Welcome to our 2018 CRAB page for Emma's Pirates. This is our second year, and we want to beat the total for last year which was about $3,000. For this year, we will be racing on Laughing Gull, and the folks that donate the most will be on board for race day.
If you have not heard of CRAB, they are a great group that cater to helping people with disabilities get out on the water. We serve three groups of people. Those with physical and mental disabilities, wounded warriors, and youth from at risk neighborhoods. We are funded almost entirely through donations, so ANY amount you can give is appreciated and put to good use.
If you have not spent much time around people with either physical or intellectual disabilities, you would be surprised at how trapped life with disabilities can be. As one veteran put it as he sailed out in the Bay: “this is the furthest I have been away from my wheelchair in years”. For folks with intellectual challenges, the water is therapy thing. You have probably felt that it was therapy yourself, but for some the act of being on the water creates feelings and movement that stimulate all the right things. Try it yourself. Take a child with ADHD on the water – the difference will be obvious.
CRAB also supports Anne Arundel County Police Officers and kids from their communities learn to sail together in this Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB) sailing camp. It helped them realize that no one can do everything on their own. It takes a team.
Lastly and for me the most important is the ability for CRAB to help people get out of their house, and socialize. It is so easy for people with challenges to remain hidden. The easiest thing to do is to watch TV and play with computers – and it is socially isolating. Getting out with something physical to do, with other people is huge, and helps in the development of skills that support people with challenges as they negotiate life outside the four walls of the house.
Emma will be at the Regatta - you might have seen her singing with the band last year. Emma has Downs Syndrome, and is a pretty good sailor. She can steer a straighter course than some of the snake wakes I know! She likes the Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney – hence the name. Emma has been at the last few regattas, and the picture of her at the wheel of a boat is on the boat we have raced. Please consider giving - every bit helps get people out, and ensures that CRAB is doing it in a safe and fun way. I look forward to seeing you there. http://crabsailing.org/
