Swampscott volunteer helps blind sailors win national championship

SWAMPSCOTT – When the winning boat in the 16th annual Blind Sailing National Championships crossed the finish line in Newport, R.I. last week, Peter Frisch of Swampscott was aboard.Frisch, whose nautical skills are well known in Marblehead, where a premium is put on racing, routinely volunteers to help the blind competitive sailors gain an edge. As a sighted volunteer, he checks sail trim and tiller control, giving the blind sailors guidance as they run the racecourse.During the championships, Frisch shared his skills with blind sailor and helmsman Matt Chao of Newton. Their team won five of the 10 races over two days sailing in J/22s. Also on board were blind sailor Nina Kagan of Brookline and sighted sailor Mary McKinnon of Quincy.Each blind sailing team is comprised of a fully-blind helmsman, a blind sail trimmer and two sighted guides who provide verbal information for direction and safety. The sighted guides, who are also experienced racers, talk the blind sailors through maneuvers and provide tactical information.The sailing team is part of the Carroll Center for the Blind’s SailBlind Program in Newton.Frisch, 47, a financial adviser at Wachovia Securities in Boston, grew up sailing out of the American Yacht Club in Rye, N.Y. He quickly gravitated to the Marblehead waterfront upon moving to the North Shore in the mid-1990s and has been helping out in the SailBlind Program as a volunteer for over a decade.Frisch and Chao previously teamed up in 1997, where they were successful in winning a silver medal in the Blind Sailing World Championships held in England.The teams hope to duplicate their success in the next Blind Sailing World Championships that will be held in New Zealand in 2009.”This program is fortunate to have the participation and commitment from top level sailors like Peter Frisch, who are eager to share their expertise with blind sailors,” said SailBlind Program founder Arthur O’Neill of Swampscott.The blind sailing teams will finish up their sailing season Sept. 9 in Boston Harbor as they compete in the Harry McDonough Memorial Regatta, conducted by Courageous Sailing Center in Boston.The Carroll Center SailBlind Program teaches blind children and adults how to sail and how to race competitively. For more information on the SailBlind Program, go to www.carroll.org/recreation.