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Injured Sailor Needs Help

After sailing in the recent J/70 North American Championship in San Diego, top Bay Area sailor and boatbuilder Campbell Rivers was dealt a cruel and unfair blow that will likely change his life forever. While finishing a cigarette in the parking lot of a local Point Loma bar, Rivers was run over by a drunk driver in a borrowed Jeep Grand Cherokee, who had just left the bar. With injuries to his left knee and a shattered pelvic bone with five breaks, Campbell is looking at a long and challenging recovery.

Surrounded by his sailing buds, Campbell is trying to maintain a positive attitude as he focuses on achieving short-term goals.

Campbell Rivers
©2015Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Doctors estimate that Rivers will be in a wheelchair for four to six months and a walker for another six months. For a professional racing sailor and boatbuilder who makes his living using his body, Rivers’ ability to work has been greatly compromised. According to friends who have visited him in the hospital, his colorful sense of humor and driven, competitive nature are fully intact — Campbell is still Campbell — but his finances are anything but.

Because Campbell has no health insurance, and was struck by a drunk driver in a borrowed car, the only thing certain about the financial aspects of Campbell’s recovery is that he needs our help. Fortunately, the West Coast sailing community takes care of their own. J/70 and big-boat teammate Jeff Thorpe of Quantum Sails has set up a Go Fund Me page to help Campbell raise $200,000, to be used toward covering his medical bills and expenses during recovery. After just the first two days, the effort raised an incredible $43,000, made up of donations ranging from a few bucks to a cool 10 grand from a gracious big-boat owner who has employed Campbell in the past.

Campbell Rivers at the helm in happier times. 

Campbell Rivers
©Latitude 38 Media, LLC

"Campbell is blown away by the amount and depth of people who have donated to his cause. He didn’t realize he had so many friends who cared about him. And he says he’s not going to smoke again!" says Thorpe. "He’s surprisingly doing very well. He’s very reflective and focused on short-term goals and achieving those because he’s competitive. He’s not feeling sorry for himself. He’s motivated to get better."

Everyone who has met him has a story to tell about Campbell Rivers, a larger-than-life personality with a wealth of knowledge about grand prix racing yachts, carbon-fiber and rigging. We encourage you to visit his Go Fund Me page and help Campbell regain some sense of normalcy.

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