Never Say Never

The wind shear struck Bruce Kendell’s twin-engine Piper Navajo as it entered its final approach into Clearwater Airpark, in Clearwater, Florida on a storm-tossed August day in 2003. Kendell, (56) was travelling back from a business meeting in St. Augustine, and his son Brad (now 35) and Brad’s friend Daniel Griffith Jr. (24) were onboard. All three men were pilots, and all three knew that they were in serious trouble when the plane’s nose punched radically skywards: the Navajo crested its apex and its wings stalled, banking the plane hard and sending it on an unrecoverable trajectory towards Earth, roughly a half-mile shy of the runway.

Flash-forward 13 years and Kendell found himself boarding a flight with teammates Rick Doerr and Hugh Freund for the 2016 Rio Paralympics, where they would compete in the sailing portion of the Games in the three-person Sonar class. The trip was uneventful, but Kendell’s road to Rio involved 25 surgeries, including bilateral above-knee leg amputations and open-heart surgery, and countless hours of jaw-clenching physical therapy just to walk; learning to be a competitive Paralympic sailor took three Paralympic “quadrennials”. Yet while Kendell’s life was touched by tragedy, he regained his compass bearing thanks to his family, friends and boating-centric lifestyle, which has always provided his gravity and inspiration, and earned Paralympic glory.

In the spring of 2003, Kendell was finishing his undergraduate degree in communications at the University of South Florida (USF) at Tampa. Mostly, he was enjoying the finer points of collegiate life and racking-up hours towards his big-picture goal of becoming a commercial pilot. 

Five months later, this carefree life was shattered. Kendell was unconscious when the life-saving decision was made to amputate his legs, but—despite 45 days’ worth of heavy sedatives—he was painfully aware of the follow-up surgeries and the agony of mastering his prosthetic legs. Kendell was 6’2” and weighed 198 pounds when he boarded his Dad’s Piper Navajo, and he left Tampa General for Healthsouth Rehabilitation Center “a little shorter” and 115 pounds. While Kendell’s USF contemporaries were beginning careers, he invested his rookie year (re)learning to walk. “I compare it to buying a brand-new pair of shoes and having blisters and getting used to them, but 100 times worse,” said Kendell about his prosthetic legs. “It’s a process, but the more you practice and the more you’re on the legs, the skin toughens-up and the better you get.” 

While the physical therapy took grin-and-bear-it gumption, re-engaging life presented different challenges. Flying was out as a career, and Kendell had also lost his hero and mentor. Bruce Kendell was a world-class sailor who sailed away from New Zealand in the early 1970s aboard Jim Kilroy’s then state-of-the-art ocean-racing sailboat Kialoa II as the boat’s professional captain, a gig that would take him and his soon-to-be bride Patti (Brad’s mother) around the world, while allowing him to compete in many of the world’s great offshore races, including the 1975 Sydney to Hobart Race, during which Kialoa III set an course record that stood for 21 years. “My brother Sean and I grew up on the water,” recalled Kendell about a childhood spent fishing, surfing and learning to sail at the Clearwater Yacht Club. “I knew I had to get back out.” While Sean had to carry his big brother down to the family’s powerboat those first few trips, the medicine proved strong. “[Boating] was a huge part of my healing,” said Kendell. “The help of family and friends is the reason that I’m here today.”

Family friends suggested that Brad consider Paralympic sailing, so, at their behest, Kendell traveled to nearby St. Petersburg and sailed Sonars with Jen French and JP Creignou. While a refresher was needed, by day two Kendell felt himself slotting back into a familiar groove that was noticed by French and Creignou, who were recruiting a third sailor for a 2008 Beijing Paralympics campaign. Kendell accepted their invitation, and while the team proved capable, they placed third at the U.S. Paralympic Trials—good, but not good enough.

While time ashore allowed Kendell to go boating and fishing—his other passion—with his family and friends every weekend, he knew he had unfinished business. Doerr and Freund kept sailing Sonars and rotated several other middle trimmers (Kendell’s position) through the boat, but the crew-chemistry didn’t kick. The three kept talking, and Kendell rejoined the team in 2014. “They’re a couple of my best mates,” said Kendell. “I always try to remind them that we’ve got to have fun—that’s the only way to win.”

Together with coach Mike Ingham, the three started training with the total-commitment goal of qualifying for—and medaling at—the 2016 Rio Paralympics. “More time in the boat, a great coach, and we had our minds set,” said Kendell about the team’s evolution. “We travelled a lot, and we did as many international regattas as we could.”

While the IPC’s decision to drop sailing closed one door, it simultaneously opened different avenues. “I plan on enjoying more family time, and time with friends,” said Kendell, who recalled some milestones he missed while off campaigning. Boating, of course, will play a central role as he teaches Piper to fish and sail, and as he transitions to big-boat sailing. “There’s talk of doing a Florida to Cuba race,” said Kendell, his excitement audibly registering. “Everyday above ground is a good one!”