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August 2012 EW IN OTHER NEWS 69 Smooth sailing by Maxine Lipner Senior EyeWorld Contributing Writer T here are times when ophthalmologists need to get away from it all. One practitioner, David J. Mendelblatt, M.D., affiliate assistant professor, University of South Florida, Tampa, takes what many secretly dream about literally and sails away from it all in his Sun- fish. Unlike the purely recreational sailor, however, Dr. Mendelblatt takes his time "at sea" seriously and has competed in everything from the sailing world championships to the Olympic trials. In many ways, Dr. Mendelblatt has grown on the water around his St. Petersburg, Florida-hometown. "My parents had an interest in boat- ing, and we had some neighbors who raced sailboats, so my parents sent me to a local club here," Dr. Mendelblatt said. When he was 9, he competed in his first race under less than optimal conditions. "There was a hurricane passing nearby, and it became very rough and I was terri- fied," he said. "I was so scared that I decided that I never wanted to see another boat in my life." Although he was stuck out in the water for a long time, he did finally make it back to shore under his own power. When he later went to the awards ceremony, his outlook changed. "I did go to the trophy presentation afterward, where I was surprised that I had won a third place trophy," Dr. Mendelblatt said. "It was because there were only three people in my age group." It was the first trophy he had ever won. "That persuaded me to stay with sailing," he said. This was capped off a year later by an even bigger moment when he won a trophy with others finishing behind. "That was an even bigger accom- plishment for me to actually deserve to win an award," Dr. Mendelblatt said. Unfurling his passion The slightly built kid who was never particularly good at ball and stick sports had found his niche. "I was always too small to be a factor play- ing football or baseball, and sailing was a sport where I could excel par- tially because of my small size," he said. "I got better and better at it, and finally by the time I was 11 and 12, I was able to beat older kids and win the whole championship." From there his sailing career began to really take off. In 1987 he won the U.S. junior national cham- pionship. When he was just 18 he had the rare opportunity to compete in the Olympic trials. "I didn't have much experience. I was right out of high school and hadn't done any college sailing," he said. "I ended up 14th, which was better than I ex- pected to do, but they only take one from each country so obviously I wasn't good enough to qualify." In college at Tufts University, he was particularly elated his senior year. "I won my division nationals and was voted to be on the all- American team after that," Dr. Mendelblatt recalled. That same year he also won the U.S. team racing championships. Yet another big mo- ment came when he was in medical school when he again qualified to sail in the Olympic trials, this time in the Laser class, but unfortunately he did not make the team. Since then Dr. Mendelblatt has switched to sailing in the Sunfish class—a classic boat that has been around for 60 years that he can sail by himself when he has the time. He has had some successes here, finishing second in the world championships twice and third in the champi- onships twice. "My goal is to win a continued on page 70 APACRS Index to Advertisers Gulden Ophthalmics TearLab Page: 47 Phone: 65-63278630 www.apacrs.org Alcon Laboratories Inc. Page: Cover 2, 3, and 4 Phone: 800-862-5266 Fax: 800-241-0677 www.alconlabs.com Accutome Page: 55 Phone: 610-889-0200 Fax: 610-889-3233 www.accutome.com Bausch + Lomb Page: Cover 3 Phone: 585-338-6536 Fax: 585-338-0898 www.bausch.com Columbus Community Hospital Page: 67 Phone: 402-562-3371 www.columbushosp.org Diamatrix Ltd. Page: 48 and 59 Phone: 281-367-8081 Fax: 281-292-5481 www.diamatrix.com ESCRS Page: 56, 57, and 66 www.escrs.org Epsilon USA Page: 58 Phone: 909-984-4614 Fax: 909-984-4671 www.epsilonusa.com Fast Track Marketing Page: 65 Phone: 877-548-1741 Fax: 303-447-9215 www.fast-track marketing.com Fischer Surgical Page: 23 Phone: 866-622-2221 Fax: 636-464-8192 www.fischersurgical.com Eye Care and Cure Page: 67 Phone: 800-486-6169 Fax: 877-321-1267 www.eyecareandcure.com Dr. Mendelblatt with his Sunfish at the 2010 world championships in Italy Source: David J. Mendelblatt, M.D. Page: 67 Phone: 215-884-8105 Fax: 215-884-0418 www.guldenophthalmics.com Katena Products Page: 51 Phone: 973-989-1600 Fax: 973-989-8175 www.katena.com LensAR Page: 7 Phone: 954-889-7804 Fax: 407-386-7228 www.lensar.com Mani Page: 29 Phone: 81-28-667-7565 Fax: 81-28-667-6177 www.mani.co.jp Marco Ophthalmic Inc. Page: 9 Phone: 904-642-9330 Fax: 904-642-9338 www.marcooph.com Mastel Precision Page: 25 Phone: 800-657-8057 Fax: 605-343-3631 www.mastel.com New World Medical Page: 64 Phone: 909-466-4304 Fax: 909-466-4305 www.ahmedvalve.com Oasis Medical Page: 61 Phone: 909-305-5400 Fax: 909-305-9987 www.oasismedical.com Ophthalmology Innovation Summit Page: 62 www.oisaao.com Rhein Medical Inc. Page: 19 Phone: 813-885-5050 Fax: 813-885-9346 www.rheinmedical.com TearScience Page: 22 Phone: 919-467-4007 Fax: 919-467-3300 www.tearscience.com Page: 13 Phone: 855-832-7522 Fax: 858-812-0540 www.TearLab.com TRIOPTICS GmBH Page: 35 Phone: 49-4103-18006-0 www.trioptics.com Ziemer Ophthalmic Page: Cover 4 Phone: 618-462-9301 Fax: 618-462-9302 www.ziemergroup.com ASCRS•ASOA Meeting Information 2013 ASCRS Symposium and ASOA Congress Page: 5 2013 Cornea Day Page: 15 2013 Glaucoma Day Page: 15 EyeNewsTV Page: 49 ASCRS Winter Update 2013 Page: 21 and 53 ASCRS Membership Page: 37, 39, and 41 ASOA Membership Page: 70 ASCRS MediaCenter Page: 27 EyeWorld at AAO Page: 31 and 43