John Silverwood Sets Sail Again

When John Silverwood’s left leg was severed on June 25, 2005, he wasn’t sure he was going to live, much less ever sail again. Silverwood and his family — wife Jean, and kids Ben, Amelia, Jack and Camille — had been sailing in the South Pacific aboard their Lagoon 55 catamaran Emerald Jane when they ran up on Manuae Atoll, about 190 miles west of Raiatea. John lost his leg, and nearly his life, when the boat’s 79-ft mast fell on him. The family’s story captured the world’s attention, and two movies, along with John and Jean’s book Black Wave, came out of the near-tragedy.

Now five years later, John is ready to set sail again. Having adapted well to his ‘bionic’ prosthetic leg, and having done some sailing on other people’s boats, John says he finally “got permission from Jean to buy another boat.” In less than two months, John found the Ohlson 38 Espiritu Santo in Galveston, Texas, had her trucked to San Diego and got her ready for a doublehanded trip to Hawaii with his youngest son Jack, 15. They’re planning to leave in the next few days.

Instead of looking for the limelight for himself, John is hoping his trip will bring awareness — and much-needed contributions — to the Challenged Athletes Foundation, a group that helps people with physical disabilities live active lifestyles and become competitive athletes. John will be posting occasional video blogs from his trip — view them at www.challengedathletes.org — and promises to deliver a full report on the journey for Latitude readers.