VIDEO: Sailing with Lou Gehrig’s disease

Steve Heronemus, who has lived with Lou Gehrig’s disease for over 10 years, sailed solo for nearly 2 hours in a Sonar off the shores of Sheboygan, WI on September 4, 2015. Steve has progressively lost the use of his arms and legs but on this day, he sailed again. With only the use of his middle left finger and the ability to slightly push his upper right shoulder, Steve steered a Sonar using a bite switch and trimmed sails using two touch pads. The system was a collaboration of SEAS, Harken Inc and Steve Heronemus who worked for nearly 8 months to design and develop. Rich Reichelsdorfer, Nick Chadwick, Matt Wierzbach and Steve Orlebeke were key players on the project. Tryg Jacobson, or Jake’s Cafe Creative Community was the project coordinator.