Many said it couldn’t be done, but George McKay’s faith didn’t waver, and it turned out he was right: the 100-foot 3-masted galleon RAWFAITH, designed by McKay to be the first wheelchair accessible large sailing vessel and built by his family and volunteers, floated when she was launched on Aug. 2, and sailed well on her Aug. 23 maiden voyage, despite the total lack of previous experience of her captain, builders and crew.
“Our first voyage was fantastic, I thought,” McKay said, talking in September from the anchorage in Cutler. They sailed for six hours near Jonesport, then returned to port to make sail adjustments. A couple of weeks later, they headed out again, intending to sail to Rockport, but prevailing winds landed them in Cutler Harbor. Because RAWFAITH doesn’t have an engine, the McKays’ 15-year-old son, Robert, towed her into and out of the harbor, using their 16-foot 85-horsepower outboard. From Cutler, they planned to head to Rockland for a week, and later in September, to sail to New Jersey as the first leg of a voyage to Florida, where they have free dockage for the winter at an old navy base outside Jacksonville.
McKay, who is studying for his captain’s license, hopes to find an experienced volunteer to sail on RAWFAITH from Maine to New Jersey and give him sailing pointers. At this time, the crew consists of volunteer Charles Brugh, Robert, McKay, his wife Joanne, and their daughter, Liz, who has Marfans Syndrome and is confined to a wheelchair. Liz was the inspiration for building RAWFAITH and creating Accessible Sailing Adventures, a program designed to give disabled children a therapeutic hands-on sailing experience aboard a tall ship.
“From New Jersey down to Florida, we really need crew,” McKay said. “I need someone experienced to teach me. Experienced sailors are very welcome, but they need to have a flexible time schedule.”
While in New Jersey, McKay hopes to dock at Rutgers University’s Marine Center. “We’ll stay there approximately a month doing fundraising and working on the boat,” he said. In Florida, they will continue work on the boat and will conduct ship trials including drills on how to use their four anchors in varied conditions and how to handle the sails in different situations.
In addition to experienced crew, Accessible Sailing Adventures needs money to buy a two-station radar, a sea anchor, a life raft, an emergency position indicator radio beacon and to fund operating expenses. The McKays have already raised $1,000 towards the radar.
Many people have contributed to RAWFAITH’s vision by working on the boat, contributing food for the crew, materials, hardware, money and numerous other items. The latest volunteers, McKay says, were members of a Bible study group from Philadelphia who spent a long weekend working on the boat. “Those eight girls worked so hard they got an incredible amount of work done,” he says. “It was an example of what people can do to help out, and still, it was such a huge adventure for them, coming from the city. I was raising them up to the top of the mast; they were staining and using a lot of elbow grease.” The McKays still hear from the group, which formed a fan club for Robert and donated a pair of hard-to-find boots to fit the feet of this six foot six inch man — size 16.
The McKays began building RAWFAITH just four years ago. The project has involved immense sacrifice for the entire McKay family, which also includes older sons Aaron and Tom, who worked on the boat until it was launched. “It’s been a lot of work, but now we hope to start the mission,” says McKay. “Along the way to Florida we’ll be looking for families with people in wheelchairs and will invite them to go out with us.” Eventually, he envisions running day trips for four or five families with disabled children confined to wheelchairs, the first program of its kind in the United States.
To follow RAWFAITH’s progress or make a donation, visit www.rawfaith.org or call 207-423-2710.