RYE, N.H. (WHDH) – When Maureen McKinnon hoists the mainsail, casts off, and catches the wind, she feels a quiet sense of release.
The former Paralympian leaves her wheelchair behind, charting her own course on the open waters — unbound by pavement or the rules of the road.
“I feel my blood pressure just drop,” she said. “It’s relaxing, and I feel much more at ease when I’m on the water.”
Now the Salem resident is working to make sure others can chart that same course.
After a paralyzing fall from a 13-foot seawall in Maine in 1995, McKinnon wasn’t sure she’d ever return to sailing; that changed after a chance encounter with another wheelchair-using sailor at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead who inspired her to get back on board.
“I didn’t realize how much I actually really loved the sport until I became paralyzed,” McKinnon said. “I tried a couple of therapeutic programs, and they weren’t quite as satisfying as racing and having competition.”
She went on to compete at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, making history both as the first woman to represent team USA in Paralympic sailing and by bringing home a gold medal.
Today, she’s working to ensure the sport is accessible to anyone who wants to set sail. McKinnon is organizing a clinic for blind sailors, giving participants a chance to test out their sea legs with the help of adaptive technology.
“We’re looking to borrow some auditory assistant devices that go on to the boat, so that way the sailors can hear where the other boats are,” McKinnon said.
She’s already seen what’s possible: McKinnon recalled training a sailor on Boston Harbor who was completely paralyzed and relied on an oxygen tube.
“He would ‘puff’ to port and he would ‘sip’ to starboard,” she said. “He was steering that boat with his nurse and with an oxygen machine with him. If you can do that, come on, you can do anything.”
Off the water, McKinnon continues the same mission in her day job at The Residence at Vinnin Square, a senior living community in Swampscott. There, she adapts activities like knitting and bingo for residents with mobility challenges. She says those small successes make an impact.
“Reminding myself of the smiles that I have received throughout the day from people and remembering how we may have opened up something for somebody, that gets me through,” she said.
Years later, McKinnon still reflects on that chance meeting that changed her life, saying it’s proof of the power of community.
“You need to find your community, you need to find your people,” McKinnon said. “You can’t bridge the gap between where you are and where you’re going to be without some type of connection.”
(Copyright (c) 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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