Is this the IFDS rule that Geoff Chambers is talking about in regard to Jeff Milligan:?

"Sailors with a below knee amputation at the level of the ankle joint or below (Syme’s or similar amputation), are not considered to have sufficient disability to compete."

If so, is it a new rule as of December 2005 that Jeff Milligan did not know about?

Chambers' article was very eloquent, but I'm sure there is another side to this story. Obviously, they have to draw the line somewhere on disabilities that make you eligible to sail in IFDS events.

Personally, we know a guy who for many years rigged and raced his Sunfish literally single-handed, because he only had one arm.

And we also have a friend with only one leg who won a lot of races skippering his Shark catamaran for many years.

I'm sure every disability of any kind is a challenge for the person who has the disability, but I certainly hope that Jeff Milligan does not consider himself to be quite as pathetic a figure as Chambers portrays.