East Cowes Sailing Club became twinned with the Club Nautic El Masnou in Barcelona, October 2025

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One of the most remarkable feats of human endurance occurred in the Solent this summer when Dani Anglada Pich sailed a plywood catamaran – a Patí Català – that has no rudder, no centreboard and no boom around the Isle of Wight. That alone would have been a feat to test the most seasoned of sailor, but to do it as a blind person and solo is what makes this story so compelling.

Rewind to the America’s Cup of 2024, held off the waters of Barcelona, and Dani Pich became something of a ‘Cup celebrity.’ A chance meeting with the CEO of Emirates Team New Zealand, Grant Dalton – himself a 30-year supporter of blind sailing in New Zealand – led to an extraordinary partnership. Dani was welcomed into the rarefied realm of the America’s Cup and presented the Preliminary Regatta trophy on the main stage in Barcelona to the Kiwi victors before selling Dalton a dream to sail the anti-clockwise route of the original America’s Cup of 1851, around the Isle of Wight.

A crazy dream perhaps? This was a feat that had never before been undertaken solo, and certainly not even considered in a Patí Català, a boat commonplace off the beaches of Catalonia, but unseen and arguably unsuited to the Solent and English Channel owing to the lightness of its build and the quirkiness of its rigging. Dani proposed fusing cutting edge navigation and wind technology with determination and skill in the face of overwhelming odds, and it was a mix that caught the imagination of Dalton.

Dani’s back-story resonated having been an officer in the merchant navy on a gas vessel in 1997 where he was asked to inspect the fire extinguishers. A freak accident saw an extinguisher explode in his face, burning his eyes and rendering him B3 blind – totally dark. Two years of recovery led to depression and fleeting thoughts of suicide, but with the support of his wonderful mother, Dani was encouraged to do something that he had loved as a child growing up and he found his way back to sailing.

Initially it was a frustrating experience. Local clubs in Catalonia were supportive for brief excursions but didn’t give Dani the thrill that he was looking for, until, with support he ventured out in the Patí Català, initially with another person to help but pretty soon solo. It was remarkable. Dani, with support, could feel the sensation of sun, wind and spray again. It was like a re-birth of sorts.

During the America’s Cup and with financial support from Emirates Team New Zealand, a boat that was subsequently named ‘Lady’ after Dani’s dearly loved but sadly departed dog, was acquired and during the winter of 2024, was beefed up for the expected Solent conditions. Dalton connected Dani with local Cowes sailor, Magnus Wheatley who also works for the America’s Cup, and a planning meeting was held in March 2025 at the Royal Ocean Racing Club.

“I remember the meeting clearly,” said Wheatley, “Dani set out his vision to sail around the Isle of Wight and rather than saying ‘no’ which would have been the easiest solution, we worked together to find a way to do it. We talked about the expected conditions, the tidal gates, the rough patches at St Catherine’s point, and the sheer scale of the challenge. By the end of the meeting, I felt that we had a shot. Dani was sure.”

Fast forward to the summer of 2025 and suddenly the challenge was real. Matt Grier from the Andy Cassell Sailing Foundation, who was also at the initial meeting, suggested that East Cowes Sailing Club would perhaps be the most suitable of the Cowes clubs to help with logistics and John Barnes, the Rear Commodore of Sailing moved heaven and earth to support within the club.

A long road trip brought the Patí Català to the Shrape dinghy park of ECSC with Dani’s YesWeSail Team of Christian Pilau and Carla Ribas in support. Wheatley remembers the day well saying: “There were about six or seven ECSC members there to meet Dani. Peter Ball, the brilliant Commodore of the Club was in attendance and what occurred was incredible. There was immediate chemistry and the club, and its members just rallied to Dani’s cause. I have never seen anything like it.”

Pretty soon, within a day or two, Dani was out sailing off the Shrape and beginning to venture further out into the Solent. Supported by a RIB, the training was slowly increased, pushing both Dani and the boat to the limit. Amazingly throughout the coming three weeks, only one capsize was recorded and as Wheatley says: “After five minutes of following behind Dani, you completely forget that he is blind. His sailing skill is phenomenal.”

With all eyes on the weather, a potential ‘go’ day with the wind initially in the north was identified but was dependent on Dani passing a final test, a long beat up to Lymington in winds touching above 20 knots and back to Cowes. He passed with flying colours, and it was all on for Thursday 24th July 2025 – a day that would go down in history.

Starting in flat water and an initially building breeze with a gun fired off the Castle ramparts by Patricia Lewington, the Secretary of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Dani made quick progress up to Lymington touching speeds in excess of 10 knots. At Lymington, a support RIB with three-time Round the Island winner Simon Rogers onboard was met, and Dani set sail for the Needles.

Through the Hurst Narrows the wind dropped, and the leg to the lighthouse was long and slow. Conditions did not look conclusive to a successful circumnavigation, so the support team gambled on navigating Dani some five miles offshore to pick up what was hoped would be new breeze. Eventually it came, along with a nasty swell, but a course to St Catherine’s lighthouse could finally be made.

Inshore at St Catherine’s the sea state was sleight and a reach towards Luccombe saw increasing evening winds that were starting to come in from the west. By Culver Cliffs, a sea state was starting to build south of the Bembridge Ledge and with no option to go offshore due to the tide and a building sea state, the call was made to find a way to cross the Ledge at half-tide. For Dani, it was an unknown. In all the planning that he had done, Bembridge Ledge was never even considered as a potential issue, but here he was facing mountainous seas, with the plywood of his boat creaking and sending him signals that it was on the limit.

Two of the support vessels, the big RIB and another donated for the day by Peter Morton went outside the Ledge whilst Magnus and Christian in a small 4.6 metre RIB stayed to guide Dani across. It was do or die but a route was found, Dani sailed magnificently and held his nerve. It was touch and go, Dani skirted unknowingly close to rocks and through challenging waveforms that took everything and more from him. But he did it.

Then came the tricky leg up to Seaview where the club’s fleet were moored for their late summer regatta. Dani was guided outside of the moored vessels with a good line to cross Ryde Sands and with the catamaran drawing just 15cm, he was making excellent progress against the tide.

Past Wooton, and the ferry, and then on past Osborne Beach, Dani approached the final headland with the sun setting and the wind dropping. The Rogers RIB ahead warned of little wind on the final approaches to Cowes but along the Shrape, Dani picked up apparent wind, almost a wind from the Gods, and set a course along the breakwater, inside the buoys to the Royal Yacht Squadron line. On the edge of his physical and mental endurance, Dani Anglada Pich crossed the finish line after 13 hours and 8 minutes, to carve his name in history and prove that there is no barrier to the physical condition.

Coming ashore, Dani was overseen by the paramedic Jon Knott who had been onboard Peter Morton’s support vessel throughout the challenge, and with the all-clear, celebrations could begin. The following day, the YesWeSail team held a barbecue at the East Cowes Sailing Club where the Mayor of East Cowes, Tracey Reardon, awarded Dani with the freedom of the town. Commodore Peter Ball and Rear Commodore Barry Quinn presented an engraved trophy and all round there was a huge sense of accomplishment.

Subsequent to the challenge, Dani’s YesWeSail Team were nominated for World Sailing Team of the Year at the Rolex World Sailing Awards 2025 whilst East Cowes Sailing Club became twinned with the Club Nautic El Masnou in Barcelona, Dani’s supporting club.

An incredible feat by an incredible sailor. Dani Pich not only made history but advanced the calls for sailing to be re-included in the Brisbane Paralympic Games of 2032 whilst proving that anything is possible, able-bodied or not.

Magnus Wheatley