Homerus Sailing Project Empowers Visually Impaired Sailors
Homerus, increasingly successful, is really a case to be made. A project, or rather a challenge, launched a few years ago by Alessandro Gaoso with the aim of having a crew of visually impaired sailors navigate, or rather sail, on a sailing boat.
It seemed impossible to succeed in this endeavor, yet the challenge has been won. This project has been discussed extensively not only in Italy but also worldwide. Even during the live radio broadcast of the first part of the triumphant “Luna Rossa” America’s Cup regatta, skipper and commentator Mauro Pelaschier did not hesitate to send a greeting, via satellite, to the members of this project, recalling the initiative and its promoters.
The gesture of solidarity and the sporting world
A great act of solidarity, and not of pity, towards these young people, whose blindness prevents them from seeing but does not deprive them of the possibility or the will to dare. Gaoso has opened for them the world of sport practiced, sport suspended between water and sky, whose silence is broken by the sound of the wind crashing against the sails and, at times, by the shouts of crew members involved in regattas more or less important.
Among these sails, one often notices the brown-colored one indicating the presence of a crew of visually impaired sailors. No privileges or advantages are given to this boat, only respect for the effort with which these young people are supporting each other.
And Pelaschier wanted, in his greeting, to let all those millions of people watching Luna Rossa on TV, regardless of the time, know that on the waters of Lake Garda, and beyond, some crews of visually impaired sailors are steering boats, naturally smaller and suitable for inland waters, like those used in the America’s Cup.
Presentation of the theoretical course in Moniga del Garda
On Saturday, March 26th, at the “Garda & Vino” wine shop in Moniga del Garda, the Homerus association will present a theoretical match-race course (the same used in the America’s Cup), for both visually impaired and sighted participants, which will take place later that afternoon, starting at 2:30 PM, at the Gargnano Sailing Club.
