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{shortcode-8c0dd475ea3269f67b1a4d37d27db5cc232a1fc2}hen Paul Callahan ’80-85 set sail in 1995 on a weekend vacation in Newport, Rhode Island, he had no idea that the trip would change his life. Thirty years later, sailing has brought him to the Paralympics, inspired a nonprofit, and — most recently — led his sons to his alma mater.

At 21 years old, Callahan suffered a fall that left him with quadriplegia. Following the accident, Callahan became the first quadriplegic student to graduate from Harvard and worked as an asset manager for Goldman Sachs for 15 years.

Callahan said that the 1995 sailing trip was “the first time” he had been out of his wheelchair in more than 15 years. The sport provided him with a feeling of independence that he longed for.

“It was the first sport that I could compete in and that I enjoyed.” Callahan said. “It was also the first time I went on a sailboat. It was an extremely liberating feeling.”

After discovering sailing, he caught the bug.

“I just started sailing,” Callahan said. “I left Goldman Sachs because there was something more I wanted to do in my life.”

Subsequently, he became more involved with the sport and started training for the Paralympics. Callahan is currently a two-time Paralympian, having competed for Team USA at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, and at the 2012 Paralympics in London — where he won the gold medal for “everyone else.”

“I was fortunate enough to win the United States Paralympic trials again in 2012 and went on to London,” Callahan said. “All with the mission of taking a whole community and a whole country along with me so others could share this great secret that I had discovered.”

His sons — juniors Justin Callahan and Mitchell Callahan — have been members of the Harvard Sailing team since they entered campus as freshmen. With both currently acting as skippers and crew members, their leadership has been a vital component for the team’s success. .

The experience of watching their father compete at the Olympics remains an integral part of the brothers’ sailing journey.

“We got to go fly to London with him in 2012 to experience that,” Mitchell Callahan said. “And the competitive nature of that really got us hooked, and ever since then, we’ve been competitive.”

In turn, their father’s love of sailing only grew as he watched his sons get involved in the sport. Proud to see his sons having fun on the sailboat, he noted that sailing is a “wonderful gift” in the lives of any individual.

“They’ve worked very hard at their sport.” Paul Callahan said. “They’re able to enjoy it.”

“He kind of took a backseat to his own sailing, and he has not missed a regatta since we were nine years old,” Mitchell Callahan said.

Mitchell also noted the personal inspiration that their father has provided them.

“It’s really cool to have my father as a role model, kind of building that legacy and helping so many people,” Mitchell Callahan said. “He’s just such an altruistic, incredible person.”

Paul Callahan hasn’t stopped sailing. Instead, he’s focused on Sail to Prevail, a nonprofit where he became the chief operating officer in 1997.

Sail to Prevail aims to provide individuals with disabilities the opportunity to be active sailors, in an adapted and accessible 20-foot sailboat. The organization was founded in 1982 — originally as Shake-A-Leg Newport — but turned to a new route under Callahan’s leadership after its re-establishment in 1996, renaming itself Sail to Prevail in 2010.

Callahan has been an integral part of Sail to Prevail and described the growth of the organization as similar to “creating a startup company,” with the goal of giving others the opportunity to gain confidence in their abilities.

“This is what Sail to Prevail has provided, not only teaching them the wonderful feelings of sailing on a boat, but also how to feel much more passionate and confident on how they live other parts of their life in the world,” Callahan said.

“You get a whole new view of sailing in general,” he said, “but also what it’s like to leave whatever adversity you’re facing behind and really experience with the water.”

Mitchell Callahan expanded on how he has witnessed the program affect new participants.

“You can just see their eyes open up,” he said. “It’s a really cool feeling.”

Sail to Prevail has two separate programs: one operating in Newport over the summer and another out of Cambridge in the fall. The siblings have been involved with the program since they were born. The organization has played a big part in the Callahans’ lives and built partnership between sailors and the program’s participants.

“By the time we were in high school, we were also working for the organization as instructors, taking people sailing,” Justin Callahan said. “So we’ve really been involved our whole lives.”

The Cambridge program works with several partner schools in order to allow for collaboration between the program and students with disabilities. In Paul Callahan’s own words, he describes this as a “productive and solid relationship” between Sail to Prevail, Cambridge Public Schools, and the greater Cambridge community.

“My intention was for a child with a disability from Cambridge be able to get on a boat and experience the Charles River, which they could never have imagined before,” he said.

According to Justin, the days often start in the morning, when participants begin to show up for the boat. From there, they provide participants with a life jacket, get them onto the boat, and get them on the water. The boats are built to accommodate any and all needs.

“These boats are super, super, super stable, very adaptive. And so we’ll take you sailing for about two hours around through Newport Harbor in the Narragansett Bay,” he said.

Sail to Prevail also has special programming such as programs dedicated to veterans and “Sail Away From Cancer” where pediatric cancer patients, their resident doctors, and family members work together to sail.

“We have people, whether they’re underprivileged or disabled veterans who are 90 years old or autistic children,” said Mitchell Callahan. “You really get people through all aspects of life.”

Both brothers worked for the program as instructors over the summer, which their father hopes has given them an “open mind” to bring to the sport as a whole. They’ve also been joined by fellow members of Harvard’s sailing team to help volunteer.

“It’s just not just Mitchell and me participating,” Justin Callahan said. “In fact, we try to give as many people on the Harvard Sailing team time to work with Sail to Prevail as much as possible.”

“We’ll just have one boat here and do it during practice time, and it’s a great way to help out the Cambridge and Boston community,” he said.

The organization has served several cities, and for the Callahans, it’s been a rewarding project for the entire family.

“Magic is the best way to describe it, and it’s something truly special,” Justin Callahan said. “I’m truly grateful to be a part of it.”

—Staff writer Neeraja S. Kumar can be reached at neeraja.kumar@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @neerajasrikumar.