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Press Release - Lynn Moers, Captain Courageous
Lynn Moers has earned the title of Captain Courageous for his recent sailing adventure. Mr. Moers fractured his neck in an accident 20 years ago and became paralyzed from the neck down. Mr. Moers has been living on a ventilator ever since. Through his dogged determination, Mr. Moers was able to sail independently for the first time on June 24, 2004 with Sailability Greater Tampa Bay, Inc. on Clearwater Bay using an Access Dinghy 303S sailboat. The single passenger boat will not capsize, has a watertight compartment for the ventilator, and electric winches to control the steering and sails. The boat has a custom made seat that provides stability and full body support. Mr. Moers is able to independently manage the sails and the steering, with a chin control “joystick” device. The four way chin control mechanism allows him to, push forward on the joystick to let the sails out, pulling back brings the sails in, and right and left, steers the boat right and left. It is a remarkable feat, considering that he cannot move his body below his neck, and has to be connected to a ventilator to breathe. He only has five minutes to live if the ventilator stops. There is a strobe light connected to the ventilator to alert the medical team on a nearby safety boat of ventilator functioning.
This sail was made possible with a grant from the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, and additional grants from the Palm Harbor Junior Women’s Club, Inc, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Equipment adaptations were provided by, Custom Mobility, Inc. and the James A. Haley VA hospital staff. Sailability Greater Tampa Bay, Inc coordinated the sail along with providing the sailing instruction. He plans to sail again on August 21st at 2pm with Sailability Greater Tampa Bay, Inc at the Clearwater Community Sailing Center on Sand Key. The sail on the 21st will include other sailors in a variety of adaptive boats, enjoying the freedom that most of us take for granted. Due to his present physical condition we are ready to change the date of the sail if need be. This is truly an example of the community pulling together to make the waterways accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Please feel free to contact Alder Allensworth at 727-327-0137 or alder0720@aol.com for further information on this sail.