Part 1: So, do you know what adaptive sailing is? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. I know didn’t. In early spring, I was approached by James Macrelis to photograph the first ever adaptive sailing event in the Chattanooga area. It was hosted by his non-profit company ROVER (Regional Outreach Veterans Engagement Resources) whose mission is to get veterans with disabilities (physical and emotional) out of the house. James is a disabled veteran who spent a very long time in the hospital recovering from his injuries – including a TBI (traumatic brain injury). He started ROVER in response to the increase in suicide rates among veterans, of which he could have easily been one. Thanks to the increased media coverage, we have all read or heard the statistics for suicides among veterans, which have been surging at an alarming rate since 2001 – the NY Times reported in July 2016 that suicides have increased by 35 percent since then. So, in order to get the Veterans out of the house, even for just a few hours, ROVER hosted this 3 day adaptive sailing course. Adaptive sailing is exactly what it means – sailing adapted to persons with disabilities. When he first asked if I would cover this event for him, all I could think of, was the limited exposure I had to sailing. That exposure, seriously, was limited to me sitting in a sailing boat while my father made it sail. So, my first question was – what did this entail? And when he said, I get to sit in a boat and take pictures, I was all for it. Betsy Alison, a National Sailing Hall of Fame member and a US Sailing Paralympic Coach, taught the course. (I know she’s a hot-shot, but I’m not familiar with the sport, so if I got her job wrong, please forgive me). Her knowledge, and the speed of which she taught the veterans was incredible. For the first 1-2 hours, she instructed them in the classroom. We then all moved outside and learned about the boat they were going to sail. (And if I knew more about sailing, I’d be able to tell you what kind of boat they were going to sail, but I don’t, so I won’t). Once she finished the dry land instruction, all the veterans got in the boat and headed out.
