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Accident doesn't hinder boat racer

Doug Sutherland, paralyzed since July 2000, leads Outlaw A powerboaters.

By RODNEY PAGE

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 6, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- When Doug Sutherland speeds by the Pier at almost 90 mph today in his Outlaw A boat Don't Blink, he'll look like every driver at the American Power Boat Association's Offshore National Championship.

He'll be nothing but a red helmet bouncing off the waves of Tampa Bay.

But Sutherland is not the typical powerboat driver. Most drivers don't need a hydraulic lift in the cockpit that moves the seat up and down. Most don't need a specially designed box that holds their legs in place.

Since an accident in the summer of 2000, Sutherland has been paralyzed from the bottom of his ribs down.

"I've had to learn how to do things all over again," he said.

It would have been easier for Sutherland to understand had the accident happened on the water. Or at work, where he applied fiberglass and painted boats.

Instead, Sutherland became paralyzed while trimming a tree at his Sarasota home July 12, 2000. He was more than 20-feet high on an extension ladder trying to cut a 26-foot limb. The limb cracked before Sutherland could climb down.

He had enough time to throw his chainsaw before the limb crashed into the ladder, knocking him to the ground.

He landed in a sitting position, which compacted his sixth and seventh vertebrae.

"I've done hundreds of trimmings for years and years on my property," Sutherland said. "It's just that those 15 seconds got away from me. You never know. I figure it had to happen for a reason. It's not like I got hit by a drunk driver and got paralyzed. It's something I was doing. It was a fluke. You can't go through life being mad at somebody because there isn't anybody to be mad at."

Sutherland was in the hospital until October. Physical therapy taught him how to maneuver in a wheelchair and do daily activities.

His wife, Sherri, and three daughters, Casie, Carlie and Calie, help with his daily routine. "They've been a godsend," he said.

He wanted to return to work at Gulf Wind Marina in Sarasota as soon as he was able, but the marina did not offer him his old job.

They may have taken his job, but Sutherland was not letting anyone take his hobby. Sutherland, who turns 40 this month, has been racing since he was 19, when he started with small tunnel hull boats.

He began seriously racing in 1995 when he started in smaller local divisions. In 1998 he raced the faster Outlaw boats under the guidance of Gene Whipp, former president of the APBA.

Whipp tried to sell the boat in 1999 but could not find a buyer. He told Sutherland to take it out, and when Whipp died last year the boat was signed over to Sutherland for $1.

Things were looking good before the accident. Don't Blink was near the top of the point standings and running well.

Crew members Pat Cross and Pat Mumpher finished the 2000 season. Sutherland was determined to return this season, and after several practice runs in the newly-built cockpit, he successfully returned on April 7 in St. Cloud.

Don't Blink has raced in Daytona Beach, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Fort Lauderdalet.

"(Racing) is all he lives for," said Sutherland's father, Rex, who is the crew chief. "Getting back in the boat was the best thing that could happen."

With only today's race remaining, Don't Blink is leading eight Outlaw A boats with 263 points, 59 better than second-place Total Laser Care. Even an average showing ensures another Southeast Division championship.

"(Sutherland) has an awful lot of courage," Total Laser Care driver Gary DeCiucies said. "He lives for racing. He and (throttleman) Dennis (Biladeau) are great guys. We all look out for each other. If we ever see anything happen to them, we'll stop. That's much more important than the racing."

Nothing serious has happened to Don't Blink this season. The boat was beat up last weekend in Fort Lauderdale, where a small craft advisory midway through the race canceled the event.

They are ready to race today, but Sutherland is always ready to go. "If I didn't have racing I'd go crazy," he said.

At a glance

WHEN: Today-Sunday.

WHERE: Pier and Vinoy Park, St. Petersburg.

TODAY: 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Dry Pits Festival; 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Taste of the Races, Straub Park; 1 p.m., offshore race; 3 p.m., offshore race; noon-9:30 p.m., Johukame's Posse, Conquering Lion, Landsharks, Straub Park.

SUNDAY: 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Dry Pits Festival, Vinoy Park; 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Taste of the Races, Straub Park; 1 p.m., offshore racing; 3 p.m., offshore racing; 1-6 p.m., Island Boys, Conch Critters, Straub Park.

ETC: A special viewing area will be set up at the Pier. Admission is $5 each day. For information go to www.apbaoffshore

nationals.com.

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