The Warrior Sailing Program (WSP) is coming to Annapolis September 13-15 with a Basic Training Camp for wounded, ill, and injured military service members and veterans looking for a new challenge: sailing. The three-day camps teach vets points of sail, boat maneuvering, and tactics, then puts them on the race course against each other for some friendly competition.
“When the Warrior Sailors are on the water and free from distractions, they’re really able to reconnect with others from similar backgrounds,” says Cory Kapes, program manager for WSP. Kapes notes that their service experience is often about the person to their left or right, and that “working in small teams toward a common goal is a perfect way for them to revisit the camaraderie that was inherent in their military service.”
United States Navy Lieutenant Joan Hill first learned of the WSP when the director came to her Navy sports club in Norfolk, VA, for a presentation. “It sat in the back of my mind as something different to try,” she says. “I had sailed a couple of times growing up, but hadn’t learned properly, or had the opportunity to do it on a more regular basis.” Hill signed up for the Basic Training Camp via the website and was accepted in the Texas camp.
“At first, I was really just interested in getting out of my house. For some people, it might not necessarily be about the sailing, but instead about challenging yourself. At that point in my life, going to the grocery store was a challenge. So to go to the airport and fly to Texas, meet all these people I had only emailed, and go sailing, that was extremely difficult. I was challenging myself to try to live again.”
But Hill caught the bug very quickly. She soon signed up for the Advanced Training Camp, and was invited to participate in Charleston Race Week in March of this year. Onboard the Frers Huissman 84 Metolius, Hill and the Warrior Sailing Team took third place in the 18-boat Non-Spinnaker fleet.
For the Annapolis camp, WSP is using club J/22s on loan from Annapolis Yacht Club, putting three veterans on each boat with an experienced, professional coach. To give the vets as normal of an experience as possible, the WSP brings in any adaptive equipment necessary to use on the J/22s to make the participants feel comfortable. “Sometimes it’s as easy as attaching a line in the cockpit to make tacks easier for someone who has a brain injury and suffers from a terrible sense of balance,” says Kapes.
Hill says it’s important to be accepting and encouraging of injuries, but not baby the veterans. “Some of us need adaptations for the challenges we carry through our lives now, but being babied is the last thing we want. We need to be challenged, both physically and mentally, and we’re all still very competitive by nature.”
The J/22 provides an excellent platform for the vets to work together as a team in a small space. And if sailing clicks with the vets, and they want to continue, WSP offers more advanced training and even sends boats to national regattas: a WSP-crewed boat is headed to Cork, Ontario, to compete in the J/22 Worlds August 19-21. The program also hooks participants up with local resources, so that they can continue sailing in their communities back home. Hill is a frequent crew in her area’s Thursday night beer can series.
If you’re interested in donating your time or resources to the Annapolis Warrior Sailing Camp, email [email protected]. And for more information on this great program, visit warriorsailing.org.
