Sailing Angels

Simply put, boating has a restorative effect on all of us. After a stressful week at work, cares seem to vanish the moment we cast off from the dock. Tapping into that positive effect drove Dave McCabe to set up Sailing Angels, a Houston, Texas-based nonprofit that provides no-cost therapeutic boating trips on Galveston Bay.

When McCabe set up the organization, he was targeting special-needs children suffering from some form of physical disability, chronic illness, cognitive impairment, or emotional trauma.

During that first season in 2011 McCabe largely worked alone. But Sailing Angels expanded quickly. It now has 130 volunteers and a fleet of 35 boats, all offering two-hour sails on Galveston Bay. The numbers are impressive: In 2018, the organization served 2,200 guests, equating to thousands of hours on the water. Not only has the fleet expanded, but Sailing Angels now also takes service veterans sailing, many suffering from the effects of PTSD or physical injury.

McCabe clearly loves the work and the mission of the organization that he founded. "I've had children that have talked for the very first time on my boat. I've had medical teams and clinicians from the VA [Veterans Affairs] tell me it's the most effective therapy they've seen," he said.

Rather than being just passengers onboard, McCabe and the other captains get guests actively involved in sailing the boat, from taking a hand at the wheel to trimming the sails. McCabe explains, "It's an awesome experience when you get the sails up, turn the engine off, and — holy mackerel — the whole world changes."

See more at sailingangels.org.