Founder Ed Gallagher

Genoa Services was founded by Ed Gallagher, sailor, artist and entrepreneur who slowly lost his sight as he was approaching middle age. Ed remained committed to finding an alternative way of expressing his creativity and artistic “vision”.

Ed was also inspired to found Genoa Services based on his life-long passion for sailing and service as the former commodore of The Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS). His goal was to create a service so he and other blind sailors could sail uninhibited by their disability. To learn more about BAADS visit www.baads.org.

Ed worked with friends to develop the concepts behind Genoa Services and to build prototypes.

Ed says, ”The Genoa System has given me a sense of freedom that I haven’t experienced in years. It is like getting the keys to a car when you are 16 years old!”

Genoa Services was named after Ed’s guide dog,  Genoa. For those familiar with sailing, the genoa is the forward-most headsail on a sloop not running a spinnaker. It pulls the boat forward, much like Ed’s guide dog, Genoa, has been pulling him forward for many years.

To watch a video about the origin of Genoa Services with BAADS please visit our Media and Events page.

*The use of Genoa Services’ technology is specifically designed for assistance of the sight impaired and is can provide hands free navigation and independence, freedom. Genoa Systems  is to be used in conjunction with guide dog and cane since cell phone signal and WiFi are not 100% reliable 100% of the time.