Impossible Dream, a 60-Foot, Wheelchair-Accessible Catamaran, Visits ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina in NYC

The Impossible Dream, a 60-foot, wheelchair-accessible catamaran that sails the entire East Coast of the U.S., has visited ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina, where it will be in port until Sept. 11, 2019. It is the 10^th stop on the vessel’s Summer Voyage, encompassing 4,000 miles across 15 destinations along the East Coast.

Since launching on May 29 from Miami, Fla., the vessel has stopped at nine ports and taken over 1,000-plus people sailing. At each stop, sailing outings are offered to people with disabilities, mobility impairments, life-changing illnesses and their families at no cost. Over the course of the voyage, the Impossible Dream has also welcomed disabled guest crew to live and work onboard for longer periods of time. The guest crew are invaluable members of the team who assist with the operation of the vessel, cooking, maintenance, promotion and connecting with the vessel’s day-sail guests.

For the fourth year in a row, the Impossible Dream is partnering with ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina as a base to conduct its programs. Scheduled sails will include various organizations, such as Disability Arts NYC, the Adler Aphasia Center, Wheeling Forward, United Spinal NYC Chapter and BIGVISION.

ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina celebrated its launch at full capacity in Spring 2019, offering a new wave attenuation system comprised of deep-draft steel barges, creating one of the calmest basins on the New York Harbor.

One of the reasons ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina worked with government agencies to bring the wave climate down was to build the only ADA-accessible marina in the New York City environs, to open the harbor to the wideset group of water enthusiasts.

The marina’s Community Dock, which comprises 25 percent of the dock space, remains active and is the largest access point to the water in New York City.

ONE°15 also maintains an active Sail Club and Sail School and will be introducing additional amenities before the close of the 2019 boating season.

ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina Deputy CEO Estelle Lau notes that this partnership with the Impossible Dream is a wonderful way to bring scores of passionate boating enthusiasts to the water – many of whom depend on these impactful campaigns for the access.

“We’re thrilled to offer 10 days of berthing for the Impossible Dream, to open the waterways to both disabled and able sailors,” Lau said. “We have been hosting the Impossible Dream throughout our construction but are very pleased to offer them our increased amenities this year.”

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Dates and Times of Sails and Events:

• Midday Sail – Media Ride-Along – Sept. 5, 2019 from 12:30 – 3 p.m.: This sail will feature members from the public living with disabilities and participants from the Adler Aphasia Center of Maywood, N.J.
• Sunset Sail – Media Ride-Along – Sept. 5 from 5:30 – 8 p.m.: This sail will feature NYC-based Wheeling Forward, an organization focused on enabling people with disabilities to see possibility where others see insurmountable obstacles.
• Midday Sail – Media Ride-Along – Sept. 8 from 12:30 – 3 p.m.: This sail will feature the United Spinal NYC Chapter, an organization whose mission is to help people with spinal cord injuries and disease maximize their independence and quality of life.
• Sunset Sail – Media Ride-Along – Sept. 8 from 5:30 – 8 p.m.: This sail will feature NYC-based BIGVISION, an organization dedicated to helping restore hope and purpose for young adults in recovery in New York City. BIGVISION provides fun events and productive opportunities in a sober environment as it strives to eliminate the stigma associated with substance use disorder.
• Sunset Sail – Media Ride-Along – Was held Sept. 3 from 6-9 p.m. – Disability Arts NYC: Disability arts is an exciting and growing field and New York City is fast becoming the epicenter of this creative movement. To celebrate a banner year for disability arts in NYC, Commissioner Victor Calise of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Simi Linton of Disability/Arts Consultancy, invited a group of disabled artists and representatives of cultural organizations and city arts agencies for a sunset sail on the Impossible Dream.