This story was originally published by Reasons to be Cheerful
7 min read
César Maquieira has always loved the sea. Born and raised in the northwest of Spain, much of which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, he would for years regularly go fishing and on boat trips, and he dabbled in scuba diving. There was something about the great expanse of azure water that for him represented freedom.
But as an adult, Maquieira, now 51, developed a degenerative muscle disease. This means he becomes easily exhausted, and he uses a wheelchair.
“It was difficult to accept,” says Maquieira. “It was depressing.”
But in 2016, Maquieira heard about a program in the region that was opening up access to the sea for everyone — no matter their mobility.
Maquieira vividly remembers the first day he went out. The conditions were rough; the waters were choppy and there was a lot of wind. In short, it was far from ideal for a beginning sailor. “But I liked it a lot,” he recalls. “I became hooked.”
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Since then, Maquieira has been attending classes at the Monte Real Yacht Club in the historic port town of Baiona. Its Adapted Sailing School was founded in 2012 with the aim of “bringing people with functional diversity closer to the world of sailing” through free, specialized lessons and custom-built, accessible boats. The program and others like it across the world are opening up a new frontier for people with reduced mobility, out on the open sea, free from the limitations of buildings and streets.
“We live from the sea here, there is a strong tradition around it,” says Olaia Cabo Martinez, head of the Monte Real Club’s sailing school, ambling along a boardwalk lined with an impressive fleet of yachts as waves gently roll into the bay.
Spain’s northwest has a rich sailing history tied to ancient Celtic seafaring, medieval maritime pilgrimage routes and traditional fishing craft like the dorna and galeón. The region’s deep, fjord-like rías served as natural harbors for explorers, and Baiona famously became the first European port to learn of the Americas when the Pinta, one of Christopher Columbus’s ships, arrived at its port in 1493.
The Monte Real Club, a 222-berth marina set beneath the walls of a 14th-century fortress, was created in 1965 and is known across Europe for its prestigious regattas, including the Trofeo Principe de Asturias, held in September.
Every year, dozens of participants with physical, mental, sensory or intellectual disabilities — referred to the club by local nonprofits — graduate from the Monte Real program and receive a certificate. Classes run daily from roughly September to June and teachers have to pass a course that includes a section on adapted sailing.
