Sailing program helps visually impaired take to the waves

A group of visually impaired and blind sailors are breaking barriers and waves on Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis. A diverse group of 20 who've all physically lost some percentage of sight, take the lake with an eye on the prize.

"This is kind of like a dream come true, to be honest," said Vedran Huseinbegovic, who suffers from Usher syndrome. "It's a combination of vision and hearing loss."

Because of Twin Cities Blind Sailing, Huseinbegovic and many others can see that dream come to life. 

"I never thought I'd be able to do this. But here I am," said Huseinbegovic. "And we haven't crashed yet."

The organization partners with the Minneapolis Sailing Center, which then recruits volunteers to be sighted guides. Those guides are in each boat where the participants are either visually impaired or blind.

"It's not me telling them what they can and can't do, it's them discovering," said Katy Boyd, the vision behind Twin Cities Blind Sailing.

Boyd started the organization in 2023 after having picked up the sport while living in Boston. She remembers at the age of 30 being told she was legally blind herself.

"Anything can be adaptive," Boyd added. "Just because, and this is what I tell kids, just because something hasn't been done, doesn't mean it can't be done, it just might mean you're the first."

Every other week throughout the summer, the group gathers on the lake's northeast corner to cruise. For those craving competition, they race too.

When WCCO asked Joshua Peterson from Woodbury if he could see much of what he was controlling on the boat, he said, "not a whole lot, especially with the glare I'm getting."

Persevering from the bow, to the stern.

"It was just nice to be out and listen to the sounds around, sounds of the sail," said Kayla Weathers of South Saint Paul.

"You know, it's freeing" said Peterson.

"Blind people can do whatever we set our minds to," Boyd told WCCO.

For more information, visit the organizations website.