Heart of Sailing Foundation

Participants, Parents, Caregivers and Volunters feedback after a Daysail

Hi George,
We wanted to thank you so much for such a wonderful afternoon yesterday. We appreciate how comfortable you made all of us feel and you were wonderful with Matthew. Matthew wanted to go on the "big boat" this morning instead of school. We feel very fortunate that you started such a wonderful program. I hope you know how much it means to parents and their children.
thank you, Matthew, Mark and Kelly

Hello George,

I am so grateful to you and to Peter for providing such a wonderful afternoon - and a wonderful memory - for my family. My older two children often get "the short end of the stick", so to speak, because as well as JP is doing we still have to make some accommodations for him. Because you spent time with him, I was able to pay specific attention to my other two kids, which they so desperately need. I can't thank you enough - we haven't had that much fun since we went to Disney World in Orlando! Please, if you have a way to pass this along to Peter, please thank him for sharing his boat with us on Saturday. And pass my personal gratitude to Peter's father as well. You all put smiles on our faces and gave this tired and slightly disenchanted mommie a good reminder of the most important things in life.
God Bless You All, Laurie

Dear George,

I will never be able to express my gratitude as to the kindness and patience, that you and everyone involved in our Daysail, showered upon Dylan and myself. Meeting individuals like you and Peter give me the hope that I sometimes need when I begin doubting the world around me. Even though Dylan had some difficult moments on the sail, I wouldn't trade any of the moments when he smiled, as we sailed on that beautiful Saturday afternoon. For me, those peaceful moments are now stored in my memory for many years to come! I am hopeful that Dylan and I will be blessed to meet all of you again, some time in the future. Please continue to spread this joy so that other children, who seem so misunderstood in this uncertain world, will feel at peace once they are in your company and sailing away.
Wishing you a peaceful journey today, tomorrow and always.
Lesli & Dylan

Thank you so much for a wonderful time sailing this afternoon. We all really enjoyed it. It was nice for my daughter to see that there are "perks" to having a brother with autism. Ben had a great time and so did we. Hope you'll be returning to Jacksonville again! Janeen

A mom and her non verbal son who sailed with us on the East Coast this summer, mentionned to her friends that the day after the Daysail, her son woke up saying "Boat, Sail Today"...

Eric Hamblen of Project PACE brought the Heart of Sailing to Portland. With the Help of the Rose City Yacht Club, children with autism and ... all their families get a chance to sail the Columbia River! Eric invited Sean on one of the first daysails. Sean was the first child with autism that Eric worked with! I was also invited along. So with one eye on Sean, one hand on the railing and the other on my camera - I shot this video. (Sorry Eric for dropping the wide angle lens overboard!) I think it is safe to say that Sean really enjoyed this trip! Thanks Eric, George and the Rose City Yacht Club! For more info - www.ProjectPACE.info or www.HeartofSailing.org

I put up a short video on google video form the sailing trip with Sean on Mike and Carol Pick's sailboat
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6812540316615334986&hl=en
also put it on youtube - but google is easier for embedding
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqMZ6ebULKM
Hope you like it

Every weekend I bring Ben home from his residential school. When the
weekend is over, Ben dictates a "Weekend Report" to me, and I type it and we add photos. I started doing this years ago to give the people working with Ben a better way to communicate with him about his experiences.

Here's what Ben dictated about our adventure this weekend.

Diego and I had a wonderful experience sailing with your crew last week. It was a lot of fun. I was very pleased with the organization but most of all with the diligence, care, and skill given to the children and youth for which this activity is conceived. All the volunteers were great.

Diego was so enthralled that he did not talk much. He said was so busy absorbing and enjoying the sights and movement. Diego feels so connected with water. His favorite part was when he was invited to the bow of the boat. He said he felt he was in control of the waves. He felt he was the captain. We loved lunch too!

Thank you so much for allowing Diego the wonderful experience. We definitely would like to return next year.

I would like to say that the whole staff was amazing and you made our experience with my son Theodore a fantastic one. We liked it so much that we are planning to come back again.

We had a great time! The entire way home, Barbara (the woman who needed a little help getting in and out of the boat) kept saying " I did it! I went sailing! It was hard, but I did it!" The certificates are proudly displayed by the sailors. What a great day, and what a fantastic program! I hope I can get another group out the next time you are in Southern California...

All of my best to all of you, You are a fantastic team.

Matthew had a fantastic time and loved every minute of it. He told us how he started the motor before the sails etc. Like all young adults he doesn't say much to the parents but the look on his face and asking to go again said a million .So thank you again and yes Matt will be back hopefully and maybe for a longer session.

“My favorite thing was driving the boat!”

Daniel

Alex would love to go again. He really enjoyed the sail and
still talks about it.

Landlubbers no more

We are so pleased that Irena contacted us about Heart of Sailing. Our excursion, on the morning of August 22 nd, 2007 was a blast. Zach, our 13-year old son, with high-functioning autism, was enthusiastic and happy to invite his friend Matthew along. Read more...

The captain was very generous, not only with his time and boat but he was amazing with Daniel. Captain Claude was able to gain Daniel’s trust and break though the Autism barrier. He got him to sit on his knee to steer and he was able to teach him some things. That’s quite a feat in itself. The captain treated Daniel like he was a normal kid!

It was a great experience and opportunity for all of us! A nice way to meet some really great people.

It was truly a wonderful day and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

Thank you Christian P for talking to me about Heart of Sailing, thank you Irena and Christian R. for setting it up at CNDM and providing the necessary logistic, and thank you George for having had the idea allowing me to give back some of the joy and happiness that I have enjoyed for many years.

Looking forward to doing it again in the future.

Captain Claude

Justin has been asking for several years if he could ride on a real sailboat. He was certain once the Captain saw how helpful he was, that he would become second in command. The Heart of Sailing adventure was a pure delight for all of us, but especially for Justin. Thank you so much.

Dear Members of Heart of Sailing and PACE,

I would like to thank you for providing an opportunity for our family to have a sailing exprience.

We have two boys , Ryan and Mathew ages 11 and 6. Ryan had a wonderful time and came home totally thrilled with this outing. My youngest son Mathew struggled. When we returned home we talked with both boys about how they felt. Mathew was able to say that he had been on a sail boat, that he had sat in the wind and seen friends. We also went on to talk about that even though it had been scary for him he was brave and did it anyway. Thank you again for all of you effort .

With Much Appreciation,

Thanks for a great day. All the kids talked about it afterward. We would love to meet up with you when you return to the area. You are doing a very nice thing.

Thanks again for helping us experience sailing !! Shannon and Sean have not stopped talking about their experience. You had also expressed concern about a 25 yr. old man who was both deaf/blind that was signed up to sail. I have found out that there is a way to use sign language .. the man would place his hands on top of the hands of the person signing and he would read the hand movements .. so it is possible his caretaker will communicate to him this way for you.

Thanks again ... we had a wonderful time!!

I am sorry that we were unable to thank you properly a bit sooner. We had such a wonderful time with you and your beautiful sail boat. Thank you for all your generosity and kindness. Molly is a busy bee and you were so patient. We were thrilled to see her get this experience, she loves water I think this was a wonderful first step for her in hopefully more sailing experiences. You gave both my son and daughter a fabulous experience that they will long remember.

I also saw your wonderful partner at the National Down Syndrome Conference. It was so fun to see you have a spot at the exhibit. I raved about our experience every time I was near the booth. I am thankful for all of your kind hearts that reach and touch our children with Special Needs.

Blessings,

Here is what a volunteer Captain Bob and his wife Mary had to say about their experience.

Thank you so much for taking Gabe & me out this morning on your boat. We had a great time and the weather was perfect for a morning sail. Gabe doesn't show much emotion at times but I can tell you he really enjoyed the boat just by how calm and contented he was. We spent a little time on the beach before returning home in the afternoon.

Thanks again for a very special day.

Thank you so so much for our lovely time with Heart of Sailing. On the way home, Lorenzo was wearing his mettle he was so proud.

The Certificate you presented Lorenzo was in the front of the car. After Lorenzo put on his mettle, he said Paper Please, Lorenzo wants the paper please! Wow that is a lot of words for a young man who is challenged when using words. Then I said Oh you want your certificate, He said yes please, I passed it to him and for the rest of the 2 hour trip he seemed so proud with mettle on and certificate on his lap.

The moment we entered the house Lorenzo put both the boys certificates on the refridge and hung his mettle in the living room! Everyones amazing contribution today has brought so much joy to the hearts of my family.

Please send our greatest appreciation for everyone's time. patients and care.

Volunteer Gretchen wrote in the article she wrote after her experience:

Involvement with Heart of Sailing is easy – one only has to have a love of sailing and children. Having a boat and volunteer crew to offer for the experience is a major plus. At the end of the day it was debatable who had gotten more out of the Heart of Sailing Foundation experience: the children, the families, or the volunteers. “Sometimes we get more than we give,” a crew member was heard to say.

Always eloquent, volunteer Father Frank Crumbaugh of Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Beach Haven summed up his Heart of Sailing experience with three thoughts:

“The first is the gentle persistent devotion of George Saidah. His gentle unobtrusive thorough attention to detail is moving because this is what the guy does … he means it, he’s not kidding, and he’s very persuasive in the way he does it.

“The second is seeing faces that feel the life of the boat through the tiller, and look up to see the great sail drawing them forward.. There is a peacefulness and delight that comes through whatever obstacles these children may have in their lives.

“The third is the respite of an event that’s special for every member of the family. It is a good memory laid down in the midst of challenges and trials that are not always fun for the sufferer, parent or siblings – a win for everybody.”

Click here to read the complete article that was published in Nor'easter magazine.

I would like to say thank you very much again for your excellent program. Koji and I had great and relax time on the sailing boat that we've never experienced. We will join your sailing on next summer, too.

J’ai eu beaucoup de plaisir à faire de la voile.
Ils nous ont donné les règles à suivre avant le départ et sur le bateau.
J’ai pu conduire le bateau mais j’avais de la difficulté à le tenir en ligne droite.
Il y a eu le maniement des voiles (pour le vent).
A la fin nous avons eu un bon repas.
J’ai passé une agréable journée.

My 8 year old son and I went on the day sail this past Tuesday. It was a wonderful experience. Ricky (my son) was very interested in exploring the cabin at first, but he did help Russ and Dave with raising the sail and he did steer the boat. I want to thank you for a great experience. It was a terrfic introduction to sailing for him. Russ and Dave were just wonderful with the kids. I am hoping when Ricky is a little older he can take lessons. I think you have an excellent program, and sailing is a wonderful way to help children with disabilities connect with others, gain confidence and have fun.

I would like to say that the whole staff was amazing and you made our experience with my son Theodore a fantastic one.we liked it so much that we are planning to come back again.

i would just like to say thank you to everyone involved in heart of sailing. my daughter jessica had a great time and is very proud of her medal and certificate!

Tony and I had a wonderful time sailing around San Diego Harbor/Bay. You provide a great service to special needs families.

Just wanted to thank you for a truly enjoyable day. My family and I went sailing this summer. The crew and the staff were caring, accepting and professional. We would love to take a trip again next year. Thanks for making one day in the life of autism exceptional!

Just wanted to say thank you for such a wonderful sailing moments we had as a family. Thanks because i know this is a volunteer work for all of you guys and we really appreciate it much. We really had fun, Brandon maybe a bit scared because it is his first time but the place and the people are amazing. We will come again for sure next year. Thank you again for the e-mail and all.

It was a very enjoyable experience for my handicapped daughter. She loved not only the ride but also she had the moment of great pleasure being the captain and steering the ship. The weather was very nice with a little breeze. It couldn't have been possible without the Captain who had as much fun as the rest of us.

I thank the Captain very much.

I just wanted to let you know what I wonderful time Alyssa, Jonathan, Kathleen and I had with Martin & Kathy. We felt so comfortable and had lots of fun. My kids truly enjoyed this experience and have not stopped talking about it. Without the Heart of Sailing organization we would be unable to be part of such an extraordinary day. Once again, thank you so much for your time and commitment to such a wonderful organization. I have the cards and will pass the information along to other parents whose kids like mine are so special and yet have a hard time with the little things. Alyssa was scared on the sailboat at first but by the time we got back to the dock, she was a pro. She was all smiles and felt that she could do anything and not be scared. My son whose self-esteem is so nonexistent at times, felt so sure of himself and so proud. All four of us had a wonderful family outing with a lovely couple and we're very grateful. There's always so much to do, with therapies and doctor appointments that we don't often get to just relax. Well, we sure relaxed on Thursday.

I would like to say that the whole staff was amazing and you made our experience with my son Theodore a fantastic one. We liked it so much that we are planning to come back again.

I just wanted to thank you on behalf of our son, Stephen. We sailed with you and it was such a memorable day! Stephen has told so many people how he 'drove' the boat, and he had such a great time. So did my husband and I! Thank you for an amazing day and even more amazing memories. We hope to see you again and have told so many people about your generous and remarkable program. You at Heart of Sailing have hearts of gold!

Dear Captain
I had a fun time. Maybe sometime I will go again but its up to my mom but I think she will say yes. And then I'll drive on my own once I'm old enough. I'll buy my own boat when I grow up.
Thank you

Sam (9 years old)

What a wonderful organization. The professionalism and compassion you demonstrate and opportunity you provide these wonderful children is priceless.

My emotions.heartfelt.

It was an incredible experience, so much more than we dared to hope for.

She was empowered by the ability to sail the boat, she may never get to have the freedom of driving a car, but I believe that she will always remember driving that sailboat.

Awsome, I never thought it would be like this, we were completely at ease from the start. It is rare for our children to be welcomed with such warmth and consideration.

I can't praise your foundation enough. I think it is a blessing. Thank you,
thank you!

Andrew remembers every child's name that he met that day. It was a great social event for him.

Since I was able to go along and learn about the sail boat as well, Andrew and I can talk about the different parts of the boat and so on.

Everyone was helpful, enthusiastic, very nice.

She loved it! I have rarely seen her light up the way she did when she got to sail the boat.

What a fabulous time we all had---Charlie especially!

Jessica had a great time driving the boat. to feel accepted, to learn something new, to learn and experience something different and to be a part of a larger community is great

Thank you for opening yur gifts, abilities, care, love, experience etc to others and to have a great influence on people.

We were talking while driving back home about your generous plans; to give a taste of the sea to all of these children,is just so incredible. We are just taken ,with out words to descibe this wonderful gift you have to share.

Thank-you for the GREAT DAY !! Your are a very special person and have a very large heart. You will be thanked from the great one above ,for all that you do and have done for these special kids. I will not be able to thank you enough George, again it was just great!

Thank you so much for such a delightful and generous afternoon of sailing and lunch. It was a wonderful opportunity and I so enjoyed the company, fresh air and watching Eric's comfort level on the boat increase.

I just wanted to say again, THANK YOU for the sailing trip and the program you have put together. Ashley had a terrific time and was so excited about the medal
that she had to take it to bed with her! It is so difficult to find recreational activities for special needs children and yet it is needed so very much. It fosters socialization, communication, teamwork, self-esteem, etc.

The Family Specialists for the states of New Jersey, Missouri, Texas, and
Indiana are all waiting to hear how our experience was before they pass this onto other families. I can assure you I will give a glowing report.

Thank you so much for a fabulous experience. Ari has been so excited to share her experience with family and friends. We, all four of us were so honored to go sailing with you.

Alexa definitely enjoyed the sailing, and it was a stimulating experience for her. She was quiet during the sailing, soaking everything in and processing the experience. She talked about how much she enjoyed the experience for several days afterward, and was proud of how she tied the knot that George showed her.

I wanted to write and tell you how much fun our group had today. It was an experience that they most likely would never have had if it weren't for your thoughtfulness and generosity.

Kristin loved it. She didn't want to let George steer the boat because she enjoyed it so much. The rocking of the boat was very therapeutic to her. I wish I had known how quiet and relaxing it would be. I would have brought a good book to enjoy.

Through this experience, Kristin was able to participate in an activity that my husband and I would never have been able to provide for her. She gained self confidence in steering the boat and loved the praise that Captain George gave her. I have not seen her smile that much in quite a long time.

I think that what you are doing is great, not only for the children, but also for their parents. I know in Nick's case, giving him a sensory break like that makes him feel better, more relaxed. Additionally, in my case, I was able to really relax and enjoy something I have never done, and honestly had never thought about doing. It was a great experience, and I thank you again for helping families with special needs in our community.

George, you're doing a great thing here! God Bless you for opening your heart, your finances, and your time to share your love of sailing with others with "life challenges." You are giving these people an incredible experience that they might never have had and also helping them to feel important and successful at something that is most special.

Everything was excellent! George demonstrated great patience with the "challenged" people along for the day sail. I was impressed as he talked calmly to them even when asked the same question countless times and was very patient with explaining how to help with some of the duties of the boat.

This experience allowed Andrew to take some control. So much of his life is controlled by others and his disability also he was able to make decisions on our course and speed. He had the opportunity to steer and to take in and let out the sails. This also provided him with new cognitive skills. Learning to move the tiller the opposite way he wanted the ship to go took concentration for him and when he accomplished it there was a great satisfaction in it.

Benny was very proud to have sailed the boat. He kept saying, "We sailed the boat!" all day. He steered the boat for the first time, and he was nervous and excited. After he got encouraged, he became more confident. I think that was a big moment for him. He was really proud of himself. He also played wonderfully with Josh on the boat. I have never seen him interact with another kid so naturally and staying engaged in the interaction for so long. I think their friendship grew closer during the trip, and it was a great learning experience for Benny.

Thank you, Peter and Guy for providing a unique experience for Scott. Needless to say, he really enjoyed it and the sailing was a tremendous confidence booster.

Jack was a bit concerned, but normal for him. All the people were so nice….that is the main thing. Be patient and allow the kids to ease into the event.

Thank you does not say enough or express how I felt watching my children sail with you today! I thanked God over and over for the unique and awesome opportunity that you gave each of them!

Amazing and wonderful!

The kids want to come again and asked if they cleaned your boat or washed your car or motorcycle, could they come again???? I just laughed but promised I would relay their message!

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