Meet Ben Poucher. Professional sailor, sailboat racer, sailing advocate and nonprofit director. Ben, who grew up sailing in Michigan and then raced for a while as a student at the College of Charleston, found his way into the professional ranks of the sport shortly after college. He spent several years managing race boats and doing deliveries, while at the same time serving as a paid crew at regattas. Then, he and longtime friend Tim Fetsch got involved in the Class 40 arena, which put him in touch with the USMMA Sailing Foundation. That led to involvement in the fledgling Warrior Sailing Program, which he now directs.
Ben says he spends about 60 percent of his working time managing the operations of this nonprofit organization, which teaches disabled military veterans and active duty personnel how to sail and race.
“We do a series of three-day basic camps around the country at sites such as San Diego, Annapolis, Charleston and St. Petersburg. This winter, we took our road show to Hawaii and worked with military veterans there. More recently, we were in Charleston for a four-day advanced racing camp.”
Ben says the main goal of the program is to get these guys and gals out on the water and immersed in the sailing community. “Ultimately, we want them to have the opportunity to become sailors. We’ve been doing this for almost two years now. And if any of our warriors decide they want to pursue the sport more specifically than just learning how to sail and go cruising, we have a Warrior Sailing Team that travels the country and competes in international regattas. These aren’t just disabled events, these are able-bodied events, and one of those events is Charleston Race Week. I always like to coming back here for Race Week. It’s my favorite racing event. There’s lots of good competition and lots of good parties, and it’s a great way to introduce the warriors to a part of sailing they probably haven’t seen.”
At Race Week this year – just as he did in 2015 – Ben will be on board the Warrior Sailing Team’s entry in the J/22 Class, serving as a coach and letting the team members handle the majority of the sailing-related duties.
“We’ll have Scott Ford (who is blind), along with Sammy Lugo and David Caras on board,” he says. “These guys have really come a long way as racing sailors in just a very short amount of time. Last year, we finished eighth out of nine boats, so we’ve definitely got goals for this year.”
Ben adds that a few members of the Warrior Sailing Team will be racing on board Metholius, a German Frers-designed 84-foot sloop entered in the Pursuit Class. Metholius was donated to the USMMA Foundation and will have an array of different personalities on board, including a US Navy Admiral.
