Women take to the high sees to challenge MS

Adele Woollin has never been to sea before.

“The nearest I have come is the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney,” says Adele from Ilkley.

You would think as a landlubber spending a week crewing a sailing boat around the coast of Croatia would be challenge enough, but for Adele the challenge is even greater.

Adele was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 17 years ago. She has the relapsing and remitting form of the condition which means she can go for sometime without an episode but then each time her recovery takes longer.

MS causes Adele mobility problems although she is determined to not let her condition take over her life.

“I may have got MS but MS hasn’t got me,” says the former member of the Royal Air Force and mother of two daughter.

It may seem strange that someone with mobility problems should consider taking on a challenge which involved crewing a sailing boat for a week.

“I have been told that actually the motion of the boat helps people’s mobility. People who needed wheelchairs and sticks on land manage well on board.”

Adele, and fellow Yorkshirewoman and experienced sailor, Camilla Veale, set sail on Saturday on the 10 strong flotilla of boats which makes up the Oceans of Hope Challenge 2017.

Oceans of Hope is a project organised by the charity Sailing Sclerosis Foundation which aims to broaden the horizons of people with MS and inspire them to realise they still have potential to achieve great things.

In 2015 Camilla was part of an Oceans of Hope challenge circumnavigation of the world.

She was one of a crew of people with MS who sailed a 67-foot yacht on a 1,000 nautical mile leg.

Camilla explained that professional and amateur sailors alike face the same weather and sea conditions during the challenge.

There are no ‘passengers’ on board; each crew member plays an active part in the voyage carrying out a range of tasks according to their ability, including sail changes, helming, cooking and cleaning on board, and teamwork will be the key to the success of the voyage.

Robert Munns took part in the circumnavigation challenge and was so inspired that he wanted to allow others with MS to have sailing ad ventures too. Last year he organised a challenge in Turkey and came up with the idea to sail Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast.

Ten boats crewed by six people with MS, some with an able-bodied skipper, set sail on Saturday for the week-long adventure.

“They are charter boats and haven’t been adapted for disabled people in any way,” explains Camilla from Chapel Allerton, who was diagnosed with MS in 1998.

A self-confessed sport and adrenalin junkie, Camilla, then 37, was forced to give up the thing she loved such as skiing, tennis, squash and hill walking in the Dales.

But she soon discovered a sport where her MS made little difference and still gave her the adrenalin fix she needed.

“I’d sailed a junk as a child when our family lived in Hong Kong and later did a bit of dinghy sailing but I was no expert. After trying it again on holiday, I was pretty quickly hooked.”

On land Camilla has to rely on a wheelchair or a scooter to get around , but sailing she regain her independence and freedom.

“Just to be able to get around in peace and quiet is liberating,” says Camilla was has been passing on her knowledge to Adele.

“Camilla has been a great help. I am nervous but excited about the challenge,” said Adele before setting off to Croatia last week.

“I like to push myself and try things that are out of my comfort zone and so when I heard about Oceans of Hope I decided to give it a go.” It isn’t the sailing that was worrying Adele before she left her Ilkley home, despite never having been on a boat, it was the lack of washing facilities.

“I haven’t met any of the people on my boat but we have been communicating via a Facebook group and we all seem to get on really well, although it will be interesting when we are living in such close proximity for a week. My main worry is the washing facilities, as I do like a shower.”

Although she didn’t realise it at the time, Adele started with symptoms of MS. “I started to have vision problems when I was in the Air Force but didn’t realise it had anything to do with MS.”

When she left the RAF Adele started working as a legal secretary.

“I went to bed one night with pins and needles in my feet and then became numb from the waist down.”
She was admitted to hospital and an MRI scan confirmed she had MS.

“I had suffered a pulmonary embolism a few years earlier and had to have two thirds of my lung removed.” Despite this Adele refuses to allow it to stop her living life to the full. “I am very stubborn and I won’t let MS take over my life. My family are proud of what I am doing, but I don’t really think there is anything to be proud of, I am just trying something new.”

And Camilla believes everyone should try something new.

“Everyone should push themselves,” she says. “Sailing might not be your thing, but it is important to try to stretch yourself.”

www.oceansofhope.org