I saw this on another forum, thought you might appreciate it..... I don't know the authors name, though..... "We all know the type of sailor I'm talking about, the words we normally use don't really describe him (it's almost always a him), we use the words diffident, loner, solitary, we even have single handed races especially for this type of sailor, although there are always a sprinkling of truly gregarious competitors in single handed races. A poster child however would be Mottisier. I'm talking about the kind of sailor who is only really happy when he is sailing, he is dependable, organised and logical. He is usually not too worried about the kind of boat that he is sailing, but even when he is on a powerboat you will often see a jury rig or steadying sail. I know of what I speak, because I fit the parameters that I have just listed, it was first commented on by friends who said things like "I never saw you smile until we went sailing". I have spent a great deal of my life in around and on top of boats, especially sailboats, I have been lucky enough to have had the experience of a diverse number of boats and there have always been rational reasons for the absolute satisfaction and enjoyment that I get from them. Whether it was that aggressive win by the thickness of the headstay fitting whilst team racing at college, or slowly drifting to within a few feet of a resting heron, or my first transatlantic landfall, or even sailing a hundred foot schooner rail down in the Caribbean with pilot whales alongside. All of this is heady stuff, but always there seemed to be an indefinable extra to my enjoyment. The fact that I liked any boat no matter what, even if I rationally thought about all the reasons for my liking boats, there was always a synergistic effect Others seem to have the same affliction; captains of industry, who are delighted to be invited for a sail in a Bequia "twobow" boat, Wall Street financiers who spend their Winter weekends racing badly designed tiny dinghies in freezing conditions. Maybe even you, the reader who spends a disproportionate part of your income on a sailboat. In fact the whole sailing game seems an irrational waste of money when looked at in a logical way. Ten years ago my son, who was three at the time was diagnosed with P.D.D. autism, after I had gotten over the shock and denial phase, I studied the problem in depth and especially the hereditary issue. It all seemed remarkably familiar. When the occupational therapist came back from testing my son, and stated; "Mr. Hughes, your son likes being in small spaces and also likes being rocked", light bulbs started to illuminate in my head. She did not seem to catch the implication of my reply, which was; "isn't that strange, I've enjoyed living on sailboats for ten years". Autism is described as a symptomatic disease, which is the medical profession's way of saying that they don't really know what causes it, but they do can parcel the symptoms together. Some of the symptoms include; An inability or an unwillingness to communicate well. Insistence on sameness, resisting change in routine No real fear of danger Little or no eye contact Unresponsive to normal teaching methods Sustained odd play Preferring to be alone Noticeable physical overactivity or underactivity Tantrums Inappropriate attachment to objects Uneven gross and fine motor skills Thinks in pictures Learns by doing rather than watching Now the preceding list pertains to almost every obsessive sailor that I know, I am not making light of this situation, as the parent of a child with P.D.D. Autism, I live the reality every day. Nor am I saying that every sailor fits somewhere on what doctors call the P.D.D. Autism spectrum. I am however saying that I probably do, and so does my wife and that Autism is an inherited condition. I know that sailing is being used as an educational tool more and more, my hope is that it can be recognised for it's therapeutic value in the case of Autism. For the time being my son and I love to go sailing together, as a baby he would fall into a deep sleep almost as soon as we got on the boat, now he sleeps maybe half the time, I distinctly remember the incremental improvement in his demeanor one day when we chartered a boat and sailed out to Damariscove Island in Maine, it had been a tense Summer with our business and our son seemed to have no outlet for his frustrations and was often close to uncontrollable. He had an after lunch nap, and just stood in the companionway as we slowly sailed and drifted back to Christmas Cove, he was animated and interested, but totally self controlled, the perfect child, an unusual occurrence in those days. I spent some time in the Summer of 2001, offering sailing to other Autistic children. By the very nature of this population it is tough to measure success, the only measure that I have is that parents and caregivers were wildly enthusiastic, and that they saw their children reacting and participating in a positive manner, even though that might not be obvious to an observer who was not aware of their "normal" benchmark demeanour. I only know of occupational therapy as an observer. I also know that there is a field called recreational therapy. I feel that the foregoing fits under the aegis of recreational therapy, and that probably many members of WBF have been self-administering recreational therapy for years. I would urge readers to seek out autistic children and offer to take them sailing. Please listen to feedback from parents and caregivers. Let's hope that the new crewmember becomes a delighted and delightful addition, but most parents of these children would be happy with descriptions such as "a little more enthusiastic" or "more engaged than usual".
Weigh anchor, cast off amidships, ease the throttle and take us out beyond the breakwater, and get ready to unfurl the mainsail - there's a gulf-stream out there with a moomin's name on it! Of course some proper sailing lessons would help, oh, and a boat! Pootling round the Norfolk Broads and coastal inlets in glorified rowing boats doesn't really count. And..... thanks (autistic gene sources like me aren't very good naturally at the social interaction thingy, so I can only hope you can grasp how deeply this post touched me)
...I see bits of myself in there.... looks like a worthy undertaking, if (when) I ever get a "real" boat of any size.
