When local sailors from Team Odyssey head
to St. Petersburg, Fla. for their next sailing competition, they
are hoping for a win that will take them to next year's Olympics
in Greece.
But for these sailors -- all of whom are disabled -- the
triumph will be over more than just the wind and waves.
Maureen McKinnon-Tucker, a paraplegic, and Tin Angle, who
lost his left arm and fingertips after a bout of meningitis, are
both from Marblehead and have both been sailing for most of
their lives.
Angle trims the main sail for the team with only one arm.
McKinnon-Tucker trims jib and uses transfer benches to move
around the boat.
A win in St. Petersburg will take them to the 2004
Paralympics in Greece, where they would be the only sailors
representing the United States.
The seven-day competition, which begins Nov. 7, includes two
races each day.
McKinnon-Tucker and Angle, captained by paraplegic Rick Doerr
of Clifton, New Jersey, have already been on the US Disabled for
three straight years. This year they are ranked a close second
of three boats on the team.
Angle said their boat was "literally inches away from
number one."
"It was a nail bitter," said McKinnon-Tucker.
The team has sailed in five countries.
Angle has been dreaming about the Paralympics since he
competed with Doerr in the 2001 World Championships.
"By the end of the regatta he was telling me about his
hopes and dreams of going to the Paralympics in Greece in
2004," recalls Angle.
And now the team hopes to make Doerr's dream a reality.
Of seven teams competing at the Paralympic trials in two
weeks, Angle said the team has two close competitors.
"We are just hoping that all of our big event European
training will pay off," he said of the team's trips to
Holland, England and Sweden. "Other teams haven't had that
kind of preparation."
McKinnon-Tucker also said that their team may be better
prepared for the physical trials of seven days on the water as
well.
"Athletically or physically we might be better prepared.
Frequently sailors think it's more like a chess game," she
said.
And although their boat - which Doerr owns - is specially
adapted to their needs and sailing provides some additional
challenges to their disabilities, McKinnon-Tucker says that
traveling in countries with no equivalent to the American's With
Disabilities Act is sometimes harder than sailing in them.
"We frequently find the venues more challenging than the
actual sailing," she said.
But the pair has no trouble describing the euphoria they feel
once they are on the water.
"It's intense," said Angle. His favorite part, he
says, is "When you have to look behind you to see the
competitions. Otherwise I'm stressed."
McKinnon-Tucker said she loves being "downwind with
waves, trailing waves. It's the best."
But both said they love the feeling of being off the boat
after a long, hard day of battling the elements.
"I like the feeling at the end of the day. No matter
what happened," said Angle. He said "wearing yourself
out physically and challenging yourself mentally" are part
of the sport.
Angle and McKinnon-Tucker said they owe much of their success
to family, donors, coaches and the US Sailing Team.
"They are always striving to get the best out of
us," said McKinnon-Tucker.
She said the final blessing the team is looking for in St.
Petersburg is "heavy air."
"We are really hoping for heavy air. We have a lot of
speed with heavy air," said Angle. "We are very good
handling the boat compared to other teams."
