BAADS welcomes your submissions to our semi-monthly newletter the Pirate’s Log – especially from our fellow sailors in and around our own sailboats. We can’t guarantee we’ll include every word or photo, but please email your articles that you think your fellow sailors would be interested in to pirateslog@baads.org
Click here to see our most recent newsletter
Click here to see all of 2022 & 2023
Click here to sign up for your own Pirate’s Log
Our dear friend and longtime BAADS member Tom Allegretti is facing some serious health challenges and needs our help. Please see his GoFundMe page for details about how to help! For those who aren’t lucky enough to know Tom, Tom is an awesome violin player and was a regular crew member on BAADS’s Islander 36, Orion, where he used to trim main.
Please join us in sending love and support to Tom and pitch in on the GoFundMe if you can!
On Sunday, July 31, BAADS will be featured at the Giants game versus the Cubs. At the game, our small boat sailors, Jim, John and Carwile, will be featured for 30 seconds on the Jumbotron! While the boats are dodging kayaks, the announcers will be reading a 30 second promo about BAADS.
John Wallace sailing in McCovey Cove – a little preview of the event on July 31st!
If you would like to join BAADS at the game, please send an email to Kathi (KathiPugh@gmail.com). We have lower box view level tickets in the outfield, LB 131 rows 37, 38 and 39.
Beginning April 6 from 7:30-9pm, BAADS is holding a course to assist skippers and chase boat drivers in getting their CA Safe Boating Card. Read More Here
It is time once again for the annual election of the BAADS Board of Directors. The election will be held by email from Sunday, Nov. 22 through Sunday, Dec. 13. Voting will end at 11:30 AM on that Sunday and results will be announced at the end of the annual meeting.
According to our new bylaws, the board consists of eleven directors who are elected to two-year terms. One of those directors is designated as the South Beach Yacht Club representative who is chosen by SBYC.
This year we have six directors whose terms are expiring: Carwile LeRoy, Charles Wienbar, Chris Naughton, Kathi Pugh, Mary Kay Sisson, and Nettie Wijsman. We have five current board members and three new candidates: Cristina Rubke, Jim Staley, and Pam Prentice who are running for the six open positions.
If you are a BAADS member for 2020 or join the organization between now and Sunday, Dec. 6, you can vote in this election.
Members will be asked to choose six directors out of the eight candidates. Click here to read the candidate statements. If you have not received your ballot by Sunday, Nov. 29, please email Charles our Board Secretary. If you have any questions regarding the election, please email Alex.
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BAADS is slowly opening up both of our sailing programs. Sailing is only open to BAADS members at this time. We are not accepting any new volunteers or sailors but we hope that will soon change. Rigorous COVID-19 procedures are in place for both the keelboat program & small boat program including The Golden Rule: Masks are required to be worn at all times when at the harbor, on the docks or in the boats.
Keelboat Program – If you would like to sail with the “keelboat kids,” please email Cristina. It is up to the individual skipper as to whether they are able to accommodate you. For now, we are limiting the number of sailors that can go on any keelboat.
Small Boat Program is limited to only four single person BAADS boats and an appropriate number of volunteers. Couples that are sheltering in place, can go out on a 303 together. If there isn’t room for you one week, you will have priority for the next week. All of this could quickly change, so check the website before signing-up for the most recent information.
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In accordance with the “Shelter in Place” orders from Gov. Newsom and Mayor Breed, all BAADS sailing has been closed since March 16. At the time, the Board appointed a Covid-19 Committee to monitor the situation and determine when, and under what circumstances, BAADS sailing will resume. Charles Wienbar is chairing the Committee so please send him any relevant information you would like the Committee to consider. Other committee members include SBYC Commodore Cat Reining, Kathi Pugh, Chris Naughton, Carwile LeRoy, Ed Gallagher and Mary Kay Sisson.
Click here to read the May 4 letter from the Committee
Commodore: Kathi Pugh
Vice Commodore: Chris Naughton
Treasurer: Ralph Vomaske
Finance: Chris Naughton
Secretary: Charles Wienbar
Small Boats: Chris Naughton
Keelboats: Ed Gallagher
Parasailing & Training: Carwile LeRoy
Social Activities: Mary Kay Sisson
Outreach, Membership & Volunteers: Nettie Wijsman
Webmaster: Daniel Margulies
Media & Communications: Josh Maddox
SBYC Commodore & Representative: Cat Reining
Read the duties and responsibilities of the Board of Directors
Come join your BAADS & SBYC friends and families at 2PM on Thursday, Nov. 28th.
A $5 donation per person is requested.
Our good friends Lynda & Alan Maybruck, Karen Knowles and venerable chef, Norm Pearce once again volunteered to cook the turkeys and prepare the fixings.
On Sunday, June 2, BAADS forces will gather at Angel Island for our annual picnic and potluck. ‘Tho it hasn’t happened in the last couple of years, we are revising this wonderful tradition. Some sailors will take keelboats over but most of us will arrive by ferry.
BAADS will provide hotdogs (veggie and traditional) & buns, condiments, soft drinks, paper tableware. We ask that everyone bring one dish to share. After lunch you are free to play frisbee or just lounge around while others may want to explore the island.
In order to get a headcount, we ask you to sign up here. You can see what dishes others are bringing here. Lunch will begin around 1 PM. Children are welcome. Some boats will be sailing over to Angel Island while everyone else will take a ferry.
If you’d like to help, email Mary Kay Sisson at social@baads.org
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BAADS is pleased to announce that Rob Overton, a nationally respected racing judge, is holding a racing rules seminar in the SBYH Community room on Sunday, June 9 from 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
The last half-hour will be questions and answers so our keelboat sailors can leave if they want. This seminar will be aimed towards beginning and intermediate racers to educate our more inexperienced racers.
Please sign-up so we know how to gauge the seminar as well as accommodations we may need to provide. Sign-up by sending an email to Commodore@BAADS.org.
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Ask anyone who attended last year’s SBYC Roving Dock Party, they will tell you they had a blast. Participants show-off their boats and provide a drink and small nibble. Many of the people dress up with themes for their boats or in yachting attire from days of yore. It’s a fun opportunity for BAADS to show off our boats, talk about our programs and get to know SBYC members.
Last year Cristina and Mary Kay (with support from Ana & Derek) rocked it with fantastic appetizers and grog. This year we need your help to top last year’s success. If you would like to help, contact Mary Kay socialdirector@baads.org. Please contribute $5 if you don’t bring something to share. Love to see everyone down on the docks in the afternoon of Saturday, June 8.
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Safety Day 2024 was attended by 25 BAADS and SBYC sailors, plus representatives from the San Francisco Fire Department Engine 35. The day included presentations on keelboat, small boat and dock safety awareness, preparation, and response which sparked discussions giving us all tangible examples of fundamental safety principles in action.
A big thank you to our Safety Director, Charles Weinbar.
A copy of the Safety Day slide deck, plus other resources has been posted at https://www.baads.org/safety/.
The safety event was followed by a great BAADS dock clean-up (thank you Scouts!) and we as always thank you!
Our annual meeting will be on Sunday, December 10 at 11:30 AM in the South Beach Community Room. Come meet our new board and share your ideas of things you’d like to see BAADS do next year. Refreshments will be served.
This is a great opportunity to catch up with old friends as well as meet your new 2024 BAADS Board. We hope to see everyone there. If you cannot attend in person but would still like to listen in, please email Chris Naughton vicecommodore@baads.org with your phone number and he will add you to the Conference call.
No plans yet for Thanksgiving? Gather friends and family and enjoy our annual Friendsgiving at SBYC. We guarantee a warm and grateful afternoon of fun, football, togetherness, companionship AND really good food. Fresh cooked turkeys, mashed potatoes and gravy will be provided. Commit to bringing a side dish to share.
Please complete the reservation form so we know to expect you, and indicate if you prefer a family/your own table, or wish to sit at the “friends/misfits” table.
We ask for a $5 donation per person on that day to cover the cost of turkeys. We hope to see you and your family at 2:00 pm. on Friendsgiving Day.
Hosted by: Lynda and Alan Maybruck and Ken Ludlum
Questions?: lynda17@me.com
Thank you,
Brian Isaac Vice Commodore South Beach Yacht Club
415-412-9554
ViceCommodore@SouthBeachYachtClub.org
Ahoy! The BAADS Board of Directors is holding elections for new Board Members. Now is your chance to join our leadership team! If you are interested in running for the Board, or if you have questions, please contact Charles Wienbar, Board Secretary, at wienbar@yahoo.com or (650) 533-9276. Elections will be from Nov 11 – Dec 11, there will be 5 Board seats open for election, and the term is 2 years.
If you are interested in running, please forward your candidate statement to Charles Wienbar at wienbar@yahoo.com. Thank you.
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The Herb Meyer Cup Regatta is set for August 5th and 6th! Registration is open and the Notice of Race is now available! Sailors can register at https://forms.gle/iWn6WZXmesqH688f7. There’s an amendment to the Notice of Race shifting the schedule for Sunday 1 hour earlier.
We also need volunteers to help out! Volunteers can sign up at https://forms.gle/QiNvkWWKoV3Qbmzo9. See you there!
Our Annual Herb Meyer Regatta was a stellar event!
To start our story: Everything was working perfectly when our Friday crew called it a day after spending many hours building boats. But at 4:30 AM the Coast Guard called with a missing boater alert!
303 DIVISION
1. Paul Speight
2. Jeff Breen & Kelly
3. Damon Wandke & Hunter Johnston
3. Damon Wandke & Kathy Shephard
LIBERTY DIVISION
1. Chris Burrell
2. Kathi Pugh
3. Eddie Elliot
By KATIE LAUER | klauer@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: July 12, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. | UPDATED: July 12, 2023 at 9:28 a.m.
Alex Hruzewicz mentally juggles dozens of ever-changing questions while skippering a 41-foot keelboat named Believe along the San Francisco Bay.
What’s the best moment to unfurl sails in 15 knot winds? How fast are the currents moving? Is there enough clearance for the rudder? Are any ferries barreling towards the boat? Will the tides be high enough to dock? Is there enough pressure on the lines?
“It’s a dance with Mother Nature,” Hruzewicz said, tacking into the shifting gusts using the boat’s electric winches as he sails back to Pier 40 at the Embarcadero. “You can play with the wind and waves. There’s an adrenaline rush and a peacefulness — there’s not much like it.”
After growing up around boats in Poland, he spent years working on commercial waters along the East Coast and picking up sailing delivery gigs. But after he broke his spine and both legs in a serious accident, he questioned if he would ever be able to sail again.
Fortunately, the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) works to ensure that the answer is always “yes.”
Since 1989, the nonprofit has offered hundreds of rides on specialized boats, specifically designed and adapted to accommodate different sailing abilities, in the South Beach Marina harbor. By 1992, the organization had adopted a new pirate mascot, embracing the legacy of the “original disabled sailors” who utilized eye patches, peg legs and hooks for lost hands.
Whether someone is paralyzed or blind, an amputee or contending with neurological disabilities, BAADS has a trove of electric servos, winches and joysticks to help control the boat’s mainsheet and jib. There are harnesses and swing lifts to get sailors into the boats, as well as gimbaled seats and cushions to ease the toll of the windy ride. And able-bodied volunteers and guests help coordinate and set up the sailboats. The organization’s events are open to the public free of charge, offset by voluntary $60 annual memberships.
Kathi Pugh, BAADS’ current commodore, grew up swimming, playing water polo and sailing with her father. After a skiing accident paralyzed her from the chest down, sailing out into the middle of the Bay with BAADS has provided an exhilarating escape from daily life and the limitations that can come with using a power wheelchair — something she previously thought there was “no way” to accommodate.
“For someone like me, there were very few recreational opportunities available and nothing that was adventurous, had a little bit of danger or a thrill, and also took skill,” Pugh said. “After my first trip sailing around Angel Island, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, my world has been rocked and will never be the same.”
She wanted to help share that exact feeling with as many people as possible and make all aspects of sailing accessible. Despite the popular belief that sailing is reserved for wealthy, privileged and able-bodied people, Pugh said, BAADS’ mission is simple: “Get butts in boats.”
Curious about taking a leisurely cruise beneath the Bay Bridge, where the roar of traffic above falls silent and you might even spot the troll hidden by ironworkers to protect the structure from earthquakes? On Sundays, there are five different keel boats — including the Believe, Flying Fog and Tashi — available for that excursion.
What about a more hands-on sailing experience, independently controlling a boat, up close and personal with the saltwater? More than two dozen dinghies are available on Saturdays, all designed and tested so they may heel but won’t tip over, even in the strongest winds.
BAADS’ opportunities have come a long way since the program first launched in Oakland, acting as the open water arm of the Lake Merritt Adapted Boating Program. Since then, the organization has trained scores of skippers, sponsored racing teams and hosted national championship races on the bay.
A slew of personal donations of adapted sailboats — often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — and grant funding has helped keep BAADS afloat, allowing its more than 200 members and newcomers, alike, to feel the freedom of the open water nearly every weekend.
“I just leave my disability with the wheelchair on the dock,” Pugh said. “When I’m out there, I’m just so free. It’s just a thrill and a challenge in a whole different way. I feel such a kinship with the water — being both a Pisces and an adrenaline junkie — so being able to sail is just wonderful.”
Sailors and newbies alike come from across the Bay as well as Fresno and Sacramento to go boating, many of whom have never sailed before.
“But we also have a really good core group that is committed to sail every weekend they possibly can,” Pugh said. “One really great thing about sailing is if you really want to take it to another level, you can. Once you start getting more education and more experience, the world is really your oyster. It’s really fun to have a sport that also stimulates you intellectually.”
Cisco Ramos has taken that to heart, diving head first, so to speak, into several opportunities he would never have had without BAADS.
Starting in 2010, Ramos began feeling symptoms of what would later be diagnosed as multiple sclerosis. It eventually forced him to leave his heavy maintenance job in San Francisco and transition into his new normal of early retirement.
While the idea of even being out on the water used to scare Ramos, a Facebook invite to a BAADS excursion eventually pushed him to step out of his comfort zone — a life changing decision. He has since sailed down to Mexico, co-founded Sail MS, led small boat trips out of the Richmond Yacht Club and sailed internationally with Oceans of Hope.
Ever since his first trip with BAADS, sailing has become a source of both mental and physical therapy — helping him transition into a “new normal,” find empowerment and courage, listen to his body’s intuition, connect with community and find relief from the pain of living with MS.
“I push myself to get out to the docks, get on the boat and sail alone for a while; by the time I start heading back home, all my symptoms are gone,” Ramos said. “A few years ago, I’d never been on a sailboat, and I barely knew how to swim, but when I had the opportunity, I thought, ‘What do I have to lose?’
Great article about BAADS in last Sunday’s East Bay Times. CLICK PHOTO to READ ARTICLE
This year’s Angel Island barbecue, picnic & pot luck was a party extravaganza. Even though the winds were brisk and the weather nippy, we all had a fantastic time.
Great turnout this year — altogether we had about 60 people participate. It was great to see some old friends and…there’s so much more… SEE ALL THE PHOTOS & STORY HERE
