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Local man sets sail and overcomes disability
By Lindsay Danzell
Contributing Writer
Connecticut native Ned Goss could cleat-hitch a sail boat by age 3. Today, he stands at the helm of the Ocean Sailing Academy at Charleston Harbor Marina.
Goss purchased the academy in late 2006. Harnessing his life experiences, Goss instructs students how to sail.
“I want (the students) to enjoy the sport that I love so much,” Goss said.
Goss’ competitive sailing resume extends from when he began racing at age 10 through Olympic training just a few years ago. Although he still loves the thrill of racing, his real talent lies with the gift of knowing how to teach people successfully.
Ironically, Goss credits dyslexia for making him a successful instructor.
He was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was in the second grade and showed almost no reading comprehension. Educators told Goss’ family he would never be able to graduate college and that he should attend a trade school. His parents immediately employed tutors to help Goss, subjecting him to myriad teaching styles.
As the tutors attempted to raise his reading comprehension, Goss studied how they taught him: visual aids, repetition, hands-on activities and verbal instructions. Each tutor taught in a particular style, trying to help him read.
Today, Goss reads on a sixth-grade level, but he can teach sailing to any person willing to learn, he said.
Early on, his dyslexia pushed him to overachieve in sailing and in school. In his early racing career, Goss became obsessed with winning.
“If I wasn’t winning, I wasn’t having fun,” he said.
With the self-induced pressure to win, Goss began a lengthy addiction to alcohol when he was 12 years old.
Despite his alcoholism, Goss became captain of his high school’s sailing team and made plans to sail in college.
Defying the recommendations of people who advised him his dyslexia was too severe to allow him to finish college, Goss enrolled in the College of Charleston. He joined the school’s sailing team, but when confronted with a mandatory drug test, he chose drugs and alcohol over sailing.
When Goss stopped competing, his addiction no longer competed with the passion for sailing and became the dominate part of his life. He was still enrolled in college, but often skipped classes. It wasn’t until he saw his 0.6 grade-point average that Goss realized he was in danger of failing out of school and failing in his life-long ambition to graduate college in spite of his disability.
Goss sought help for his addiction, sobered up and eventually graduated college. Soon after graduating, Goss regained his passion for sailing and started cleaning boats at Charleston Harbor Marina. Later, he became an instructor for the newly opened OSA in 1997.
A short time later, Goss began competing again and started to train for the Olympics. Even though he did not make the Olympic team, sobering up changed his perception from “winning is fun” to “sailing is fun,” Goss said.
“When I’m not winning, I’m still having fun,” Goss said.
In December, Goss became the sole owner of OSA. He remains one of the academy’s few instructors.
“(Sailing is) getting back in the moment and out of the chaos of life,” Goss said with a relaxed smile.
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