Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating Inc

Imagine your life with limited mobility.  And someone invites you to sail, to hold the lines taut against the wind, to skipper with your hand on the tiller, guiding the boat wherever you want to go.  To sail freely with the breeze and sea!

Persons with disabilities sail in CRAB's fleet of small sailboats, four 20-foot Freedom Independence sloops custom designed and rigged for easy handling by persons with limited mobility.  The goal of CRAB's programs is to teach and encourage sailing to persons with disabilities, developing self-confidence and self-respect.

Founded in 1991 by Don Backe, a lifelong sailor, after he was paralyzed from the chest down in a auto accident, CRAB is the only organization on the Chesapeake Bay dedicate to making sailing available to persons with disabilities.  Over 1,000 people set sail with CRAB every year.

CRAB invites onboard students and residents of institutions for disabled and elderly, such as the Maryland School for the Blind, Box of Rain, The Lodge Program at Frost School, Soldiers Home at Charlotte Hall, etc.  In recent years Wounded Warriors from nearby military facilities have begun sailing with CRAB.

For wider outreach, CRAB offers a monthly Sailfree which is open to the public to introduce the therapeutic value and pure joy of wind and sea. 

Two major events each year are the CRAB Cup, a competitive race for sailors with disabilities, hosted by the Annapolis Yacht Club, and The Boatyard Bar and Grill Regatta to Benefit CRAB, a competitive race open to all boats, and a fundraiser for CRAB, hosted by the Eastport Yacht Club. 

CRAB's programs are conducted mostly by volunteers who maintain, skipper and crew boats and provide instruction.  CRAB's boats are docked at Sandy Point State Park.

CRAB's funds are primarily raised from individual donations and grants from organizations, corporations and individuals.