Every day is different."