By Sarah Everhart-Skeels and Cindy Walker
We recently had a conversation with Betsy Alison, US Paralympic Coach for the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider about the evolution of adaptive sailing in the US. We agreed that Nick Scandone winning US Sailing’s 2005 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award placed adaptive sailing on the map. Nick and his crew, Maureen McKinnon, kept the focus by winning a gold medal in the SKUD-18 event at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. Also, 2.4 meter sailor, John Ruf won Bronze in Beijing. Nick is no longer with us, but his wife Mary Kate wrote a great book about his life that I would highly recommend, In The Nick of Time: The Nick Scandone Story.
