In This Issue:

Adaptive Sailor

Teresa Valenzuela

42nd Annual Coastal Cleanup Day

Refillable Water Bottles

New Racing Program

Duck Derby Results

Inclusive Day of Play

Charity Bay Race

The Visionaries - Sylvia Swall

Training! Training! Training!

August Calendar

Message from Our President

Read about big news from Challenged Sailors San Diego, providing FREE SAILING for those living with disabilities.

Teresa has been wheelchair-bound after an accident for almost 34 years. Like all people who find themselves mobility impaired after an accident or illness, finding your path, your sea legs if you will, takes some time.

Teresa found us after attending the National Wheelchair Camp, where this non-sporty person was encouraged to find an adaptive sports program in her community. When she got back from camp, she Googled "adaptive sports San Diego" and lo and behold, Challenged Sailors San Diego was the first group listed. On a whim, she contacted us and scheduled a time to sail. She remembers the exact moment she fell in love with sailing. They were out on the Bay, and two wakes buffeted her boat. At first, she was worried, but when the boat slipped over the wakes and she found herself catching a little whoosh, she went 'Whee!'. The rest is history. She has been a devoted sailor ever since. As she says, "In the boat, I am not disabled. I am not mobility impaired." She is out there enjoying the water like everyone else.

Teresa is a passionate advocate for the mobility impaired community. After 34 years in a wheelchair, she knows all of the infrastructure issues that make using a chair more difficult than it needs to be. While we are all focused on charging stations for electric vehicles, Teresa understood there was another group that needed charging stations to fully integrate people in wheelchairs into the community. Those were all of the folks in electric mobility devices. That became her mission. She is the founder of a start-up called Well-Able Platforms. She realized that the technological 'fix' that was available was lacking in the software to make it truly functional for wheelchair and scooter users.

She started her mission by speaking at the San Diego TED Conference. Now she is working with businesses, government organizations and others to bring this idea to the market. One day, in the not too distant future, when you can plug your wheelchair in at a bus stop, or in a lobby, you will know how that came to be. Instead of thinking, "who came up with this brilliant idea?" you can think, "I know how this happened, and I know who made it happen; it was my friend and fellow sailor Teresa." Then off you go on your merry way, knowing you are not confined by the limits of your battery.

Teresa was recently appointed to the Accessibility Advisory Committee of the Port Authority. The Port Authority understands that as a public agency, their responsibility is to ALL of the members of the public. Teresa says it so eloquently in this post. below. "Our waterfront, parks and public spaces are the heart of San Diego. However, if a veteran, a senior or an adaptive individual can't seamlessly navigate them, then our public spaces are not truly public."

Challenged Sailors is committed to keeping our ocean and bay waters clean. As part of this commitment, we are asking our volunteers to turn out for the Annual Coastal Clean-Up Day on September 19th.

The Ocean Conservancy and the California Coastal Commission partner with volunteer organisations, such as I Love A Clean San Diego, to create the largest international cleanup day. I Love A Clean San Diego leads the efforts for this day in San Diego County for the 42nd year in a row. Data collected from this event feeds into the world’s largest database on marine debris. Join our efforts this year to be part of this global event!

This year, our countywide Coastal Cleanup Day will have around 100+ locations for volunteers to choose from, inland and coastal. Each site is hosted by a site captain (a specially trained volunteer) who will manage volunteers on site, properly dispose of the trash, and report back totals.

Registration opens on Sept 1. Please check this link to learn more and to register.

Nerdiness: Did you know that trash is not just unsightly? These cleanups play an important public health function. Pathogenic bacteria grow on plastic surfaces—no plastic in the water column, less dangerous bacteria in the water.

We ask that when you come to sail or volunteer with Challenged Sailors, you bring your own refillable water bottle. We have a chilled water dispenser on the patio. There are many reasons not to use single-use water bottles, from questionable water sources to microplastics, but for Challenged Sailors, we find them floating on the bay with every sail. We do not want to contribute to this plastic pollution, so we ask everyone to please bring their own REFILLABLE water bottle. Thank you.

Join the Point Loma Yacht Club for the 2026 Charity Bay Race, a fun day of racing on San Diego Bay benefiting Challenged Sailors San Diego (CSSD). This special event celebrates the end of the Duck Derby season while raising funds to support CSSD's mission of providing Free adaptive sailing opportunities that empower people with disabilities to experience the freedom, independence, and joy of sailing.

Duck Derby Season Pass holders and Martin 16 competitors from Challenged Sailors San Diego race free. Registration is $35 for all other competitors. The Notice of Race (NOR) and Sailing Instructions (SIs) will be published soon. Register for the race HERE.

Following the race, join us at Safe Harbor Sunroad for the awards ceremony and after-party. We'll be serving complimentary food, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages as we celebrate the day's winners and crown our 2026 Duck Derby Season Champions. The festivities will also include a silent auction featuring outstanding donated items and experiences, with all proceeds benefiting Challenged Sailors San Diego. Whether you're racing, volunteering, or simply joining us for the celebration, we hope you'll be part of this great day on the water in support of an incredible cause.

Sylvia and her husband Mike joined a group of 12 other volunteers to bring the "Bill of Rights", a San Diego tall ship, from the East Coast through the Panama Canal and up to the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. Here she is on the bowsprit. Next time you walk past the Bill of Rights, think of her hanging on the bowsprit and having the time of her life.

We are starting a new series called the Visionaries. Why? Because Challenged Sailors did not have to exist. The entire adaptive sailing program in San Diego could have been lost if not for the visionary efforts of our founders. Sylvia Swall and her husband Mike (now deceased) were seminal to this effort. We recently spent a morning with her, and she told us the history of how our program came to be.

The program was founded in the late 1970's as Challenged America, a San Diego-based therapeutic adaptive-sailing and rehabilitation program for individuals with disabilities, particularly disabled veterans, and was located on Shelter Island under the leadership of Urban Miyares. Between the late 1970's and 2014, the program provided sailing opportunities to adaptive sailors from San Diego. It was an ambitious program. They acquired our Martin 16 fleet but also accepted donated boats without the operational cash flow to maintain them. By 2014, the program could not pay its slip fees. Squatters were living in the bigger boats, and the marina had locked them out of the boats. Because the marina knew Mike and Sylvia as volunteers, and because Mike was a Coast Guard-licensed skipper, they, along with other volunteers, approached the marina to acquire the boats. With Mike's credibility as a captain, combined with their personal funds to pay for operating expenses, they began the program we know today: Challenged Sailors San Diego.

If you knew Sylvia before 2014, you would not have been surprised that she stepped up to this challenge. She has always taken on challenges in her quiet and unassuming way. She was one of the first women to be hired by the San Diego police department in 1956 as part of a group of 6 women. She found her male colleagues quite accommodating because they soon realized that Sylvia could and would take on challenges that they, as men, could not. For example, she could take a combative female arrestee into a squad car and even sit on her until they arrived at the police station. She has lived on boats for a good portion of her life, both power boats and sailboats. She sailed up and down the West Coast on several adventures using dead reckoning as the navigator.

Although she doesn't sail much anymore, you can still find her down on the dock on Friday, greeting our sailors as they go off on adventures of their own.

Picture two sailboats on different tacks crossing the water, one captain realized the other might beat them to an imaginary mark, and just like that, a race was born.

Challenged Sailors San Diego (CSSD) currently participates in at least six regattas a year with our fleet of ten Martin 16s. We are fortunate to have highly accomplished regatta-level sailors among our participants, volunteers, and stewards of the sport. However, during some regattas, not all of our front (adaptive sailor) seats are claimed.

To protect our newly refurbished fleet and expand our reach, we are launching a new, structured Racing Program. This initiative will elevate the skills and knowledge of our adaptive sailors, companion sailors, chase boat operators, and race committee volunteers, equipping everyone to create, manage, support, and compete in the races and regattas we attend.

Currently, regatta management and logistics fall on just a few individuals who coordinate scheduling, attend meetings, transport the fleet, and haul equipment to race locations. With growing interest from new adaptive and companion sailors during our regular sessions, we need to scale our support.

The new program will feature a comprehensive curriculum, including self-study, hands-on coaching, racing rules seminars, and on-the-water training.

If you are interested in joining the new CSSD Racing Program—either as a participant or as a subject matter expert, please contact: Daniel Willan 858-373-7023

Midwinters Race Day at the Coronado Yacht Club! All hands on deck, with the iconic Hotel Del Coronado in the background. The view on a sunny and warm day in the middle of winter. We are blessed.

CSSD Participates in Duck Derby #12 (07-24-2026)

The Point Loma Yacht Club holds an ongoing Friday night race called the “Duck Derby” on the San Diego Bay. CSSD joined the action for the first time, throwing caution to the wind to make the late 6:15 p.m. start. Following our standard Friday sailing day, we sent the Martins back out for our first-ever evening race.

The daytime wind held into the evening, though it softened slightly, making for a challenging run to the starting line. All seven boats and their crews successfully started and finished, supported along the way by our chase boat crew.

At the starting line (near Tom Ham’s Lighthouse restaurant), most of the fleet headed on a port tack toward the upper bay and the entrance to America's Cup Harbor. From there, boats tacked to Buoy 19, then Buoy 18, before heading downwind toward the finish line.

We made it back to the dock just in time to catch a beautiful sunset. A great time was had by all!

The Results

1st Place: Eddie Lewis and Steve Bridge

2nd Place: Penny Anders and Gary Lee (Penny’s first race!)

3rd Place: Eric Northbrook and Steve Edenson (Eric’s first race!)

Special Needs Resource Foundation of San Diego did an All-Inclusive Day of Play & Resource Fair at Miramar College on July 17. Challenged Sailors Community Outreach was in attendance. The event was filled with excitement and smiles created by a cast of characters (Costumed Actors, Star Wars, and Disney) who interacted with those in attendance. Dan Willan and Penny Anders represented Challenged Sailors San Diego. We answered a lot of questions and explained how our program functioned. We handed out flyers and used our new QR Code to direct new volunteers and interested parents to our website. Check out their website that has a list of resources available.

Angel City Sports and Spinal Network on 07-18-2026 held a Sports Fair, and Miramar College and Challenged Sailors San Diego were invited to attend. We have been a regular attendee for several years now.

The sports fair highlights basketball, pickleball, archery, wheelchair dance and other activities. Challenged Sailors Community Outreach attended and spoke with a group of folks who were interested in Therapeutic Recreation Adaptive Sailing as a sailor or a volunteer. The event was well attended and fun was had by all. For more information, contact Angel City Sports or the Spinal Network.

Safety--on the dock and on the water--is at the heart of our operation. And safe operation requires a well-trained team. Whether the task is getting a sailor lifted out of a wheelchair and into a sailboat, sailing as a companion sailor in the back seat, rigging one of our power assist units, or operating one of our two safety chase boats, each of our volunteers receives structured, documented training and signoff for their role.

The 35 individual training and operations documents on the training page of our website provide specific guidance and evaluation criteria for each task. Each sailing day we carefully pair each adaptive sailor with a companion who has the skills to keep them safe. Recently we’ve added training materials for our newest chase boat, Salty, and also for sailing our Martin sailboats using spinnakers. For more information, contact our Training Lead, Dale.

Friday and Saturday Sailing 955 Harbor Island Dr Dock D, San Diego (Safe Harbor Sun Road Marina)

SAILING DAYS

If you have signed up with Challenged Sailors then you can reserve a sailing spot as an adaptive sailor, companion sailor or dock support.

Please email Sue T.

Friday August 7th 11:30 to 3 PM

Saturday August 8th 11:30 to 3 PM

Friday August 14th 11:30 to 3 PM

Saturday August 15th 11:30 to 3 PM

Friday August 21st 11:30 to 3 PM

Saturday August 22 11:30 to 3 PM

Friday August 28 11:30 to 3 PM

Saturday August 29 11:30 to 3 PM

MORE FUN STUFF - Mark your calendars

Sept 26 - Charity Bay Race - Sponsored by Point Loma Yacht Club.

Sept. 19 Coastal Cleanup Day, sponsored by I Love a Clean San Diego Register here on or after Sept 1

October 24 Halloween Regatta

December 12 Year End Regatta

Board Meeting. August 17th, 5 PM to 6:30. The meeting is remote. To get the login please contact Morgan.

Learn the rules of racing (Seminar) Rules of Racing. Tuesday, August 18, 6:30 – 9:00pm, San Diego Yacht Club, 1011 Anchorage Ln, San Diego, CA 92106, in the Jessop Room

No Charge, Open to all, hosted by SDYC. Here's the Informational Flyer

Spinnaker Sunday --training on spinnakers (and any of the other skills we teach). The schedule is ad hoc. If you are interested in participating please contact our Training Lead, Dale.

As we head into August, I find myself watching our San Diego Padres struggle through a disappointing season and wondering why a team with so much talent can’t quite put it all together.

At the same time, I’m reflecting on what makes Challenged Sailors San Diego so consistently successful. A big part of it is our mission-driven spirit. As a fully volunteer organization providing free adaptive sailing, our shared purpose fuels everything we do.

Just as important, though, is how we operate as a team—both on and off the water. We each have defined roles, but we step in for one another, support each other, and work seamlessly together. There’s no “that’s not my job”—only “we’ve got this.”

Thank you to every one of you for making this organization what it is.

Go Team CSSD!

Our powerhouse Board keeps our sails full and our mission on course! Their strategic vision, financial expertise, and community connections ensure Challenged Sailors San Diego delivers smooth sailing and nonstop adventure all year long.

Each year Challenged Sailors replaces four of the eight members of our Board of Directors, who will each serve a two-year term. And at the end of next year, we replace the other four for two years. This maintains continuity and institutional knowledge.

The most significant leadership update is the appointment of Steve Bridge, MD, as President of Challenged Sailors San Diego. Steve is a familiar face on the docks and on the water, and has recently been serving as Vice President. Peter Phillips will continue serving on the board as Vice President in the interim.

The current board of directors is:

President - Steve Bridge, MD

Vice President (Interim) - Peter Phillips

Treasurer/Director of Development - Chet Howe

Secretary - Morgan Wright

Marketing and Communications - Ryan Sullivan

Community Outreach - Daniel Willan

At-Large - Micah Shanks

At-Large - Sam Graber

We are looking for people to step up as:

Vice President

Director of Volunteers

What skills and talents do you have that can help us continue to be the best that we can be? If you're interested in being considered for, or want to learn more about, a position just email Steve Bridge, or call at 619-665-5716.

For those living with disabilities: MS, CP, TBI, quadri or paraplegia, Down syndrome, hearing impaired, blind...we are YOUR program that sails EVERY WEEKEND to get you 100% FREE on the water with special adaptive boats. Safe and fun. No experience necessary.

You on a sailboat is just a click away. If you've been gone from our docks for a while then there’s never a better time to come back.

Honor the mission with a contribution that enables us to continue delivering the creation of bonds through shared experiences of generosity and compassion.

This is San Diego and #WeSailEveryWeekend. Our program exists through the generosity of people in our community. Please consider making a donation to help us continuously achieve our mission. Every weekend.