This was my first sailing day as an officially apperoved CRAB (Chesapeake Regional Acessibility Boating) skipper. Three separate sailing sessions were scheduled for the day, but each session was kept pretty short for the sake of the crew. The guests for the day were all people with some degree of diminished mental capabilities and on two sails they were with their caretakers.
It was a bit of a new challenge for me. The sailing part comes natural to me, but I am still learning how to communicate and connect with folks that have various types of challenges of their own. No matter what kind of sailing I am doing, like most sailors, a skipper, I feel a deep sense of responsibility to keep all on board safe and comfortable. In this new setting, I find myself doubly intently focused on those responsibilities. With the limited communication capabilities, the high heat, and powerboat wakes, the comfort issue was especially tricky to monitor. The good news is that CRAB has a great group of staff and volunteers and the gentle input was very helpful.
All in all, I saw the day as being a good learning experience that served as a humbling reminder that I still have more to learn. .