The idea? Bring together a multi-generation, heterogeneous group of individuals with a wide variety of disabilities during early in phase of their rehabilitation and have them live and work together to complete the necessary tasks associated with camping and sailing.

A breakdown of the disabled campers/sailors is as follows: (1) Liz, a woman in her mid-thirties diagnosed with guillian barre' who was at the time of this adventure functioning as a paraplegic; (2) Jeff, a 16 year old young man who had a surgical bi-lateral lower extremity amputation (hip-disarticulation) due to complications at birth; (3) Toney, a young man in his mid-twenties functioning as a C5-6 quadriplegic secondary to an automobile accident; (4) Dennis, a young man in his mid-twenties who was totally blind; (5) Kim, a young woman in her mid-twenties with right side congenital upper extremity limb-deficiency below the elbow; and, (6)Ted, a gentleman in his sixties who had a stroke with right side hemiparesis and expressive aphasia.

The support partners consisted of: Jim and Ron, the two captains who owned the sailboats; Mark and Greg, two adaptive physical educators with expertise in therapeutic recreation and outdoor education; Teresa, a physical therapist; Steve, a clinical psychologist; and Beth, a student intern.

This therapeutic adventure was scheduled for Halloween weekend down at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. After arriving at VISA Yacht Club, the group was responsible for setting up camp-pitching tents and transporting the food and gear that would be needed for weekend. Base camp consisted of four tents - three 2-person tents for the men and one 4 person tent for the women. Jeff, our youngest and Ted, oldest male adaptive camper/sailors shared a two-man tent together. Toney, the quadriplegic male and Mark shared a two-man tent together; Dennis, the blind male and Greg shared a tent together; and the four women shared a tent together, Liz, the paraplegic, Kim UE limb deficiency and Teresa and Beth the two female support staff. Jim and Ron, the two Captains elected to sleep on their boats as avid sailors often do.

Jeff, our youngest camper/sailor, was also the most active and agile member of the crew. Upon our arrival, he took it upon himself to personally transport the majority of the tents, sleeping bags, packs and other gear for the group. Jeff was faster moving on his hands than everyone else was on their feet. Aware that his youthfulness and strength would be one of the ways that he could help the crew, Jeff made several trips to and from the vehicles to the campsite before everyone was able to get themselves their one time. Getting from the vehicles to the campsite, Dennis provided the power for Toney's wheelchair as he pushed it over the wooded terrain. Toney served as the navigator providing verbal directions to let Dennis know what obstacles and changes in terrain the two would have to negotiate. This was a relationship that just seemed to happen and it was beautiful to observe. Liz was insistent on pushing herself and doing as much as possible on her own no matter how long it took. Everyone in the group immediately sensed and respected Liz's need for independence and let her work through any struggles she encountered on her own. Kim walked side-by-side with Ted providing minimal stand-by aid. As the campsite was being set up, Jeff and Ted hit it off immediately. I'm not sure if it was the difference in their years or if it was something else that drew them together. Even though there was not an exchange of words, the connection was obvious - it was as if Jeff could tell what Ted was thinking, what he needed or wanted, by his expressions and the look in his eyes. This was a "no brainer" - they were a team and would share a tent together. Other interpersonal connections were also beginning to happen. Immediately there was a sense of chemistry, camaraderie and trust beginning to develop in the group. Everyone was looking out for each other; everyone was more than willing to help and support, or back off as the case may be, to let their camping/sailing crewmembers get the most out of this therapeutic adventure experience.

Once the tents were up and gear was distributed and stowed the group worked together to prepare dinner, a cookout of hot-dogs and burgers, potato salad, and hot drinks. After dinner, the group assembled by the fire for a sailing orientation (nautical terms, equipment, practice with knots, crew duties, etc.) and safety briefing provided by Jim and Ron, the two captains. It was then time to get settled in the tents for a good night's sleep prior to the first day of sailing.

Saturday morning, 6:30 am, - rise n' shine! After working together to get dressed and prepare for the outdoor elements that would be out one the lake, the camper/sailors prepared a simple breakfast of cereal, donuts, fruit, coffee, hot chocolate, and juice. Like before, without any cueing from the support staff, the therapeutic adventure - sailing crew seemed to instinctively know what to do for each other -when to support and when to back off, what to say or what not to say. As an observer, I was in awe! Again, Jeff took on the role as the runner and transported equipment from the campsite to the two sailboats. He was down and back two or three times with gear before the majority of the crew got down to the pier where the boats were to be boarded. After he would drop off some gear, Jeff would literally catapult his body from the deck of the boat - so he would fly through the air and land on his hands down on the dock 3-4 feet below. Again, Dennis and Toney paired up and worked together to negotiate the hillside leading down to the dock. Kim walked with Ted, and Liz took charge to push her wheelchair by herself to the steps leading down to the dock. She then proceeded to transfer out of her chair and crawl on her hands and knees, scoot herself on her bottom down the flight of steps and then crawl again down an inclined ramp and over the main dock until she got to the boat. Elated by her accomplishment and exhausted from hard work and independence, Liz required minimal spotting assistance to get herself into the boat.

The Mark and Teresa provided a two-person lift to help transfer Toney into the boat. He was then strapped into a specially designed sailing seat at the helm. Similar assistance was provided to help Ted safely transfer into his assigned boat. The rest of the crew boarded the two boats and waited for instructions from their two respective captains.

Wheelchairs and canes, equipment that had played such a significant role in each of their lives, were left behind. And, for the next several hours, the equipment didn't seem to matter. The focus was on working together to get the best performance out of the two sailboats.

Our two Captains, Jim and Ron graciously donated the use of their sailboats. Jim was the Captain for the 31' Pearson Sailboat -"CharSuTe"; his crew consisted of: Toney, C5-6 quadriplegic who was the primary helmsman, Kim, the young woman with upper extremity limb deficiency and, Dennis, the young man who was blind worked the sheets. Ron was the Captain for the 31' Cal Sailboat - "Wahoozy"; his crew consisted of: Ted, the gentleman who had a stroke who was the primary helmsman; Liz, the young woman functioning as a paraplegic and, Jeff, the young man with bi-lateral lower extremity amputation primarily worked the sheets.

Smith Mountain Lake, built by the Army Corp of Engineers, has approximately 500 miles of shoreline. This body of water can be tricky to sail because of the many shoals, sandbars and points of land that can impact on coarse of sailboat. The mountains that surround part of the lake can also reek havoc on the winds, causing significant changes from one end of the spectrum to the other - big gusts to dead calm!

Fortunately, our Captains were very experienced sailors and very familiar with the lake. At first, Captain Jim and Captain Ron played a more active role - giving sailing commands and directions. They each managed to get their respective helmsmen and crews to working together. There was no lack of teamwork, or support for each other. Everyone pitched in to do whatever was necessary to sail the "CharSueTe" and the "Wahoozy". After a few hours of sailing, taking turns at the helm and changing roles, the two crews anchored together and fixed a lunch of sandwiches, fruit and hot/cold drinks. In the afternoon, the two crews continued to sail and explore different parts of the lake, chasing the wind and going where they could get the most out of the sailboats.

All of the sudden, the "CharSueTe" and the "Wahoozy" found themselves in a position where the wind was now behind us and the conditions were ideal. The two captains signaled over to each other because they knew that the crews were working like members of two finely tuned America's Cup teams. It was time to put the crews to a test and give them a real thrill. Captain Jim made the decision; he sent Teresa below to get the spinnaker bag. After explaining to the crew what we were about to do, he showed Dennis and Kim how to set up the spinnaker. As the crew hoisted up this giant light sail, this magnificent red, white and yellow canopy billowed out like an open parachute as it filled up with air. We caught the wind and sailed on a beam reach down the lake. The "Wahoozy" was off on the starboard side with her multi-colored spinnaker also filled with wind. It was a beautiful sight and a great way to finish the first day of sailing.

After a long day of sailing the two crews dropped the sails, coiled all the sheets, and packed up all the gear. An evening cookout on the grill consisted of chicken, tossed salad, fruit, bread, yummy desserts, and hot or cold drinks. Dennis pulled out his guitar and played for the group. Everyone sang together. Dennis could play just about anything, even songs that he wasn't familiar with, as long as you could hum the tune to him. The highlight of the evening was when Liz requested the song "Goodnight Irene." Being of a different generation than Dennis, because he wasn't familiar with the song, Liz started to sing it to him. Dennis picked up on it very quickly and everyone started singing together. The shocker was when Ted, who had limited verbalizations - slow, one word or short sentences, joined in and started singing! He even knew verses that know one else had ever heard. It was great! Everyone couldn't believe what he or she was hearing. Later on, a speech pathologist friend of mine explained to me that Ted was able to sing fluently because the part of the brain that controls the ability to sing is different than the part that enables someone to talk. In any event, it was awesome! As the day came to an end, we all knew that we had been blessed in so many ways!

On Sunday, after breakfast the crews worked their way down to their assigned boats. Pulling away from the dock it was obvious that the winds were up and the temperature was much colder. To deal with the elements, everyone bundled up by putting on a few extra layers. Once we were out on the open water, Toney yelled out, "Prepare to come about!" Knowing exactly what to do, Kim and Dennis set the sheet lines taking a few wraps around the wench on the opposite side of the boat - the side where the sails were soon to be pulled across and repositioned. As the sailboat changed it course, Kim and Dennis worked together to pull the Headsail across the midline of the boat to the opposite side. As headsail passed in front of the mast, the crew worked hard to crank the wench and tighten in on the sails until they were filled with just enough wind to remove the fluttering - luft.

At just about the same time, we looked off or port side and could see the "Wahoozy" also coming about. Ted steered the boat to match our course. As the boat started to turn, I could see Jeff push off with both his hands and gracefully throw himself from one side of the cockpit to the other-grabbing and setting the wench handle and cranking hard as Liz pulled the sheet lines. The two sailboats jockeyed for position, trying to steal the wind and push ahead. This sequence of events was repeated several times for the next several hours. As we explored different parts of the lake, the crewmembers switched roles giving everyone a chance to take a turn at the helm steering the sailboats.

At the end of the weekend everyone was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. The two crews worked extremely hard and overcame the environmental and physical challenges that tested their limits. The events that transpired throughout the weekend exemplified the true meaning of teamwork. It was an awesome experience for everyone! The two captains were very impressed with the manner in which the two crews supported each other and worked together. "These crews are as good as any we've ever had the pleasure to sail with in all our years of sailing!" The camping/sailing trip accomplished all that I had hoped. The collective efforts of the entire group not only provided an uplifting spiritual experience, it also managed to address the important issues that are at the heart of effective rehabilitation - New friendships were made! Many obstacles were overcome! And last but not least, everyone was blessed with a newfound independence that can only be appreciated in the outdoors - something that would be treasured for a lifetime!