On Thursday, October 19th, 7:00pm, a filmmaker screening will be held at the Duxbury Bay Maritime School of Sense the Wind: Blind sailors race across open water. The hour-long documentary will be followed by a Q&A with NY based Producer/Director Christine Knowlton.
In regattas across the US and abroad, visually impaired sailors learn not to fear what they cannot see. They sail by feel: sensing the breeze on a cheek or tension in the tiller, listening to the pattern of waves hitting the hull and sails luffing in the wind. Sighted guides describe the racecourse and give tactical race advice. On the water disability is no longer a focus.
Sense the Wind is a journey led by four blind sailors — Nancy, Inky, Philip and Matt — as they train and compete at the Blind Nationals and press toward Japan’s Blind Sailing World Championships. It follows the evolution of these individuals over several years as they advance as sailors, through life’s turns — medical challenges, marriage, retirement and the vicissitudes of their sport, still new and evolving. Over time they help shape the future of blind sailing.
The film provides a rich narrative content for viewers whether sighted, blind, vision impaired, disabled or for anyone in search of an inspiring story. It subtly challenges one to consider what is possible and to re-examine what disability means. A variety of international advisory partners and diverse community organizations are interested in screening the film. They include disability and adaptive sports programs, libraries and educational institutions, and of course, sailing communities, as far as New Zealand and as close as New York.
Six years in the making, Sense the Wind, which follows the journey of four blind sailors as they train and compete in national and international regattas, is making its way around the globe in outreach and beginning distribution. The film was given a Humanitarian Award at the Socially Relevant Film Festival NY and been shown across the US as well as in Tokyo, Poland, Russia and Canada.
We hope you all can join us for this incredible preview of Sense The Wind with filmmaker, Christine Knowlton, and look forward to sharing this experience with the community!