Thank you for following the updates on my road to the Beijing Paralympics. I want you to know your support so far has been tremendous, thank you. There are big and very exciting changes under way for my Paralympic Sailing Campaign that I want to let you in on. My local teammate, Mark Lewis and I have parted ways. We had a very strong start together, finishing 2nd here in Marblehead and more importantly, winning the USA Pre-Trials in Newport last October.

But, since that time, our performances together have not be generating the results we had hoped for. You may have noticed I’ve been a little quiet on the sailing news…

I’ve been asked to join another campaign and I feel it’s the right decision for me to achieve my goals of becoming a better sailor and winning a medal in Beijing. For those of you who are avid sailors, my new teammate Nick Scandone needs no introduction. Nick is in the upper echelon of competitive sailing. Like fellow Marbleheader, Judd Smith - a well known and accomplished sailor, who was just named 2007 US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, Nick is the 2006 recipient. They are both listed among sailing greats, an honor given to such famous names as Ted Turner, Dennis Conner, Ted Hood, Dave Curtis, Betsy Alison and Dawn Riley, see www.ussailing.org/awards/rolex

I am lucky, damn lucky, to have been asked to team up with him as I could only hope to someday be as good a sailor as he is! I’m looking forward to learning all I can from his experience. And BTW, Nick has ALS - Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a progressive degenerative disease with no known cure. So I ask that you all keep Nick in your thoughts, for a halt to the ALS’ progression until long, long after we win the Trials and return from Beijing with medals!!

What’s Next for the Campaign?

It will be a hectic pace from here till the US TRIALS in October. Nick’s new SKUD arrives in California at the end of this month. We have a year’s worth of catching up to the other four USA teams. This will mean flying cross country for 3 training weeks in California between May and July when all the East Coast regattas begin.

The boat will ship East in mid-July. Our first regatta will be the Marblehead NOOD, then the Claggett Regatta in Newport, then to Rochester in September to qualify the US for the SKUD 18 class at the Disabled Sailing World Championship, then 2 weeks in Newport to train for the all important USA Paralympic Trials.

Only the Trials winner gets the honor to go to China, and with this new switch in teammates, my chance for success at that has been increased greatly!!

I’m very excited about this big change in my campaign. It wasn’t an easy decision, but now that it’s done, I can’t wait to get back on the water!

Thank you for your ongoing support, and thanks for reading!