Sailing to a new future (Forward - Summer 2025)

After years spent in a nursing home following his spinal cord injury and mental health issues, Ian Wyllie, decided to refit a neglected yacht and embark on a solo sailing adventure around the UK and Ireland. As he shares with us in his incredible story, his has been a journey of healing and rehabilitation.

I first became spinal cord injured while training as a junior officer in the Royal Navy in 1997. Initial incorrect diagnosis left me with substantial cauda equina damage. I was left to rehabilitate and manage the resulting impaired walking, neuropathic pain and changes to my bowel, bladder and sexual function alone. Eventually I was referred to a spinal unit as an outpatient in around 2002, but getting things optimised took a long time

I suffered multiple episodes of urosepsis which destabilised my physical and mental health further. This led to periods in and out of acute mental health units where I had zero help with care, not even routine care like pad changes. As my mental state worsened, my behaviour became self-destructive and difficult to manage, and I was unable to live independently in the community. After mixed experiences with PA care I was placed in a nursing home near Southampton in around 2014.

At first, I thought this was the end, that my health would further deteriorate, and I’d see out the end of my life there. Amazingly though, I had fallen into a young adult rehab focused service which had boundless optimism. I experienced good care and was well looked after by people who really cared about residents’ welfare. It took three years to greatly improve my stability and a further three years to rehabilitate sustainably and return to independent life. Working out the negative role that UTI’s played and getting bowel management sorted proved critical.

Still, the route back to independence was tough. I returned to swimming with great coaching in an inclusive session at a local club. But it was getting the chance to sail with the Andrew Cassell Foundation which proved transformative. The charity is focused on getting disabled sailors sailing on equal terms with able-bodied people, and racing without fear or favour on a level playing field.

Racing keelboats in the Solent, helped restore my zest for life while pushing the boundaries of my mobility. I knew I wasn’t ready for employment, but I wanted to reacquaint myself with my education as an engineer and stay in the marine field. That’s why, when I saw a neglected yacht for sale, I knew I had to buy it. People felt I was being foolish – the yacht was in a bad state, leaking, mouldy, needing electrics, water and a deck covering. The experience of getting my hands back on tools and my brain back into engineering gear was all hugely therapeutic. Working alongside a retired shipwright and with the help of supportive local companies and people, it took four months before Trilleen was ready for launch.

I began very cautiously around the Solent, building in distance and severity and unexpectedly discovered a love for being solo on the water. With characteristic optimism I announced a plan to sail round Britain and Ireland, probably the most challenging sail in Northern Europe solo over two seasons to raise funds for the Andrew Cassell Foundation.

Overcoming the difficulties of sailing with a disability hasn’t been straightforward. Trilleen is an old-fashioned boat, cramped by modern standards, yet there’s lots to hold onto and brace myself against. I often think I do better on board than I do in a house!

I’ve been able to keep up with care by converting much of the bow of the boat into a ‘care space’ big enough to do bowel and other continence care in, and some insulated lockers which store the inevitable mass of medical supplies. Some adaptions to the joinery made a space for my wheelchair frame, and a place to store the orthoses which I walk with.

Sailing, sometimes for many days at a time has stretched what I thought I was capable of despite a series of setbacks, including a mast being broken by a marina, and an engine failing in Stornoway, which have stretched the project out.

Some experiences stick with you. Like being 60 miles out into the Atlantic in the early morning when the stacks of St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides reveal their spooky beauty. After a long night at sea in testing weather, I anchored Trilleen, brewed tea and sat stunned by the surrounding towering stacks and the long silent village. I felt so glad to be free again, able to access the wilderness and looked after by this inanimate chunk of sails and glass fibre that I love almost as much as a person.

This year, I’m determined to make it round Shetland and back to the Solent. In a way, I’m glad of the distractions and disappointments along the way because I feel more and more confident in what my mind and body will sustain, and what it won’t. What comes next isn’t yet certain, but it might be another sailing adventure.

 

To follow Ian’s sailing adventures and to donate to The Andrew Cassell Foundation, visit: sailingtrilleen.org

 

 

Very often it feels like there’s an expectation you should settle down and be sensible post a disabling injury – to make conventional choices and not be too wild. I’ve discovered that sometimes unconventional solutions to rehabilitation can and do work.

This article was featured in the Summer 2025 issue of FORWARD magazine