Raising the Mainsail Together: How Three Maine Organizations Share the Helm To Provide Adaptive Sailing Experiences

At the Onion Foundation, we’ve had the privilege of supporting a number of nonprofits working to expand outdoor access to as many Mainers as possible.

When these organizations share expertise and resources, they’re able to extend their reach to communities they might not be able to engage alone. These partnerships are excellent examples of how camaraderie can amplify organizations’ impact.

This year, three Onion Foundation grantees came together to expand their work to a new part of the state. Main Street Skowhegan, the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center (AOEC), and SailMaine brought people with physical and cognitive disabilities from various Maine counties together for a day-long sailing adventure. The groups tailored the experience to the participants’ needs, enabling them to fully engage in the sail.

The event resulted in stronger organizational partnerships, expanded adaptive outdoor programming, and — most importantly — new and enriching experiences for participants with disabilities.

The Foundations of a Fruitful Partnership

Since 2015, AOEC has offered adaptive and inclusive outdoor programming for people living with disabilities in Maine. Through its locations in Brunswick, Dedham, and Carrabassett Valley, the organization provides outdoor camps and workshops focused on adaptive skiing, hiking, archery, kayaking, and more.

AOEC’s co-founder Bruce Albiston — an avid sailor himself — connected with SailMaine nearly a decade ago to extend the organization’s adaptive programming even further. As a community sailing center based in Portland, SailMaine offers affordable sailing opportunities, educational programs, regattas, and competitive sailing lessons to Mainers of all ages. And through its partnership with AOEC, the SailMaine team learned to adapt the sailing experience for people unable to take part in traditional sails. Currently, SailMaine offers adaptive sails twice a week throughout the summer.

In these events, SailMaine provides the sailboats and launch locations, while the AOEC team brings participants and volunteers, ultimately creating exciting experiences for participants and staff alike. “It has been our shining example of two organizations working together to help people,” says Albiston.

The Partnership — and Its Impact — Expands

When the Main Street Skowhegan team learned of this collaborative work, it immediately reached out to kickstart a new partnership. “How many people in Skowhegan get to go sailing? So few!” says Tenley Skolfield, director of operations at Main Street Skowhegan. “And even fewer people with disabilities get to. Sailing was always on our radar, so when I heard there was an opportunity with AOEC and SailMaine, I had to act.”

Historically, Main Street Skowhegan has provided free outdoor programming and organized a robust gear-lending library, in addition to supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses in the Skowhegan area. While the team has offered some adaptive events in the past, they haven’t had the internal resources or locations available for a full-scale sailing event — so they turned to the experts. “The model of working with a center that has a focus and expertise in these kinds of adaptive events is key for us,” says Ben Koehler, Main Street Skowhegan’s outdoors program coordinator.

On a beautiful, sunny day in August, staff from the three organizations departed from the Maine State Pier in Portland with more than 30 individuals with disabilities on board, three of whom traveled directly from Skowhegan with Koehler.

The participants came from different areas in Maine and represented different backgrounds, ranging in age from under seven years old to over 60. Promoting an inclusive culture is a central part of AOEC’s work: “We’ll never turn anyone away due to income level, age, or ability — we’ll always try to make it work,” says McKenna Cottrell, AOEC’s outreach and program coordinator. “It was awesome to get these people who might not have otherwise had these experiences out on a boat.”

An Experience To Remember

As Skolfield notes, “Our overarching goal is to get everyone outdoors.” This collaboration enabled all three organizations to advance this mission. While Main Street Skowhegan served as the facilitating group that organized the outreach and transportation from Skowhegan, SailMaine provided the boats and sailing knowledge.

AOEC, meanwhile, tapped into its expertise to help make the necessary adaptations, including:

• Adding extra handholds throughout the sailboat

• Enabling sailors to maneuver the boat with a joystick or a wheel, depending on their comfort levels and capabilities

• Setting up a transfer box and ramp to help people in wheelchairs easily access the boat

• Providing rubber padding for added safety

On top of these tangible actions, the AOEC team provided the connective spirit to ensure everyone felt welcome on board. Albiston says it best: “Making these participants comfortable is what we do.”

The welcoming atmosphere and adaptive solutions allowed the participants with disabilities to fully engage in the active experience of sailing. They helped hoist the mainsail and steered the ship. They spotted seals on the water and connected with each other in profound ways. “You see this young kid next to this adult, and suddenly they’re friends,” says Cottrell. “It brings them together not only on the water, but also in the community.”

A Lasting Impact for All

In fact, the event led to stronger connections among everyone involved, participants and organizations alike. “That’s the whole purpose – giving them opportunities to try something they’ve never done,” says Skolfield. “It’s all about establishing these connections and relationships with organizations to create experiences that we can’t.”

The AOEC and SailMaine teams saw similar reactions from the adaptive sailing experience. “When they were raising the mainsail, they all got to work together as a team,” says Cottrell. “One person looked up at me and said ‘Oh my gosh, are we doing that?!’ It was a true sense of independence and direct action. There’s a sense of pride.”

The resounding sentiment from the participants after the event? “When are we going again?!”

The sailors and facilitators feel a similar excitement for these adaptive events. “I love our partnership,” says Ben Lewis, operations manager at SailMaine. “This is my third summer doing it, and it’s my favorite program. Everyone leaves happy.” Many of SailMaine’s volunteer skippers even work on several adaptive sailing events each year, enabling them to foster and grow rewarding relationships with repeat participants.

This remarkable and long-lasting impact exemplifies the power of organizational collaboration. The SailMaine, AOEC, and Main Street Skowhegan teams all agree that when organizations come together, their work flourishes. “It increases the number of people we can engage, makes money usage much more efficient, allows us to share resources and people — it helps everyone in the long term,” says Albiston.

What’s Next for These Leading Maine Organizations

August’s sailing event was a rousing success for all three organizations and their new sailors. In fact, it was so successful that the groups are planning to use this event as a model for future collaborations that can increase access to the outdoors for even more people.

For Main Street Skowhegan, the sailing event has sparked an energy to create more adaptive programming in central Maine, including a climbing experience in Orono, a veteran-focused sports program in New Gloucester, and a new inclusive skiing event up north. “One of our biggest goals is to make our program more accessible for people living with disabilities in Skowhegan,” says Koehler. “A lot of what we do could very well be more accessible, so we’re figuring out how to get our programming to more people.”

Similarly, the SailMaine and AOEC teams are looking to expand their programming. SailMaine is offering additional schooner sailing opportunities to enable more people to experience the ocean. AOEC is offering skipper training to develop a larger pool of volunteers to make the adaptive sailing partnership even bigger.

Given the success of this three-way collaboration, one thing is certain: There will definitely be more adaptive sailing events in the future. Keep your eye on these organizations’ calendars for the next event — even if you thought sailing would never be accessible for you. With these three organizations at the helm, anything is possible.

UPDATE: SailMaine and AOEC were recently awarded U.S. Sailing's Robie Pierce Award, which "recognizes an outstanding program for sailors with disabilities and has made notable contributions to promote public access sailing for sailors with disabilities." Read about this inspiring accomplishment below!