Diary of an Early Intervention in Psychosis group onboard Faramir

In April, a group of 10 Early Intervention in Psychosis services users accompanied by three leaders began an exciting passage voyage from Ipswich in Suffolk to Gosport in Hampshire.

Day 1: Ipswich to Harwich
Colleagues from EIP, friends and family all came to drop off the crew and wish them well. Mark, Mary and Eli, the professional crew from The Cirdan Sailing Trust, welcomed the crew aboard Faramir after safety briefings and issuing of life jackets. The crew set sail around 3pm, sailing up the lock and on to the River Orwell whilst hearing the chants from the local football club, Ipswich Town, who were playing at home. Sailing underneath the Orwell Bridge, which we all frequently drive across, was also a wonderful change of perspective. On this stretch, there was sunny weather and sighting of both a porpoise and a seal, to everyone’s delight. Stopping to overnight near North Harwich Yacht club, the crew learned how to make off on the cleat and how to winch, before being fitted for their waterproofs. The crew were put into three different watch teams for duties and worked shifts of three hours on/six hours off. The team made the first of many delicious dinners and after washing up, everyone headed to bed early to catch the tide in the morning.

Day 2: Harwich to Ramsgate
Having woken up at 5am, the crew enjoyed breakfast and completed engine checks, ready to set sail at 7am. The sailing began with a team effort of putting up the main sail, mizzen and jib #2 as Faramir left the River Orwell and entered the River Stour. The crew had to navigate and jibe to avoid sandbanks, wind farms and the boat motorway. After the wind was lost, the engine turned on and sails put away, a real-life game of Cluedo was introduced which was a lot of fun and helped the team bond over the game. More seals were sighted, and more sailing skills acquired; logging, plotting a fix on the chart and securing the sails ahead of bad weather. After sailing 56 miles, Faramir arrived at Ramsgate around 6pm to overnight there. Another delicious dinner was enjoyed and the crew headed to bed, anticipating a day in Ramsgate to wait out the bad weather.

Day 3: Ramsgate
Waking up to hail, rain and a yellow weather warning, the crew enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and planned the day. They undertook the first full clean of the boat before the professional crew set up various learning stations to teach knot tying, buoy identification and sailing positions, which was enlightening. Spending the day in the harbour gave time to explore the town, use the harbourside showers and spend some time relaxing together. Further wonderful meals were prepared and enjoyed whilst bonding over more games around the dining table. A plan was set for the following day to include a night sail.

Day 4: Leaving Ramsgate
The day began at 7am with a hearty breakfast to fuel a deep clean and a full day of sailing - putting up jib #3 and the mizzen to sail out of Ramsgate around 1:30pm. Unfortunately, we continued to experience hail and rain, resulting in rough sailing conditions and sea sickness. Despite the hardships, team morale remained high and the whole group supported each other through periods of sickness and began a sickness tally – crowning a winner of a competition nobody wanted to win of the most seasick!

Day 5: Entering Gosport
Sailing throughout the night in shifts, in cold conditions and bumpy waves, the crew continued to battle tough conditions and had to turn the engines back on after getting caught in the waves. Despite the tough night, spirits stayed high and those on sailing shift were treated to a beautiful sunrise to begin the final day at sea. After more than 24 hours and 127 miles sailed, the crew arrived at Gosport. Once docked, they headed for showers and to explore the town. They returned to dinner prepared for them by the Cirdan professional crew and shared their experiences and highlights from the sail. There was a dance party and talent show before some people chose an early night and others stayed up playing cards and socialising.

Day 6: Gosport
The crew awoke for a final shared breakfast and a deep clean of the boat. There was a certificate ceremony whereby the Cirdan professionals awarded the sailors their competent crew certificates and congratulate them on their achievements and a final group picture taken. The minibus came to collect the sailors and return them to Suffolk and provided an opportunity for some downtime and further conversations to be had between participants. They were met in Ipswich by EIP colleagues, friends, and family.

Post-Voyage
We held a reunion event three weeks after the crews’ return for reflection and celebration. The crew treated themselves to a shared takeaway pizza dinner and we held an awards ceremony to honour everyone’s unique contribution to the sail and shared a slideshow of videos and photos from the trip which prompted lots of laughter and sharing of memories. We invited anybody who wished to partake in a video interview or to give written feedback and some of these reflections are included below.

Certain themes emerged in exploring the impact of the Voyage to Recovery with the Suffolk EIP crew:

Openness/vastness – being out on water and in an awesome setting, feeling safe and unconfined, exploring new places.

Connection – socialising and connecting with others, bonding as a group, developing lasting and supporting friendships was cited by all participants.

Overcoming/surpassing – moving past self-imposed limiting beliefs, overcoming adverse conditions, and valuing them for the opportunity to realise your capabilities.

Happiness/laughter – every participant has said how happy they’d been on board, how close the group became and how they valued being able to laugh through the challenges together.

Feedback from service users

“So, to me, it's got to be better than being in a room with medication. You know, to me, that's… relying on something else. Whereas with the activity, I was only relying on me.”

“I've built my confidence from actually going and talking to other people and feeling a bit like the old me, because I used to be very, very sociable and I've found that when I became ill, I became less sociable.”

“I enjoyed sharing what we've all been through and the similarities and differences and how we kind of all got there and making friendships. [Also] really seeing how people came out of their shell through the experience.”

“After coming back from it, I've realised that anything is possible and not to shy away from any challenges because you think it's too hard for you… I'm going to take that forward.”

“I take any opportunity that comes my way [now] because it opens your eyes to doing new things … there's so much more out there.”