Handicap and sailing???!!! (Le handicap et la mer)

In my area, we live near by the sea! Beautiful! But with our harbour manager, we noticed that handicapped people and children living close to us were totally ignored by the sailor community and by the way those children do not even know anything about sailing.

From this, the idea was to combine both and that's what we did! At first sight, it looked easy to us but we had to face the reaction of the caregiver : "It is not possible!" So we start 6 years ago with ten children and it was such a great moment for the kids, that with the years now, we are 50 sailors going by the sea with 150 handicapped children and today I am to show you some pictures of this great event! Never say it is impossible anymore!

From small boats to high speed zodiacs, the kids live a true experience :

Of course, there is a high level of security for this event and a lot of work to do so, but at the end, the thing we all remember is the children's smile... :

Another one that sums up everything :

For this, a lot of logistic is required and mainly our arms!

The thing I learnt from this experience is the specific relationship with the children. For some of them, it is the unique escape of the year, but one thing is sure, and their caregiver can testimony, there is a time before and there is a time after. The kids though their handicap are deeply changed and as an example, they look at these pictures everyday!!!

So feel free to share this experience, leave comments and repost or even though have contact with me to organize such an event... For sure always remember, IT IS POSSIBLE :

Résumé - Traduction pour nos amis Français:
Dans notre baie de Saint-Brieux, nous vivons au bord de la mer! Avec notre Maître de Port, nous avons fait le constat que les enfants handicapés n'accédaient pas au milieu maritime. De ce constat, l'idée était d'associer les marins et les enfants pour une sortie en mer. Cela paraissait simple pourtant les aides soignants et les centres nous ont d'abord répondu : c'est impossible! Alors on a commencé il y a six ans avec dix enfants et ce fut un tel succès de voir ces enfants sourire qu'aujourd'hui ce sont pas moins de 150 enfants qui pendant 4 jours vont en mer avec l'aide de 50 plaisanciers! Les photos témoignent de cet incroyable évènement que j'ai l'honneur de photographier! Si cette expérience vous aide aussi, n'hésitez pas à la reposter! Une chose est sûre, les enfants sont métamorphosés après une telle expérience, et leurs sourires en disent long!