The Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) seeks to make all aspects of sailing accessible. To fulfill this mission, we offer dinghy sailing every Saturday and keelboat sailing every Sunday out of South Beach Marina, adjacent to AT&T Park.

Our keelboat fleet includes four keelboats, each specially rigged and equipped with adaptive features to make sailing the San Francisco Bay possible for people with disabilities. Additionally, we have 23 Access Dinghies, ranging in size from 8 to 14 feet long, all of which are specifically designed for people with disabilities. Some of these are equipped with servo motors so that people with severe physical disabilities can sail solo.

We serve approximately 40 participants each weekend. Our participants range in age from eight to 80 and include people with mental, physical, and developmental disabilities. Some participants have never sailed before and some have been sailing all their lives. Through our sailing programs, participants learn to sail by themselves in the dinghy program and as part of a crew in the keelboat program.

We run all our programs through volunteers. Our board has thirteen people, and our volunteer base supplies anywhere from 3 to 10 volunteers per weekend. Our volunteer base is our lifeline–our programs couldn’t function without dedicated people who are reliable and have at least some knowledge of sailing and equipment. We invest a significant amount of time and effort in recruiting, training, and retaining volunteers. Learn how to become a volunteer at our volunteer page.

The information above can be found on the official website of Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors. For more details about the organization and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit their website: http://www.baads.org