Neal Petersen - the yachtsman

Born in Cape Town, Neal grew up in the grip of apartheid, classified as "coloured" and subject to arrest if he didn't follow the system's segregationist rules. Racism wasn't his only challenge; he also was born with a defective hip. But Neal would turn these barriers into doorways. While recuperating from surgeries, he spent hours reading about sailing adventures, dreaming one day that he too would sail around the world. Swimming was his physical therapy, and he eventually became a commercial diver, toiling in Africa's brutal underwater diamond mines to scrape up enough money to build his own sailboat. Through sheer persistence, he ingratiated himself with the "whites-only" yachting community and learned to sail. His hard work would pay off.

Channel: People & Blogs
Uploaded: March 23, 2007 at 3:07 am
Author: nealpetersen

Length: 03:31
Rating: 2.75
Views: 372

Tags: adventure  inspiration  keynote  sailing  speaker  yacht  

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