Jackie Gay

Profile: Allan Smith
Helm, Skud 18, 2-person paralympic sailing boat

I have always been competitive and interested in a variety of sports. Prior to my accident I competed in the national Hang Gliding League 1982 – 84, and was the first person to cross the Solent in 1981.

I started sailing at the age of 33 after a hang gliding accident in France left me quadriplegic. My spinal unit organised an adventure holiday where we tried a variety of activities including sailing. Even with my level of disability I could sail solo and with years of hang gliding experience, sailing became my obvious choice for a future sport. I first sailed a 2.4mR (the present paralympic single-hander class) in 1991 and the following year bought my own boat which I used 12 years later at the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004.

The Athens Paralympics experience was tremendous and I finished 8th, consistent with my world ranking. I still love sailing the 2.4mR but as an open disability class I was always going to struggle to win a medal against the top minimally disabled sailors. When the 3rd Paralympic class was announced I decided I would change boats; the Skud was selected in November 2005 and mine was the first GB boat on order.

The Skud is completely different to my previous boats as they have all been single-handed plus it has a large asymmetric spinnaker so we’re faster than the other Paralympic classes; 14 knots is the best to date. The boat is rewarding and fun to sail, challenging for both crew and helm, with Jackie’s strength and sailing experience plus my racing experience at the helm we make a great team. We are working towards being selected for Beijing and this time I want to make it to the podium.

Before my accident I was in the Royal Navy based at Portland, and spent many hours flying over the cliffs of Weymouth bay. Twenty years later I’m back, training in the Skud. As the boat is a new design there is much to learn about the boat and systems to develop to help us go faster. Jackie and I got the silver medal at the Sail for Gold regatta in October 2006, and were the top British team at the Miami OCR in January 2007. We are working hard to maintain our top position in order to gain selection at the Disabled World Championships in Rochester, September 2007.