Sea change

KMAC Memorial Regatta gives sailors with disabilities freedom on water

By NICOLE SOURS LARSON

Jamie McArthur bantered with his friend and fellow retired U.S Coast Guard officer Jeff Lee in the Coronado Yacht Club lounge. Close friends for 36 years, they comfortably traded insults and profanities as they updated plans for the Kyle C. McArthur Memorial Regatta in April.

McArthur created the accessible racing event for disabled sailors in 2015. The now three-day event at the Coronado Yacht Club runs April 28-30 this year and includes racing clinics and adaptive races in three classes, plus social events. It will draw about 20 sailors from around the region with wide-ranging disabilities, along with twice as many helpers and volunteers.

The goal is to provide satisfying, liberating experiences on the water through sailing and racing centered on the yacht club’s docks and clubhouse.

“I don’t care what the disability. I will get you a positive experience on the water,” McArthur explained.

The KMAC Foundation's mission is to expand accessible sailing in Coronado. The foundation and annual regatta for disabled sailors was founded in memory of Kyle McArthur (above), whose nickname was KMAC.

McArthur established the event as a memorial to his late son, Lt. j.g. Kyle McArthur, known as KMAC. Kyle was an avid sailor, star athlete, and football and lacrosse team captain at Coronado High School (2006) and the U.S. Naval Academy (2011). He died at age 25 in an automobile accident in Alabama in 2013, soon after qualifying to land jets on aircraft carrier decks.

“Kyle was a really special guy. At the memorial service, his (high school) friends said he was a ‘big man on campus’ who never acted that way. Naval Academy colleagues said he never hazed or pressured them but mentored them,” McArthur recalled.

Devastated by his son’s death, McArthur pursued counseling with Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and later volunteered with groups including the Good Grief Camp for bereaved children.

“He’s living with it (grief) but revisits it every day,” said Lee, who met McArthur on the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Point Stuart. “Jamie is one of those guys who, if he’s your friend, he’s your friend for life. How many people do you know who still have your back 36 years later?”

Lee explained his old friend is skilled at deflecting and channeling his grief into positive pursuits.

The president of Challenged Sailors San Diego suggested the creation of the regatta to McArthur, who had been a regular volunteer at Challenged Sailors San Diego, repairing boats and accompanying program participants as a companion sailor. The regatta and the KMAC Foundation for Accessible Sailing, which McArthur founded in December 2021, expands accessible sailing opportunities in Coronado. Proceeds from the regatta benefit the foundation’s sailing programs.

Both embody the major themes dominating McArthur’s life: his passion for sailing, his love of children and his mission to improve the lives of the disabled.

“I am passionate about what I do. I’m a pain in the ass. Lead, follow or get out of the way,” he said.

McArthur, 66, has always loved to sail. He first discovered sailing as a young child when his oldest brother, John, 17 years his senior and now deceased, bought a sailboat and invited him aboard. He’s never been far from the water since. By the time he was 7 or 8, he was hanging out at the Coronado Yacht Club, racing with grizzled, retired World War II military vets who mentored the eager boy.

Growing up the fifth of six children in a crowded family, McArthur embraced sailing, which became his refuge and escape, his route to freedom and his passion, as well as his life’s underlying theme.

As president of the KMAC Foundation, McArthur and his volunteer board members — most of whom are disabled or have a disabled family member — work to share that sense of freedom on the water with sailors who face considerable limitations on land. The foundation acquired three special adaptive sailboats, called Hansa 303s, which they make available to disabled sailors, along with two essential dockside lifts to provide access to the boats. The regatta also offers racing opportunities with adaptive Martin 16 and Hansa Liberty boats. The sailboats, which range in length from about 10 feet to 16 feet, can accommodate up to two sailors.

The regatta’s focus on accessible sailing also honors McArthur’s developmentally disabled and medically fragile second daughter, Kalie. Now 37, she lives with her mother in Bellingham, Washington, where McArthur maintains a home and small sailboat, which Kalie still enjoys despite her declining health. McArthur’s eldest child, Jenny, 38, a nursing manager, also lives in Bellingham with her family.

Born in Seattle, McArthur moved with his family to Coronado in 1962, spending much of his youth at his grandmother’s longtime Adella Avenue home.

He graduated from Coronado High School in 1975, a self-described “respectable” athlete and committed sailor with a love of racing. With saltwater running through his veins, he raced whenever he could, wherever he could, especially while attending Long Beach State University, where he earned a degree in marketing and business in 1983.

“I just wanted to sail,” McArthur said.

He sailed as a semi-pro with top sailors who later won gold for the U.S. at the Olympics, and he crewed in the Congressional Cup in Long Beach. He also was a crew member with the Defender/ Courageous Syndicate, but the team lost to Dennis Conner’s team in the 1983 America’s Cup races.

“I sailed with some unbelievably good teams and competed at the highest levels, but I wasn’t a rock star. I couldn’t make a living as a sailor. And I didn’t want to sit in a cubicle,” he said.

He opted to do the next best thing to sailing professionally— joining the U.S. Coast Guard. McArthur served 23 years as an officer on patrol boats and buoy tenders and also drove boats; he ultimately worked in port security before retiring in 2006 as a lieutenant commander. During that time, he and first wife, Cindy, had three chil- dren, Jenny, Kalie and Kyle.

Kalie’s developmental challenges first appeared when she was about 18 months old, about the time of Kyle’s birth. As a passionate special-needs dad, McArthur became increasingly concerned with improving special education opportunities. He obtained the necessary credentials to become a special education teacher after leaving the Coast Guard, spending 15 years working with medically fragile and moderately to severely disabled children in Coronado and other San Diego-area school systems.

“It takes a sense of humor and trust for your helpers in the classroom. You have to understand you’re not going to cure a kid of autism or their disability,” McArthur said. “But what can we do? Each kid in special ed has an individual education plan.”

He has also made it his mission to change how people with disabilities are perceived.

“In the disabled world, it’s either ignorance or prejudice. Once you educate people, they understand the disabled and are no longer afraid of their disabilities. Once you start integrating the disabled, they are just part of the team. They are not scary or a bigger liability,” McArthur said.

Disabled sailors, he explained, are just like any other sailors who enjoy sharing a beer and camaraderie after a race. They want to be treated like everyone else.

Sean Godfrey, who uses a wheelchair after sustaining a career-ending spinal cord injury in 2008 while in the Navy, met McArthur while sailing with Challenged Sailors San Diego and was happy to join the

KMAC Foundation board. A former triathlete who lives in Yuma, Arizona, Godfrey is now in his second year of competitive sailing. He lauds McArthur’s efforts to pressure sailing organizations to add adaptive sailing to their regular regattas.

“Jamie welcomed me with open arms. He’s changed the way adaptive sailing is viewed. Liberation and freedom don’t begin to describe what it’s like to be sailing close to the wind,” Godfrey said.

Among the younger sailors benefiting from KMAC’s programs is Kai McDonald of Imperial Beach. The bright and sparkling 4-year-old, who is now KMAC’s “poster boy,” has spina bifida, uses a wheelchair and enjoys competitive sailing. His dad, Steve, previously an occasional recreational sailor, was looking for ways to get his son outdoors when he discovered adaptive sailing. Now he’s embraced competitive sailing with Kai and has joined the KMAC board.

“Jamie has such a huge heart for helping kids and disabled kids. There aren’t many places to let them be free and roam. They experience a great degree of freedom and independence, helping them to become masters of their own destiny,” McDonald said.

McArthur makes no excuses for his determined advocacy but downplays his skills.

“I’m just a dumbass sailor who knows how to fix boats. Now I’m running a foundation. I prefer to mess around on boats,” he said. ■