The Maiden Voyage of Raider Sailing Foundation!

The goal of Raider Sailing Foundation is to empower combat veterans to chart a new course and create opportunities for lifelong purpose through dynamic sailing adventures.

Which all sounds great on paper, but you never know if the boat floats until you launch and put it through its paces. 

We just completed the maiden voyage of Raider Sailing Foundation and it’s seaworthy, even with some unexpected excitement (more on that later). The twenty years separating our combat veterans’ time together had been bridged through difficult activities, long hours, and plenty of fun. 

Joe, Mike, Steve, and Nick all fought together in Fallujah in 2004 for 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines. The four largely hadn’t seen each other since being wounded or leaving the service, and the reunion was simultaneously sobering and joyful. 

Upon arrival from the airport, the group got underway aboard the foundation’s boat. After a safety brief and tour of the boat, our directors provided a class on the basics of sailing. The group immediately pitched in and aided our directors in all facets of sailing the boat. 

Over the next 3 days, the group alternatively sailed, slept, ate, joked, reminisced, and talked seriously about the struggles and successes they’ve had since fighting together in Fallujah.

 As we talked to the group before returning them to the airport for flights home, it was apparent that our stated foundation mission and method was spot on. Steve, a senior enlisted Marine who was seriously wounded in Iraq, described ‘A high from this trip that will last several weeks.’ Beyond that, he felt a serious reconnection with the group and a refreshing feeling that others were walking his same path, albeit differently. 

Joe, a Navy corpsman with an above the knee prosthetic, described his experience as, ‘All these guys who went through these hard things together and at that age you never get a chance or know how to express your love for people. But I look at these guys who were here for me and I can tell them I love them. It gives us an opportunity to reconnect when I don’t know that we would otherwise.’ It’s evident to us that we are providing a uniquely challenging environment for veterans of combat to reconnect and reset themselves.

So, about that unexpected excitement…as you know, our directors and volunteers have spent hundreds of hours getting the boat into shape for this first trip. As with any 40 year old boat returning to the water after a long spell sitting, we did have a few mechanical issues arise. Specifically, our engine’s starter motor burned out at the end of the trip and the motor for the anchor windlass quit. 

We expect these repairs to cost the foundation roughly $5,000. Donations to help us cover this cost so we can be ready for our next trip for combat veterans would be hugely impactful.

We couldn't ask for a better first trip and are excited for the next one. In the meantime, some of our captains are taking part in the 2024 Race to Mac. We'll provide an update on how they race! Join our newsletter so you don't miss out on future posts.