Today we’d like to introduce you to Katy Boyd
Hi Katy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
At 10 years old, I was diagnosed with RP eye disease. This meant dealing with the reality that I would slowly be losing my vision to the point of one day becoming legally blind and to expect to be completely blind by the age of 40. Obviously, nothing any child, or adult for that matter, wants to be told. Hearing this news, I felt I needed to live life fast, experiencing all I could before losing my sight. The military and later working as an architect, both of which were my, prior to this awful news, biggest aspirations, had been seemingly stripped away in that instant.
An adult living and working in Rochester, MN, I lost my driving privileges at the age of 30 due to being medically declared legally blind. Having independent transportation mobility stripped from me, I knew I needed to move to a part of the country that had well formed and readily available public transportation. It was about this same time I learned of a blind person who was working as an architect. What!? This gave me great hope that my childhood dream may still be attainable.
Meeting both the public transportation and architecture school availability, I packed up my world and moved to Boston where I enrolled at Boston Architectural College. Once in Boston, I sought out informational services for the blind. There, I was introduced to blind sailing as a real possibility in my world.
Embroiled by both my fulltime job and Architectural schooling, blind sailing remained on my radar of future possibilities. A gap time in my schooling allowed me to explore the wonderful freedom of blind sailing available to me in Boston. From day one, Boston Blind Sailing, through Community Boating in Boston, had me hooked! I was constantly being told I couldn’t do things because of my eyes. My freedom to get behind the wheel of my car to go wherever I wanted,whenever I wanted, was something I so greatly missed. Sailing returned to me the feeling of independence and freedom I had lost.
My father once asked me “why would you choose the most expensive sport?” I told him I felt free on the water. While the world was constantly telling me, “no” because of my lack of sight, sailing and the people who introduced me to sailing never told me, “no”.
To my great appreciation, sailing legend, Ken Legler,-Tuft’s University’s Head Sailing Coach at the time, invited me out to Tuesday night sailing with, Courageous Sailing of Boston. I jumped at the opportunity! I became immediately involved in racing sailboats!
I raced with sighted, Grace Olson, a volunteer who led Boston Blind Sailing when it came to the practical skill-set necessary to sail as part of a team. Pauline Dowell, a blind sailor, shared her years of captaining a racing and live-aboard sailboat and readily shared with me her sailing skillset. Kay Valkenburgh, a sighted sailing guide of more than 18 years, brought me out to practice sailing in Boston Harbor in Pauline’s sailboat. He and I almost got whacked by a barge, but we lived to tell the story. Whew!
With my skills improving, I gained confidence on the water. Anytime I could race, I would race. I’ve competed in a number of races including, the Robie Pierce in New York, the Independence Cup in Chicago, competed in the 2022 Women’s Championship in Newport RI, as well as a couple off shore overnight races. I even trained in St Thomas at the NorthU Clinic.
As soon as I realized I would be leaving Boston and moving back to Minnesota, I knew I wanted to continue training. With this in mind, I reached out to a couple clubs to see if I could find a sighted guide who would push me to improve my sailing skills. While I was doing this, I noticed there was not much for the blind and visually impaired in the Minneapolis area. Motivated to change this, I reached out to both the Wayzata Sailing and the Minneapolis Sailing Center, to lay the groundwork for what would soon become Twin Cities Blind Sailing.
Both Executive Directors of the sailing clubs where on board from day one. Their support made starting Twin Cities Blind Sailing easier than me attempting to bake a casserole. Maybe not exactly that easy, but pretty close. 2023 was the first season of Twin Cities Blind Sailing.
At Minneapolis Sailing Center, we began with cruising. After all, not all who sail want to race. This is where blind/visually impaired people learn the basics of sailing. The blind/visually impaired sailors dedicate time on the water applying their new found skills with the guidance of sighted sailors on the vessel with them. This is a place where the sailor will learn to sail at their own pace.
At Wayzata Sailing, we began with racing. This is a place where sailors improve their sailing skills, compete in regattas and go to clinics. The sighted guide on board helps the new sailor learn what to expect during races and helps train them while being a part of the team.
New for this season, we’ve introduced Solo Sailing on Lake Harriet as well as youth camps at Minneapolis Sailing Center. At the beginning of June we held the first week long youth camp for the blind and visually impaired – the first such camp to be held anywhere in the world! All involved, including the kids attending camp, were thrilled and proud to learn of this news from the representative with US Sailing. In August, Twin Cities Blind Sailing will be holding the second of its kind youth camp at MSC.
Currently, I have list of 29 locations around the U.S. that will be having blind sailing chapters. Next summer we will be starting Duluth Blind Sailing where cruising and youth camps will be offered. New York Blind Sailing will be finalized by the end of this summer. There we hope to have cruising, racing, youth camps, and training for ocean racing. The following year I am looking at Savannah, Miami, Houston/Galveston, and Los Angeles or San Diego. More locations are sure to be added as Rochester, NY has reached out to Twin Cities Blind Sailing asking if we could start a blind sailing chapter there as well. She even asked to see what we could do to bring Kenya, Africa on board, as she is a native of Kenya. We fully anticipate bringing blind sailing to the world!
Within the last week or two Andrew Alletag and I co-founded the US Blind Sailing Association. This will help with expanding blind sailing in the U.S., help with blind sailing regattas and qualifiers and many more things. We, along with all others who have signed on to take part in the exciting journey are stoked to be involved with this new organization. After all, sailing should be for all, not just a selected few.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Transportation is always an obstacle, with costs adding up when traveling from one city to another; this, even though we had a volunteer help mitigate the cost by offering rides between Wayzata and Minneapolis. Despite the transportation challenge, starting Twin Cities Blind Sailing was relatively smooth thanks to the incredible support from Matt Thompson at Wayzata Sailing and Ted Salzman at Minneapolis Sailing Center, along with their staff. Their unwavering belief in the potential of blind sailors has been invaluable. Additionally, I am fortunate to have a supportive boss who accommodates my sailing schedule. Funding remains a priority, with yearly discussions with clubs to address their needs and find ways to contribute. While future obstacles are inevitable, the current partnerships have ensured smooth sailing so far.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Currently I work as a site supervisor for supply chain at a local hospital.
I am also going back to school to finish my degree in architecture at the University of Minnesota.
Founder of Twin Cities Blind Sailing
Cofounder of US Blind Sailing Association
I am also on the board of Boston Blind Sailing and Minneapolis Sailing Center
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The significant need for blind sailing became evident through the ease of starting new chapters. A memorable moment from a youth camp involved a BVI sailor and his friend working together seamlessly, showing that blind sailing can inspire future generations to recognize the capabilities of blind individuals. Witnessing the sighted guides and sailors who attended our first ever blind sailing youth camp form friendships with BVI sailors is heartwarming and highlights the community’s strength when we come together to work as one. This camp, in particular, demonstrated the promising future of blind sailing both in the US and globally.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.twincitiesblindsailing.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twin_cities_blind_sailing?igsh=MWo3aHE3ZThqbjYwdw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
