Ben Collins will take the tiller of a 73-foot yacht in Annapolis tonight.
He’ll be at the helm of the Donnybrook, one of nearly 200 boats racing in the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Governor’s Cup. It’s a race that stretches into the night and sometimes through the dawn, a grueling affair that test the limits of adrenaline and concentration.
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But when Collins sets off on the Chesapeake, he won’t be worried about any of that. His only worry centers on steering a 73-foot yacht with 20 crew members on board.
And that he is legally blind.
Collins isn’t the only unusual entrant. Tonight, for the first time in the 33-year history of the Governor’s Cup, at least two participants from Special Olympics Maryland will race along. The boats with Special Olympians are competing in their own competitive division as yachts travel from Annapolis to St. Mary’s City via the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac and St. Mary’s rivers.
Though he cannot remember when he first started sailing, Collins, a 39-year-old from Rockville, said he was on the St. Mary’s River just last weekend for a catamaran regatta. When he’s behind the tiller, he is accompanied by a friend, Todd Corteau, who provides directions. With most of the work out of the way, Collins said he’s able to enjoy the ride.
“It’s great,” Collins said. “You listen to the wind flapping the sails. You get to sail. You get to be on a boat.”
Collins won’t captain the boat for the entire race. That responsibility will fall mostly to Jim Muldoon, chairman of the St. Mary’s Board of Trustees and former president of U.S. Sailing. Muldoon said Collins and the other Special Olympians have many opportunities to work on the yachts. Despite Collins’ disability, Muldoon believes his newest crew member will fit right in onthe Donnybrook.
“The skills it takes to sail are sometimes found in the darndest places,” he said.
Muldoon, who has raced in the Governor’s Cup each of the last 32 years and once completed the race in just over six hours, added that he’s already eager to reach the finish line. Once the race ends, St. Mary’s throws an all-day after party, and they’ll be raising money for the Special Olympics sailing program.
“It’s a great party afterwards,” Muldoon said, “and I do think Mr. Collins is going to enjoy that as well.”
Governor’s Cup Yacht Race
» Where: Annapolis
» When: Tonight, 6
» What’s up: Nearly 200 yachts are expected for the 33rd running of the Governor’s Cup, which finishes in St. Mary’s City around sunrise tomorrow. The Saturday afterparty is legendary — yachts sometimes arrive at the finish line with charcoal grills at the ready.
