Sailing Rocks!: Adaptive Monohull cruise.

Hello World.

I am Joel Taylor. I am exploring doing some adaptive sailing and as part of that my sailing partner Jen Weterings and I took some disabled friends out for a cruise. I acted as skipper for 1 day and Jen as skipper for the remaining 2 days. We sailed the completely unmodified Fraser 30 pictured below. The criteria for the crew to be safe on this cruise was that they were able to climb three vertical steps with assistance. When not skippering, Jen and I were available to assist the crew where needed.

"Blue Rose" a Fraser 30 sail boat.

Karen Bowen wrote the following text about our cruise.

SAILING ON THE BLUE ROSE - KAREN’S BLOG SEPTEMBER 1ST-3RD 2017

Before we headed out, I had a day of prep Thursday cooking healthy food for our team: Joel, Renuka, and Jen.

Lunch with Jen, Karen and Renuka

September 1st - woke up after four hours sleep I was very excited for our adventure and couldn’t sleep. Felt completely shattered, but looking forward to sailing on the Blue Rose - “Rosie”, a 30 foot Fraser sail boat.

Jen came and picked me up and helped carry my backpack and sleeping bag to the car. I have been living with MS for the past 14 years and my mobility is challenged. I was grateful to have some help.

Jen and I arrived at the dock to meet our skipper Joel. Ken, the owner of “Rosie” , was there to greet us and wish us a safe trip. We headed to the boat. Jen assisted me on as my legs felt weak - hang in there guys!

Joel gave us a tour of Rosie pointing out the control panels and the engine: I learned how to do a W.O.B.B.L.E. check of the engine: We checked the WATER FILTER then the OIL levels, the BELT checking for damage and tension. Next were the BILGES, we looked for signs of leaks which may indicate something more serious. Then the LEVELS and the ENGINE/EXHAUST - We allowed the engine to warm up, so it "ticked over" smoothly before setting off.

All looked good! Next, Joel showed us the map and and discussed our course.

Joel Taylor

We made a lunch of salad, cheese and fruit. At 1400, we headed out to Bowen Island. Jen steered us out as Joel, cast off lines and pulled in fenders, Jen successfully steered us clear and safely away from the dock and other boats, Renuka and I kept watch and held out boat hooks to made sure that we didn't hit other boats, or the dock, as we left the dock.

I took port side watch and noted the markers we passed, as we left the inlet. A motor boat sped by, breaking the speed limit in the inlet. Ken referred to these boaters as “credit card captains”. I continued to watch for deadwood, other vessels, people, crab traps and tankers. We noted a tanker was moving, and steered clear of it.

After a time, I went on the bow and took bow watch - the scenery was breathtaking - we passed Lighthouse park and Whytecliff park as we made our way to Bowen. I felt an incredible sense of freedom.

Karen on the bow.

Lighthouse Park, North Vancouver. British Columbia Canada

We arrived at Bowen Island at 1730. As it was the long weekend, the government docks were full, so we decided to anchor at Mannion Bay. A beautiful bay.

Once we anchored, Joel and Jen jumped into the water - I was eager to join them, but wasn’t sure if my legs could handle going down or especially up ladder, so I sat at the stern of the boat and watched Jen and Joel. Jen boarded the dinghy and with encouragement from me emptied a bucket over my head- it felt cold, but amazing.

Rejuvenated, I made a dinner of brown rice pasta and sauce with spinach and kale. We ate and discussed our course for the next day, and after hit the hay around 11pm. I slept in the kitchen area it was actually very comfortable and the bench/bed was long enough for me. (I’m 6 feet!) The waves lolled me to sleep, I felt incredibly relaxed and happy. I could get used to this!

Saturday September 2nd - In the morning made breakfast. After breakfast we plotted our course from Mannion Bay to Gambier. Once our course was plotted,We learned how to measure the distance and calculate the time it would take to get there. Distance equals speed multiplied by time. We estimated we would be averaging 4 knots speed so figured it would take us a few hours. I went on the bow and resumed my lookout. After an hour, I steered Rosie, she was a great boat to steer. We lost wind and tacked back and forth a few times. Renuka took over under sail, and then realizing the wind had died, we motored the rest of the way.

Here's some sailing pics:

Renuka docked us at Gambier she managed to maneuver Rosie in a very tight locale. We had arrived at Jen’s friend Ford’s majestic cabin.

Happy helm Renuka post docking.

I jumped in the water and swam to shore. Joel brought me my poles and shoes. We all went for a swim then Ford offered his shower for us we took turns taking a shower it was fantastic and felt luxurious - Joel and I played foose ball while we waited for the shower. I won woohoo!

We were invited to join Ford and his friends for dinner, I had a great chat with one of Ford’s friends Karen whose best friend had a similar health “journey” to me - cancer and MS what are the odds? I promised to send her my e-book on navigating cancer. We had a great night talking to Ford and friends - Ford mentioned he wanted to give back to GF Strong, where he was rehabilitated. We also discussed new gene therapies that looked promising Crispr and the Cas 9. I texted my friend Marjorie who is a research scientist working with gene therapies and she was testing these therapies out for her work with childhood leukaemia - small world!

Karen, Joel and Renuka at Fords cottage.

After dinner, we headed back to the boat and hit the hay.

Sunday the 3rd - we woke up made a quick breakfast and headed back to Horseshoe Bay with Jen as our Skipper. The scenery was spectacular on the way back. I was sad to see our trip end. Jen docked us safely at Horseshoe Bay and I disembarked as I was off to Duncan to visit a friend. Joel kindly fetched me a wheelchair and delivered me to the ferry terminal as my legs had given out.

This trip was wonderful and a highlight - I made new friends and got to know other friends better. I felt adventurous and on the water, I felt like a normal healthy happy person not defined by MS or Cancer for that matter.

Joel, Jen and Renuka then sailed "Blue Rose" back to her home slip.

Sailing back to Vancouver, BC Canada

At this time the same crew are organizing an adaptive cruise on a catamaran in the Caribbean. The cruise will be on a 40 foot catamaran. We are organizing the trip with Barefoot Yacht Charters in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where Joel is working as a charter skipper for the 2017/18 season.

The crew were: