A Wake of Positivity and Social Connection for Veterans on Saltwater

The Veterans Benevolent Fund’s support of a safety boat for the Saltwater Veterans Sailing Project will be a tremendous asset in supporting the veterans’ community, not just on Pittwater, but in other locations such as Sydney Harbour, Jervis Bay and Newcastle.

Co-founders Jen and Scott Reynolds are committed to creating a highly inclusive community that alleviates social isolation for veterans and their families through the sport of Sailing.

Originally known as ‘Four Men in a Boat’, Scott and three veteran friends with no sailing experience took to the waters to reconnect with life and each other. Following an 18 year naval career, the camaraderie, the movement, and the sheer enjoyment of being out on the water saw immediate benefits for Scott’s physical and mental health. Inspired by the effects on his wellbeing, Jen and Scott started volunteering, encouraging more veterans to get involved in sailing. To deepen his skillset, Scott eventually completed a number of sail instructing and coaching qualifications.

“Since 2017, with a crew of ‘salty’ volunteers and sponsors, we are now fostering an overlapping community at six separate locations around Australia (with three in NSW), and upwards of 80-100 veterans each month,” Jen says. Sailing forward to September 2022, the husband and wife duo were excited to achieve the milestone of registering their not-for-profit project the Saltwater Veterans Sailing Project. “This will serve as an enduring means to pave the way to the future, supporting our veterans’ sailing community, volunteers, and associated activities,” she says. “In addition, it is a benchmark accomplishment and a key component of longer term vision for their community.”

Getting military service members on the water can provide physical, mental, and emotional therapy for a variety of injuries and illness. Sailing is an outlet to cope with the long term effects of PTSD, brain injury, amputation, paralysis, and nerve damage. Plus, it’s a really fun way for our veteran sailors to express their most natural abilities: teamwork and competitive drive.

The Saltwater Veterans Sailing Project is “about empowering a veteran to ‘walk through that door’, to be a part of a community again and experience meaningful engagement with other veterans, their families, and carers,” says Scott. “When a bus of Veterans arrives and you see them get off the bus, you can see how closed they are. You can see it in their body language and their shoulders and their lack of desire to speak to anybody. You put them out on the water with a volunteer (who may or may not be a Veteran) and suddenly all those woes go away. Sailing is mindfulness, it’s teamwork, it stimulates endorphins and positive vibes. It’s about getting them moving. And the boat doesn’t move without them supporting each other. You watch the difference when they come into the clubhouse for lunch. They’re telling tall stories about sailing, fighting pirates, and having a laugh.”

“It’s amazing.”

The Saltwater Veterans Sailing Project fosters one event in each location every month. The biggest single event had 105 current serving soldiers sailing, with 20 boats largely skippered by volunteers. “We are volunteer-dependent and we see volunteering as an integral part of the veteran experience. You may start as a participant at the sailing events, but with time everyone has the capacity to volunteer whether it’s on the boat, handing out life jackets or taking the lunch order,” says Scott.

“Our aim is social re-integration, so we want to keep people involved and connected in-between and beyond the events,” says Jen. “I feel the volunteers take away as much as the participants because as a volunteer, it’s not about what ‘I’ want to achieve, it’s about what ‘you’ want to achieve. People recognise the gift of giving to the community beyond themselves.”

Funding is a consistent challenge for a family initiative. Historically very few, if any, grassroots organisations successfully gain access to more substantial Federal/DVA grants. Along with their own Saltwater Veterans merchandise, Jen and Scott are reliant on the kind support of donations and sponsorship to help cover facilitation and equipment costs.

“To have the co-elevating support of the RSL and Services Clubs Association’s Veteran Benevolent Fund, and sponsorship of our first and very own safety boat will have a significant impact on our mission,” says Scott. “Our new boat will serve veterans with safety, training, and as a platform for social activities.”

“When we co-elevate with supporting organisations, we turn them into teammates.”