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Injured Sailor Undaunted by Accident

A tragic accident will not stop John Spicher from experiencing the wonders of the Sea of Cortez. Pictured here with the supportive staff of Marina Palmira, the recovering sailor wears his ‘soul sailor’ Baja Ha-Ha T-shirt.

© 2014 Tom Brown & Jeanne Walker

Those new to the cruising scene are often deeply impressed by the supportive nature of sailing communities, especially in Mexico — and particularly in times of need. That observation was well illustrated by both cruisers and marine business people in La Paz recently, in the aftermath of a tragic dinghy accident that ultimately caused its victim, John Spicher of the Anacortes, WA-based Coast 34 Time Piece to lose his lower left leg and foot.

As reported earlier, Spicher was attempting to help the owner of a runaway dinghy, whose driver had fallen out without wearing a kill cord, when Spicher was struck multiple times by the high-revving outboard.  

Jeanne Walker of the La Paz-based Eagle writes: "John Spicher, who now calls La Paz, Mexico home, returned after being gone for two months. . . John’s injuries required medical air evacuation to San Diego and ultimately the decision to amputate his lower left leg." (See her full account of the accident here.)

"As John has been living in the La Paz area since the 2011 Baja Ha-Ha, he no longer carried US medical insurance. The cruising community in La Paz rallied around and held several fundraisers for John, raising close to $9,000. At the time of the accident, John’s boat was in the city anchorage. It was moved to Marina Palmira. The marina pitched in with one month’s free moorage and a discount for several additional months.

"John will be receiving his first prosthesis shortly. After a bit of time visiting family and friends in the States, he plans to return to La Paz and get back to sailing in the Sea of Cortez." 

Spicher has lived aboard Time Piece for the past 14 years. While participating in the 2011 Baja Ha-Ha rally, he won the Burrito Division, and earned the designation of "soul sailor" for having sailed the entire route. 

If you’d like to help John out with his enormous medical expenses, donations can be made at PayPal via [email protected].

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