The Lo Spirito de Stella catamaran, a boat fully adapted for people with disabilities, has been in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Marina since last Wednesday for the first time on its stopover of the Wheels on Waves (WoW) Around the World 2023-2025 project. , sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Defense.
On board the boat are soldiers belonging to the Italian armed forces and other nationalities who are victims of work accidents while participating in peace missions around the world, as well as other civilians with some type of physical disability who will take turns forming 60 equipment during the stages of the journey.
At all stops there will be open days for anyone who wants to learn about the project and it also offers the possibility for local people with disabilities to go out to sea, on three-hour tours, with a maximum of ten participants, up to five of them. with reduced mobility and wheelchairs, as well as guests and associations that work with disabilities.
Lo Spirito di Stella is a boat owned by Andrea Stella, an Italian great nautical fan, who in 2000 was the victim of a robbery in Miami and after the shooting suffered permanent paraplegia of his lower limbs that left him in a wheelchair. wheels.
After this tragedy, he decided to build an accessible boat equipped with ramps, adapted bathrooms, two elevators to access the four cabins located in the two hulls, rails to move wheelchairs, a hydraulic rudder, an elevator with a harness to access the water or seats. sliding so that the crew can move from bow to stern.
Stella also launched an association, of the same name as the ship, which aims to raise awareness and fight for the rights of people with disabilities and the elimination of architectural barriers.
It is planned to make 80 stops, travel more than 40,000 miles and have 500 participants. Each stop will feature special guests on board, Paralympic athletes and personalities, and testimonials for day trips. In Spain, this catamaran has visited the cities of Barcelona and Malaga, with Tenerife being the last stop before crossing the Atlantic Ocean starting on Tuesday, Gaetano, one of its crew, told DIARIO DE AVISOS.
Eight people plan to undertake the journey that will last between 15 and 20 days, including two people with disabilities, one of whom arrived in Tenerife yesterday to enroll in this stage.
About 20 people with disabilities enjoy inclusive navigation
Last Tuesday, the assembly hall of the Real Club Náutico de Tenerife hosted the presentation event of this project Wheels on Waves (WoW) Around the World, which was attended by the vice consul of Italy in the Canary Islands, Gianluca Cappelli Bigazzi; the president of the Port Authority, Pedro Suárez; the Deputy Delegate of Defense, Juan Irizar Sigüenza; the Naval Commander, José María Fernández López; and the president of the nautical entity, José Miguel Conejo de la Roca, among other authorities.
After arriving in Tenerife last Wednesday at noon, for three days it has been possible to visit in the afternoon, while between 10:00 and 13:00 it has offered the possibility of enjoying sea baptisms and outings on this boat to around twenty people on the Island with some type of disability and guests, an inclusive experience exploring the waters near the bay of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
