Local sailing team prepares for this summer's Paralympic Games

St. Petersburg, Florida -- Jen French's love for the water all started with a date. "My husband took me windsurfing on our second date," she says. Her sailing teammate, Jean Paul Creignou, started on the water when he was a child in Europe. "When you go sailing, you just step out in the water and you're in a different world right away," says Creignou. "It's just very peaceful." What they say brings an extra challenge to their sport is sailing with a disability. "We can go out sailing and actually racing against able-bodied people. We're all treated the same," French says. This summer, these St. Pete sailors are going to London, representing the United States at the 2012 Paralympic Games. Every four years, the games take place in the same location that hosts the Olympics. And the Paralympics come with the same prestige. "You have to find the right teammate that can help each other out and compensate for each others disabilities," says Creignou. The teammates both started honing their craft individually before developing a disability. They agree that paralympic sailing takes a certain amount of innovation. After suffering a spinal cord injury in a snowboarding accident years ago, Jen now uses a lifting harness to move her from the dock into the boat. She also uses sideguards from a wheelchair that were modified by a local welder in order to stay rigid in the boat. A few years ago, after finding it challenging to research adaptive resources for her own injury, she co-founded a nonprofit called Neurotech Network. It helps expand education and access to medical technology for people with disabilities. Meanwhile, Creignou is legally blind due to a degenerative condition. But disabilities aren't even noticeable as they glide and battle the wind on the water for hours at a time. "You really have to have a love for the sport," French says. And they do, no matter what splashes get in their way.