Sailing offers veterans a therapeutic transition back to civilian life

CHICAGO (WGN) — Hundreds of miles from Chicago’s beautiful lakefront, a group of veterans can be found, finding peace on the open water.

“No matter where you’re at, once you take the tiller or you take them home on a sailboat and you feel that wind and the sails fill,” said Brian Forristal, founder and CEO of Veteran Sailing.

“For me, everything else is out the window mentally.”

Forristal is a former marine, who, after active duty, found solace in sailing. He said there was a “struggling period for a few years” after he returned home, but now that his feet are planted on the deck of sailboats, his sea legs are guiding him on a new mission—recruiting other veterans to join him.

Don Rock is a Navy veteran turned captain and sailing instructor. He’s one of the former service members helping Forristal give other veterans a positive outlet after they return to civilian life.

“Every time you go sailing, you are experiencing something just a little bit different, whether it’s the strength of the wind, or currents, or how big the seas are,” Rock said. “It’s learning to work in harmony with that to keep the boat propelled [and] keep [it] moving forward, and that’s part of life.”

Outside of old heads like Forristal and Rock, Veteran Sailing is also helping younger veterans find a new world outside the armed forces.

“A huge part is the camaraderie out there, being a part of a team again,” Army veteran Nate Nash said. “Being out on the water. Once you leave the dock, just the noise of the world goes away. It’s [just] you, the water and the wind.”

For more information on Veteran Sailing, visit their website online: https://www.vetsailing.org/