In September of 2006, 5 legally blind men became the first all blind team to compete in the Queen Liluokalani Outrigger Canoe Race in Kona, Hawaii. The 18-mile race brought over 140 teams from all over the world, and that team, the Blind Siders, finished with a time of 3 hours and 10 minutes. In that span of time, they were able to prove to the whole world that the inability to see would never hinder the vision of overcoming a disability and achieving a goal that even sighted people have difficulty with. (Their story was covered in the Orange County Register and West Hawaii Today.)

Two of those men, John Chavez and RJ De Rama, formed the OC Makapo Aquatics Project to bring awareness to the blind and visually impaired community that paddling sports are the ideal opportunity to benefit from the life lessons team athletics provides. In the Hawaiian language, "Makapo" means "blind". Because mainstream sports such as football, basketball, and baseball require normal visual acuity for participation, many blind and visually impaired men, women, and children are left out and marginalized. Our goal is to simply open a door for these people.

Copyright 2008 Orange County Makapo Aquatics Project