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Lighting the way
The vision-impaired have an
By Tim Ryan
opportunity to enjoy such outdoor
sports as hiking and canoe paddling
thanks to the effort of Rob Hail and
the Rotary Club of Honolulu
Star-BulletinVIRGIL Stinnett, it would seem, has had more than his share of bad luck when it comes to the keenest sense, sight. A few years ago, the commercial fisherman was 900 miles off the California coast when he suffered a detached retina in his only good eye. Unfortunately for the Kauai-born Stinnett, he was too far off-shore to get immediate medical help.
A few years earlier, he lost sight in the first eye when, as a cabinet maker when, he got banged in the face by a beam.
"I look at (blindness) as a blessing," says Stinnett, 30. "It's enabled me to interact in the world with a whole different perspective and I've met so many new people."
Those new people include Rob Hail, who believes in giving help rather than handing out advice. The semi-retired Hail, 45, was surfing with friend Jay Jurick three years ago when Hail decided to make better use of his most valuable commodity, time.
"We were having so much fun surfing; we started talking about how great it would be to help blind people do some activities they may not do," said Hail, who lives in Manoa with his wife and two children.
For more information about the outdoor programs for the blind, call the Ho'opono Center for the Blind at 586-5269.
The original plan was to take blind people surfing in Waikiki where the waves and reef are more forgiving than most spots. But the more the surfing buddies thought about the idea, the more they realized the inherent dangers. But the concept to get sight-impaired folks out on the ocean never changed: Hail and Jurick agreed kayaking would be safer and more manageable.
Hail contacted the Ho'opono Center for the Blind in Honolulu to offer his services, as well as that of other volunteers from the Rotary Club of Honolulu, Sunrise, where Hail is a longtime member.
"I jumped at the chance to go paddling with them," said Stinnett, who was going through rehabilitation at the center. "I've always loved being on the ocean."
The first outing was at Kaimana beach using surfboards and kayaks. The sighted and non-sighted group paddled into the deep channel, but the watercraft were a bit tippy."Someone suggested we use outrigger canoes because they're more stable, carry six people, and would let us paddle into open ocean," Hail said.
So Hail telephoned dental surgeon and waterman Bruno West to see if he could locate some outrigger canoes.
"Bruno loved the idea, but beyond that he wanted to be part of the team," Hail said.
West arranged for the group to meet on the beach fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village where they would use as many as three canoes belonging to a local canoe club for several hours on the second Saturday of each month.
Each canoe carries as many as three sighted and three blind paddlers. The sight-impaired include men and women ranging in age from their 20s to 60s. Some are totally blind; others have partial vision; some swim, some don't.
The group warms up by paddling inside the reef from the Hilton beach to the Sheraton Waikiki and back. Then they head into deep water, paddling from Magic Island to Diamond Head and back. During the trip, sighted members give "a verbal picture of where we're going and what we're seeing," Hail said.
Stinnett's rehabilitation has been sped up in the process.
"I feel better about myself because I'm interacting with people, plus I get a great workout," said Stinnett, who also lifts weights, bowls, swims and sings in a barbershop quartet.The ocean adventures also have had their share of spills.
"We let them know before hand what can happen, like overturning, but they know it'll be handled quickly and safely," Hail said. "They're very trusting."
Stinnett's guide dog, Brandon, also has taken several voyages including a few dunkings.
Activities haven't been limited to canoe paddling, but have included several hikes to Manoa Falls, Makapuu Lighthouse and up Diamond Head; and whale watching aboard the Navatek.
Hail moved to Hawaii from Los Angeles at 18, living on Maui for two years while working and attending community college. He traveled around the world for two years before returning to Oahu to attend the University of Hawaii, graduating with a degree in sociology.
He moved back to the mainland where he started a public pay telephone business with a friend. Hail returned to Hawaii in 1992, and sold the company in 1997.
The surfer tries to diminish praise for his project with the blind.
"It's really more fun for us because we've learned to really appreciate what we can see," he said. "I feel so lucky in my life to be healthy and living in a place like Hawaii, that I wanted to share the beautiful things this world has to offer."
Stinnett especially appreciates being treated like an equal.
"Let me tell you, as soon as we're on the canoe, everyone paddles; it's a total team effort. And I'm not disabled, I just have a disability."
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