Getting the Word Out About ‘Sea Legs’

As an employee at Ports O’Call in San Pedro, I was very happy to read about Sea Legs in the South Bay edition of Sunday’s paper. Seeing as I live in Long Beach, I was sorry that it did not appear in our issue as well.

In this day when all you hear about are businesses closing, it is so nice to know that there are still people out there willing to go out on a limb for what they believe in. Gianni Brill and Julie Cross have started something here that goes beyond the traditional business. Sea Legs is a nonprofit organization that brings sailing to everyone, regardless of physical or mental disabilities. I myself am a novice to the world of sailing, but, it does my heart good to know that the excitement and exhilaration that is felt when under sail is no longer limited to only able-bodied seamen.

After reading your article on Sunday, I went down to Berth 75 and was lucky enough to be able to have a ride with a “handicapped” person at the helm. Once we left the dock, our helmsman (or helmswoman in this case), a quadriplegic, maneuvered her way with the best of them. The only handicapped person on that boat was me . . . I was all thumbs.

Thanks for bringing Sea Legs into the public eye. Being a nonprofit organization, they may never be able to advertise like a regular sailing club, and every sailor in Southern California needs to know that such a company exists. If everyone that loves to sail would volunteer time, energy and/or money, we might see more of these types of organizations spring up.

LISA M. DIBLASIO

Long Beach