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♪
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I'm going to give you a little hint,
bullying never ends, okay?
They bully you in business,
they bully you in life.
It's how you deal with that bullying
that gets you through life.
What you guys got to do is get above it.
Don't do it to other people.
You guys showed three captains this week how our world is.
They will all be changed forever.
So you guys are as great as teachers as anybody.
If anybody tells you you can't do it,
what do you say?
- Yes I can. - Yes I can.
You guys have sailed
the Spanish Virgin Islands,
you guys ran those boats,
you guys put those sails up and down
and trimmed the jib,
you guys tacked and jibed.
It was you guys.
Nobody else.
You guys are brave souls.
You guys are Blind Buccaneers.
♪
The Foundation for Blind Children does these...
challenge events for one simple reason.
To raise expectations.
To raise expectations of the students.
To raise expectations of their parents
and their families.
And to inspire the community.
And these kids do great things.
They get to the top of the mountain,
they swim the ocean,
the raft the mighty Colorado,
and from that moment they go on to college,
they go on to work,
they go on to having families.
I like to think it's because of that one moment
when they stepped out of the water.
The one moment when they reached the top
of 19,340 feet.
That one moment when they climbed out of the canyon.
The moment that launched them into the rest of their lives.
It works.
It works over and over again.
So we've climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
We swam Alcatraz.
We've hiked rim to rim the Grand Canyon.
It's time for another challenge event.
The next trip is going to be
12 blind students
will be crewing three sailboats
and sailing the Caribbean.
A hundred and ten miles,
and they're going to be the crew.
They're going to have to learn how to tie knots,
work a sailboat,
navigate,
sail the open water, open ocean.
Not a single one of our students
has any previous experience sailing,
so we're starting with Sailing 101.
♪
The first thing we need to do is assemble our team.
So we gathered the families,
the trainers, and the guides
and we had to answer every question,
address any concern.
This is a big proposition.
We had to put them at ease.
And most importantly, we wanted to meet
all 12 Blind Buccaneers.
♪
Wanted to get the team together
and we wanted to introduce the Blind Buccaneers to the world.
♪
My name's Elle Dingwell.
- Hi, I'm Cesar Yanez. - Hi, my name is Evelin Rios.
- I'm 18 years old. - Hi, my name is Ethan Roberts.
Hi, my name is Isabelle Chapman.
Hi, I'm Adonis Watt.
Hi, my name is Kaylee Nielsen.
My name is Jorge Castro.
My name is Maggie Lindsay.
Hi, I'm Steven Clemens.
- My name is Morgann Marquise. - My name is Roman,
a Blind Buccaneer for the Foundation for Blind Children.
When I was 13 I was part of a different challenge of theirs
and it was the Grand Canyon trip.
So we whitewater rafted in the Colorado River
for like five days.
I don't know, I'm not scared of water.
I could swim.
So I just adapt, I guess, just learn.
I'm nervous but I feel like I'll get used to it
and I'll love it.
When I was born, I was already diagnosed with my condition.
It's juvenile rentinoschisis
and what it is is, my retina pretty much
can detach easily.
So through the years my vision would get worse.
Like when I was a child it wasn't that bad.
And then when I started school, like around second grade,
I noticed a big difference
because when I started getting into middle school
it just kept getting a little more worse.
Like I just kept getting surgeries.
They would damage my eyes.
So I've had three retina detachments
and those are the ones
that make your vision fade less.
The last one that I had,
it was in my right eye,
and it affected my cornea because of what they did.
Mainly at night is when I start
to be like really hesitant about doing stuff
because I'm like pretty much blind at night.
Like I can't see at all in the dark
and that, like, holds me back
because I still rely on my vision.
But that's something I need to work on.
You just have to work hard enough
and if you have the courage and the effort
then you can do anything you want, really.
♪
So the first thing we did
was make sure that the kids can swim
and that's really critical when you're sailing,
obviously being on open water or even on a lake.
For that, we use the swimming pool
up here at Pleasant Harbor.
Some of the kids actually have never swam before.
So this was the first time.
It's a safety issue.
So even though you can swim
but swimming with clothes on
or swimming with a lifejacket on changes things.
So the idea is even if you are a good swimmer
you can swim with shoes, with clothes
and especially a lifejacket, which will help you
but it's also a different experience than swimming.
First thing you look at is comfort.
That they feel safe, they know the lifejacket
is doing what it's doing.
Whether they're swimming casually
or you've fallen off a boat,
you react accordingly and trust your equipment
that you will be floating
and you will be able to stay safe.
♪
I'm pretty anxious of course,
obviously since it's water and I can't swim.
So I'm really anxious about that
but I'm really excited to be a on a plane
since I've never been on one.
And just knowing I'm in Puerto Rico.
That's like one thing that has me really excited.
Just to know it's somewhere new
and I just could see new places.
I can do it and I'm scared too
but it's good to encounter your challenges.
'Cause you never know the outcome
and it will probably make you a better person as well.
So it's good that I'm doing this.
Even though I'm anxious myself,
I know that it will be worth it.
♪
Sailing in and of itself can look complicated
and complex and difficult.
When in fact, it really isn't.
And it's very sensory.
So when we were first approached,
would you like to do this, I thought it was a fantastic idea
because I sail by feel and by touch more than anything else.
So trying to get the kids to adapt to...
Not to the boat
but to have the boat adapt to them
and talk to them
and know what to feel.
They were fabulous.
Some of them got it right away.
Just listen to the wind, listen to the water,
feel the boat working.
So, pure sensory.
I was surprised at literally how quickly
they caught on to actually sailing.
The rest is then technical, pull this,
push that, do this, do that.
That's easy to learn.
But the sensory part actually isn't
and they would have been way ahead of most.
♪
I don't really have a lot of depth perception
or peripheral vision.
You know, especially on the first day of practice
it is going to be, you know, I'm not going to know everything
right off the bat, I'm going to have to be
kind of told what to do and learn how to do it.
And that's kind of the fun part.
I don't really fully know what to expect.
I'm kind of excited for it
'cause like it's something new
and that's always fun.
I do love like, you know, a good challenge.
I do like doing hard things and you know,
if somebody came up to me and said,
"Hey, that's going to be super hard
for you to do that, like you can't do that."
I believe that anything is pretty much possible
if you put your mind to it.
I'm not the type of person who likes to give up.
You know, if you try hard enough
you can achieve anything.
♪
So we just got to the docks.
We just got to the boats.
We are unpacking,
picking cabins, learning our way around the boats.
It's an interesting orientation and mobility challenge
to navigate a boat when you don't have vision.
So we're doing that right now
and sang great songs on the bus
and it was the beginning of a great...
a great journey.
Tomorrow we launch
and our kids will be at the helm
for every mile of this launch and this voyage
and we don't know what tomorrow holds.
This is our first time on the ocean
and the first time sailing.
So we're going to be experiencing a lot of things
for the first time this week.
Me and Adonis are in there.
Hey, team.
My new house, I don't want to brag.
Totally honestly, I kind of rent the room, just the room,
and I share it with these two weirdos.
These weirdos.
Small space.
Pretty cool, huh?
Sure, if you say so.
If you like crammed areas.
If I have a disability,
and I might've got picked last,
it doesn't stop me from doing much of anything.
Yeah, I might be slower at it
but I can still do it just as efficient
as anyone else.
♪
I met Kaylee at college prep
and she's a very outgoing person,
and normally, I'm actually very introverted.
Being around her, I think, kind of brings out
an outgoing side in me and so she is very like,
let's go adventure, let's go explore.
And so being with her, it made me want to do that as well.
And so yeah, we went on the boat
and we climbed up to the upper deck
and I was honestly a little freaked out being up there
because I wasn't sure if we were supposed to be up there
and then it was wet because it had been raining.
And so I was like, are we going to fall off?
But I just let the worry go out of my mind
and we just had fun.
Some of my first memories
are at The Foundation for Blind Children.
I always knew that I had bilateral optic nerve hypoplasia
and I always knew that I had nystagmus.
When I attended the Foundation,
everyone was visually impaired
and so I didn't really think anything of it.
I thought I was, quote, unquote, "normal."
And then I went into elementary school
and I realized that I wasn't.
And so for a very long time
I think I felt very isolated.
I didn't really want to use any assistive technology.
Everyone always complimented me on how I didn't necessarily
look like I was visually impaired.
I looked like I was really sighted
and I took that as a compliment for a while.
But it wasn't until I reconnected with the Foundation
two years ago in 2016,
that I realized that it was okay
for me to have the visual impairment
and it was okay for me to accept that
and it was okay if I used the cane and people knew
that I was visually impaired and so I think from then on
I've been really confident in myself.
I'm very nervous, obviously, just for the same reasons
of I've never been on a sailboat.
I don't know how to sail
and this is going to be a five day trip
circumnavigating the Spanish Virgin Islands
and that's insane.
I've never left the country, so.
Our Captain Paco just informed us
of a little tropical storm moving in on Tuesday.
Which is something that is rare for November
and something we didn't expect.
So worse comes to worst and we find ourselves
getting in a hairy situation, we'll have to be flexible
and accommodate but that's what this is all about.
If we were wanting to be safe and conservative
we'd all still be at home right now.
♪
So at the end of this week we want them to say
"I sailed Puerto Rico," right?
So that's our biggest thing.
It's just going to take a lot of patience
and they'll have patience with us too because we'll be...
And we'll coach you through as much as we can
'cause we're all familiar with the kids.
But they're all great kids.
They come from all different backgrounds.
Cesar, who's on your boat,
he's the oldest of eight kids and he's fourteen.
So can you imagine how many kids are at home
and he's... now he's sailing in Puerto Rico, right?
So imagine the economic standing of this.
We have other kids who are just losing their vision now.
So they had vision earlier in life and it's going away.
So there's all different levels here,
so we just want you guys just to take care of us
and make it the most special experience in the world.
It's not about us, the adults.
It's about the kids.
♪
♪ Time won't stop, so gonna get on the ride ♪
♪ Twisting and turning through life ♪
♪ No matter how rough it gets I'll get by ♪
♪
♪ Home ♪
♪ Moves with me where I roam ♪
♪ It's in every dream I made my own ♪
♪ I'm never alone ♪
♪ I know that every day will always bring me something new ♪
♪
♪ Every day will bring me something new ♪
♪
I'm super excited to learn to sail.
It will be a wonderful experience
and I know I'll grow a lot as a person
and just learning how to sail,
learning more about myself and our abilities
and growing close to everybody I'm doing it with.
I'm definitely nervous, especially coming from
someone who's never really had a culture shock
of going out of the country
and someone who's never been on a sailboat.
So it will definitely be an experience.
Just watch us, watch it happen
'cause it will be incredible
and there's no doubt in my mind
that we're gonna do it,
we're gonna come back alive, and we're gonna have
an incredible story to tell.
♪ Every day will bring me something new ♪
♪
♪ Every day will bring me something new ♪
♪
Honestly, I feel like a little bit nervous
'cause I don't know what's out there
in the deep, vast ocean but at the same time I feel excited
because I'm a thrill-seeker.
♪ Whaa ♪
♪ Come on ♪
♪ Move along ♪
♪
♪ Let's say it, baby ♪
♪ I know you're on a roll ♪
What's the water temp?
♪ Sweet honey ♪
This is right where.
♪
On the edge.
You can get used to it quickly.
♪
How is it?
- Is it cold? - It's perfect.
Alright, you want to come in?
I'm out of the way.
Yeah, baby.
Yeah, Jorge.
♪
I had congenital glaucoma when I was first born
and I had cataracts as well.
I had the cataracts removed from both of my eyes.
My left eye was not savable so I lost my left eye.
I had vision up till I was about eight or nine
and then the glaucoma, like the pressure just started building
and I started getting cloudy corneas as well.
So that's what led to my vision loss
and it didn't really have an impact on me
as much as, say maybe other students
who may recently just lost their vision,
but it did have an impact on me.
But I'm still here and I'm able to move on from that.
I would like to, like, go exploring to like Mount Everest.
That's one place I'd like to hike.
You may think I may not be able to do it but I can.
Just like I'm able to do pretty much anything you're doing,
I could do as well.
♪
I was kind of nervous because I would be...
Like, it would be my first time in the middle of the ocean
and I didn't know how to swim.
They tried talking to me about getting in the water
and the reason why I ended up getting in the water
was because everyone else was there
and I'm pretty sure I would've probably been the only one
on the boat if I wouldn't have gotten in the water.
And that kind of motivated me
and then I also wanted to try something new
and that pretty much seemed like a good idea.
So I just tried it.
Trust it.
You're floating.
It's below the surface.
That's where it's supposed to be, it's holding your weight.
Look where your head is.
You're in the ocean, bro.
They gave me a floaty type thing and a noodle.
And basically, I was kind of nervous getting in the water
with that because I didn't really trust it
and I still really don't
but that was the only thing I had so,
I guess that's why I decided to kind of try it.
Let's see you...
Remember how we told you to do this
so you tread water?
You can try it, it's underneath your...
Okay, that's between your legs, it's not getting out.
See? Yeah, brother!
You are treading the water!
- And the color of this water? - I have no idea.
Turquoise, turquoise!
It's like light blue with a little green
all at the same time.
Ready, I'm putting my hands on my head
to show you you are completely self sufficient.
No, no, no. He's just smiling.
I'll know when you're...
Hi, camera.
♪
So we're gonna swim to shore.
I was just really determined to get to the shore
because once I was kind of halfway there
I didn't feel like turning back
because I already made it so far, in my opinion.
So I just wanted to see if I was actually able
to make it to shore and I was able to.
After making it to shore,
I was kind of just proud of myself
because I didn't think I was going to
be able to make it there
and then I was also really tired once I made it there.
I just ended up dropping the floaty
and I ended up using the pool noodle kind of like a cane
and then just started exploring the beach.
♪
I'm really excited to be part of the Blind Buccaneers
and my mom says that she knows I can do it
even though it's something new.
And I actually never thought this would actually happen.
I thought I would always just be here in Phoenix.
♪
So initially I was very excited to go SNUBA diving
and I didn't know much about the process.
I had just never done anything like that before
and so I was ready to try something new.
And then they informed us how we were gonna do it.
And so there was going to be a raft
that had a whole bunch of oxygen
and we were going to be connected to lines
and we could travel 19 feet down
and we wouldn't have a tank connected to our backs
or anything, we would just be connected to the rafts.
The way we would breathe
is there would be a line coming down
and there would be a little mouth piece.
And we had to bite down on that mouth piece
and that's how we were supposed to breathe underwater.
And so learning about that kind of made me nervous
because they like really enforced the idea
that we could not let go of that mouthpiece
otherwise we would not be breathing underwater.
I was excited when I left that boat.
My first time SNUBA diving or scuba diving,
doing anything underwater with a mouthpiece.
Like, I was excited.
♪
I didn't really know like what to expect
'cause I'd never done it before.
But then I was excited 'cause, you know,
it was something new and I like trying new things.
♪
I was really, I guess, terrified
is the word I'm going to use.
I didn't think I was really good at swimming
so I did not trust being underwater.
Then, when they were asking our parents for permission
I was really hoping my mom would not respond to the text message,
but she ended up saying it was okay.
I've never been SNUBA diving before that time.
Although, I was quite surprised
they had to put weights in me.
It never occurred to me you'd have to put weights
to sink on purpose.
I feel like, I don't know,
you just sink on your own.
They got me in the water
and the guide had me put the mask on
and figure out how the oxygen works.
I had a lot of trouble figuring out
how to breathe underwater
'cause it's so counterintuitive.
Then I got the hang of it.
I was really excited but I also didn't want to let go
of the guide 'cause I was frightened
that I'd like float away or something.
Gravity didn't feel like a thing anymore
'cause I was in the water.
So I had complete movement.
I didn't have to worry about like running into things
or falling over or whatever.
So I just started swimming
and swimming down 'cause I wanted to go down.
The main thing that I was concerned about
was just the water pressure 'cause I have glaucoma.
But I'm like, okay, I'll just go halfway down
and I will not worry about it at all.
Being in the water, it felt good.
Like you could pretty much move around freely.
So then, we went down at around, I think it was like 10, 15 feet,
I started tugging on the guide to kind of like let me up
'cause I started feeling the pressure like a bit more.
But I don't think he got the message
and my left eardrum bursted
and I was in pretty bad pain.
Not during... it took at least a good minute and a half
for the pain to finally come in.
But I was able to touch some coral down there before.
Growing up, we're always taught you can't breathe underwater
so it was one of those things where it was like...
I was like panicking under the water even though
I had help and I knew I was going to be good.
It was just basically like a natural reaction
to just being underwater and trying to breathe.
But I mean, as soon as we got the mask fixed
and I got used to using the mouth guard to breathe
we just went down there and looked at stuff
for a little bit and then I just picked up a shell
and came back up.
Yeah, with the breathing apparatus
I mean, I had a little bit of trouble
'cause like for the first couple of seconds,
you know, I breathed in water accidentally
and I was kind of freaking out, I guess.
But then like I kind of immediately came back up.
The person with me, they kind of just told me
you have to have a tighter grip on the...
Like a tighter bite on the apparatus
so you don't breathe in the water.
Basically, they tried convincing me to go underwater.
They succeeded, but it took a lot of convincing.
Once I actually went underwater I was just very terrified
and I was trying to get to the surface, I guess.
But I went underwater, I think it was 16 feet
and the ocean was...
Like that part of where I was at was 17 feet.
So I was one foot away but then I kind of started panicking
and tried swimming up to the surface.
No, if I got the opportunity I would not go again.
That was too terrifying.
If anyone would like to try it, sure.
I'm fine with them trying it
but I do not recommend it.
When I was in the water I was having a little bit of problems
because my ears wouldn't quite pop
but then all of a sudden, my guide got really excited
and I'm like, what's going on?
And I just see three large masses
and I thought they were sharks
so I have to try not to scream.
But then as soon as I realized they were dolphins
I get really excited and I just start swimming towards them
and they're swimming towards me
and at one point, one of them actually touches my legs
and it's definitely an experience I will never forget.
♪
Once I turned 11, I started losing my vision
very rapidly and we could not figure out why.
So we started doing a bunch of tests,
going to a million different doctors.
And then they kept saying
"All we can do is provide glasses."
So we eventually went to Ohio State
and did some testing there and they diagnosed me
with cancerous autoimmune retinopathy,
which basically means that I don't just have
a vision problem, everything else in my body
can be attacked at any point in time.
Things can be very blurry at times.
The most correctable vision with glasses is 20/40.
Colors can sometimes blend together
and I'm very sensitive to light
and just things like that,
things that people find so easy to see
can be incredibly difficult to me sometimes.
You think I can't do it and I know I can
so it's time for you to know that I can.
♪
Thank you. A pirate.
Good morning, I'm Captain Havier.
We're getting ready to sail from Fajardo,
the east side of Puerto Rico to Culebra.
It's blowing harder, the wind's blowing harder today.
It's blowing around 20, 25 knots.
We're going to go to the east towards Culebra Island
That's 18 nautical miles.
We're probably going to be running
at between five and seven knots.
So it should take us between three to four hours
to get there, it's going to be a little rough
but we'll get there safe.
One thing I can say is,
when we were out there in that storm that we hit,
I know probably some of those visually impaired kids
weren't...
totally aware of the situation.
It was howling.
I talked to some property owner on the island
that was living at the top of that island
and he said at his house it was hitting 70 miles an hour.
Lightning strikes, you know,
within a mile of us, right.
So it was pretty intense.
It had, you know, the hair on the back of my neck
straight up and it had my attention.
So for those kids to go through that...
The whole boat was just like moving
and I was having to stand, 'cause I'm super short,
so I was having to stand like at the wheel
and it was like throwing me around.
And so I was going like from side to side to side
and everyone was having to like hold on
to like the stairs and hold on to their hats.
The storm, I enjoyed it.
I know it's like it's a storm
but I feel like that day was like the best day
out of like all of them for me.
Because I felt like there's more action
and I was kind of putting like what I know so far
like into use
while doing it quickly
and just working with my friends.
And I just liked feeling, you know,
the rain drops and then the wind
and how we were doing everything at a fast pace.
I enjoyed that day.
Like that was like the best day
out of all of them.
I just loved it.
It was definitely something new
that we were never going to experience back at home.
Going through the storms
and it just felt right out of a movie
in terms of like, this doesn't happen in real life,
but it was.
So I was a little like, can we go up on deck
and like see everything for ourselves
or go stand at the top and they're like no,
you will end up in the water.
The storm, I think it was the worst for me 'cause...
Well, for my boat
because I got motion sickness.
Before, the waves weren't as big
but there it was moving us a lot
and we were up at the top.
It was a big bench and we were all sitting there.
Then I got really dizzy and I had to go down to the deck
and get some pills and just drink a lot of water.
Keep going, guys, keep going.
Keep going, keep going.
♪
I was at the mast trying to pull down
while everyone like pulled back at the...
Near the wheel of the boat.
So I was mainly the main force pulling it up.
It was pretty interesting with the waves
'cause they were really rocking us.
I was like being lifted off the deck
whenever it came up
and then it went right back down.
So I was like floating there
but sometimes I would lose my balance
and have to readjust where I was.
I stayed at the helm the entire time.
I was the furthest starboard of anyone.
So I was closest to the water
which meant I had the least amount of protection
from the wind and I didn't have a jacket...
Rain jacket or anything.
So I was sitting there shivering and drenched
like I had actually gotten in the water,
and laughing.
I am very competent.
But other than that,
I still don't really know what to expect of the trip.
I learned how to swim a really long time ago
but that's being in the water.
But that's about the only thing
that swimming and sailing have in common.
Well, I'm a 24-week preemie.
So when I was born I was one pound, five ounces.
I quickly lost my left eye
when I was about six months old
and my right eye was slowly dying.
It seemed okay and then in middle school
it really started accelerating
and it started dying a lot faster.
And then, it was the week of the standardized state testing,
when I was in eighth grade,
and I had been using my eye a lot
and so it was in a lot of pain.
And April 4, 2016 I opened up my iPad.
It was early in the morning
and I was going to write down my homework
for my first class in a document that I had
and the font size was like 48 or something really big
and the contrast between the letters and the background
was so bad I couldn't see it.
So I don't know what caused me to lose my vision on that day
but I think it was how stressed I was
from the testing the week earlier.
We have other senses than just our eyes
and everybody else depends on their eyes so much,
sometimes they don't really focus on their smell
or their hearing and I do
so I can still sail like a sighted person.
I just do it differently.
♪
So they said, you know, we're going to go to the beach
but first, we have to climb this mountain
and get all the way up to a lighthouse
and then come back down.
I will say this, we were all unprepared.
I think it was miscommunication.
They said hike but it was implied walk
and so people are like shorts and flip-flops, great.
We'll go, no bug spray,
it will be like 20 minutes.
No one had like trouble with the walk
like cardio-wise or anything.
But it was more of mobility.
Just moving and getting...
Choosing the right path that isn't as hard for them to go.
♪
There wasn't just one or two mosquitoes.
There were swarms of them
and they weren't exactly mosquitoes
you want to get bitten by.
I was lucky enough to only end up
with a few mosquito bites.
But I know some people who ended up with over 100.
That hike was not fun at all.
I wanted to just like turn around
and go back to the boat.
I tried my hardest and I just kept going
until I got up there
'cause I knew that there was something cool waiting for me
which was a lighthouse.
I just liked exploring that
and learning about the history
and when I got up to the top of that mountain
I was like "Wow, that was really difficult
and if I can do this then I can do anything."
I got to explore the lighthouse
and look out at the island
from, you know, just really high vantage points
and it was just really cool
to like see just all the stuff going on around me
and to learn about the history of this island
and then coming back down to the beach
was really awesome because we got to enjoy that.
And so it was worth it.
♪
I was born at 24 weeks
and I was placed in an incubator
at this German hospital.
And my parents stood by my side
every step of the way.
But due to the oxygen that was needed
to keep my brain alive and keep me alive,
I developed ROP.
So I was flown to a hospital in Detroit
with the best eye surgeon ever
on an emergency passport
and I met Dr. Trese
and he couldn't save my left eye
but he did save my right eye.
And my distance vision is not very good
but I can see things that are up close.
So I'll never be able to drive or fly a plane
or anything like that.
But I always try to live my life to the fullest
regardless of the fact that I can't see very well.
♪ Why would you look outside yourself ♪
♪ When you have ♪
♪ All of the world inside ♪
♪ One, two, three, four ♪
♪
♪ Yeah, your heart is a sun ♪
♪ And is shines as it opens ♪
♪ Your heart is a sun ♪
♪ And it shines ♪
♪ As it opens ♪
♪ Yeah, your heart ♪
♪ Is a sun ♪
♪ And it shines as it opens ♪
My vision is like...
this.
I was swimming one day,
everything was fine.
Just a normal day at the pool.
I come out the water, everything's just
really blurry and cloudy.
Like just a bunch of...
Like clouds came down from the sky
and just messed up everything, like my entire vision.
I was like "Ma, I can't see.
I can't see, I don't know where I'm at."
I went the wrong way and just knocked my face
into a closet door handle.
And she said "Oh no, just give it a couple of weeks
it will be all right."
And the thing's called glaucoma,
congenital glaucoma, I think.
From there on I was just completely blind.
♪
I've been playing football since I was like probably
four or five in my neighborhood,
just playing with my big brother
and all the other kids.
I'm hoping I can get a scholarship
in either football or wrestling.
You know, go to a good college
where I can get some good playing time
and hopefully I can be great enough
to the point where I can go to the NFL.
There's honestly no challenges
it's stuff to work around and stuff
that I can just do differently.
FBC has taught me a lot of things, you know.
They taught me how to just use a cane,
brail writer, all that type of stuff.
They showed me that I can do whatever I wanted
as a blind person.
Look at people like me
and just know that you can do whatever you want
no matter your circumstances
and you should just do you, you know.
Don't let people dictate how your life should be,
or what you can and can't do.
Just live your life 'cause you only live once.
So there's no reason that I shouldn't
be able to do this.
Nothing should be that difficult.
I think I should be perfectly fine after this.
It's just another adventure to go on.
♪
The people there were really nice
and really helpful.
Like, when we were trying to figure out
where the shop was, um,
Erin and Alma, they went to go ask some people,
and there was this one guy who told them where it was,
and, then, he followed in his car
to make sure that we all got there.
Like, that's so nice of him.
Well, one, walking through a foreign place like that
is really cool because you get to see
the structure and architecture
of places that you never really get to see.
And, then, the whole family vibe
that we got from just eating at the ice cream shop
and being crowded,
and just all enjoying our ice cream...
♪
We find this little mom-and-pop ice cream shop
and we go in.
Some of the best ice cream I've ever had, by the way.
But, then, yeah, just sitting in that ice cream shop,
I was just talking to the group,
and we kind of had that moment of realization,
like, "How are we here?
Like, we were in Phoenix like, less than a week ago,
and now we're sitting
in a little mom-and-pop ice cream shop
in... on the island of Culebra.
Like, that's insane."
It was insane to think about
just because, like, none of us ever even really knew...
Ever even heard about the island of Culebra,
and here we were, and we were interacting
with the people who were there.
And everyone who we talked to was super nice
and super sweet.
The more you give of yourself,
the more people will give to you.
And there is nothing better than a gift.
Nothing better than receiving a gift.
So you guys all know what it feels like
to receive a gift, so imagine being able to give a gift.
What you're about to do right now is give a gift.
Now, it's gonna be nervous for some of you,
but I think you guys can do it yourself.
All right? I want you to dig deep and share
'cause this is powerful.
So, here's the question again:
where was that moment in your life up to today
that you will remember for the rest of your life
to say, "If I can do that, I can do anything"?
And so I said, "I don't care if she dies,
I don't care how soon it is,
I don't care how long I have with her,
but I want her with me."
And, so, we kept her,
and she came really, really close to dying.
Um, but we started feeding her the medicine
and, day by day, she slowly started
regaining her strength,
and I had been right all along.
She, you know, survived and she... she got through it.
And, so, I don't know, ever since then,
it was kind of a thing of, like, if that little kitten
could get through almost dying,
I can get through anything.
- Mm. - Yeah.
Played my first season of tackle,
and it was cool and everything,
but, like, she was still talking to the coach
behind my back, saying, you know...
But I guess later in the season,
what happened was I pretty much got the ball
and I scored, but that kind of
made me want to play running back.
And fast-forward two or three years...
No, actually four or five years,
scored my first touchdown in high school.
Are really bad
'cause I was... I was really out of shape.
I weighed way more than I should've for my age.
And the first hike took four hours,
and it was supposed to be, like, an easy hike,
but it took me four hours.
I had, like, three asthma attacks on the way up.
But I didn't quit.
Like, my mom asked me, she told me it was fine
if I just didn't go anymore,
that it didn't matter, you know,
she would still be proud of me for trying,
but I didn't give up, I still kept going.
And, um,
it really helped because every training,
I got better and better at it.
And over six months,
I lost 16 pounds, and...
♪
We ended up testing me for two different portions
for cancerous autoimmune retinopathy.
They tested me for the cancer part
and the vision part,
and I tested positive for both,
and that's about January of 2017.
Uh, and so it was kind of hard for me
because I had really good vision for so long.
Um...
♪
It's all right.
♪
It was when I had to go back to school
with my cane.
♪
Proudest moment, uh, when I first meet people,
I don't trust them at all.
My sister went to the same school I did.
A group of kids that mainly bullied me,
so it was just to gang up on me.
I would usually try to suppress my sadness.
♪
Also, not tell my parents at all.
♪
So, this day was...
Started out like any other.
♪
Me, sitting...
♪
Alone.
♪
One of the...
♪
Lower, I guess, you would call it
of the pack of kids that would pick on me
went up to my sister's friends,
started talking to 'em.
So I moved closer to find out
about why they shouldn't be hanging around my...
♪
My little sister.
♪
Sorry.
♪
Heard my dad's voice say...
♪
"You must always..."
♪
Um...
"You must always protect her."
♪
So, I got...
♪
A little mad.
I...
♪
Got in the middle of him
and my sister's friends, and...
♪
I yelled at him...
♪
Because...
♪
I thought it was so wrong for...
♪
For him to be...
♪
Using me as a weapon
so that my sister wouldn't have any friends...
♪
And that I didn't want my sister to feel
that same pain.
I got beat up for it, but...
♪
And the bell rang,
and I just lay out there...
♪
Hurting for a few minutes.
And...
♪
I walked to class
like nothing had happened.
And I felt good about myself because...
♪
I felt I did the...
♪
Best thing that I could've done
as a big brother.
♪
So, yeah.
♪
So they told us amongst the three boats
we'd all be racing to our next destination,
and I think our boat just kind of all looked
at each other and was like, "We can win this thing.
We can beat the boys' boat
and we can beat the other boat."
And I think, at that moment, we decided that
we were all really competitive,
and we were going in this for the win.
♪
♪ Depth perception lost on me ♪
♪ Their eyes were the ones to see ♪
♪ Every mind that could inspire ♪
♪ Left me no one to admire ♪
♪
♪ Every time I open up ♪
♪ I was never good enough ♪
♪ For the narcissists in kind ♪
♪ Only seemed to leave me behind ♪
♪
♪ But I was always getting by ♪
♪ By saying things that would always
♪
♪ Drugs and clubs were not my scene ♪
♪ I could not discern their sheen ♪
♪ Still I could not be alone ♪
♪ Though I'd rather be at home ♪
♪
♪ But I was always getting by ♪
♪ By saying things that would always
♪
♪ Ah ♪
♪ Ah, ah ♪
♪
We ended up losing,
but I think the other boats cheated.
'Cause I knew there was no way they would beat us
by that much, moving that fast.
They used autopilot.
I didn't even know the boats had autopilot.
But, I mean, it's better that we did it
the hard way.
At least we did work.
You know, they got it all easy,
and we had to work for our sailing.
We didn't really do that well.
We teased the girls that we would win,
but they won.
It didn't really matter to us.
Just trying to have a great time.
They actually were very gracious.
We didn't expect them to be.
We kind of were not.
We went on top,
we went to the very highest point on our boat
and we kind of had a dance party and played
"We Are the Champions" and "Eye of the Tiger"
and all these power songs.
And the boys showed up,
and we're kind of rubbing it in their faces,
and they actually all bowed to us,
so that was really... that was really nice to see.
Oh, we're not worthy!
♪
We all got on the front of the boat
and just started, like, bowing,
just, "You win, you win."
I would say they should get a gold star
for their sportsmanship.
We did something great that day, and...
You know, if the Patriots lost the Super Bowl,
they're still the best team, you know?
It happens.
It was really bittersweet
because I was really happy
that we had all accomplished this
and we had all grown as people,
but I didn't want to leave,
and I had grown so close to these people.
It was almost like surreal.
I c... I couldn't believe it.
It was great that all the hard work,
all that stuff paying off was gratifying
to know that the hard work is paying off.
I came back kind of on a high for about a week
of just, you know, "We can do anything."
And I'm not gonna lie, that faded a little bit,
but I think what I was left with was memories
of the incredible experience we had,
and just personally a new sense of confidence
and a sense of adventure and a sense of,
"Hey, they're doing it?
I can do that too."
And I think that's something that I didn't have before
or definitely not as prominently.
And it was something that is imprinted on me
and will be with me forever.
This trip kind of made me more confident
because without that trip,
I don't think I would have been confident enough
to just, like, try.
It inspires me to do more with my life,
like, in school,
in, like, my future, my career,
and just, like, not being afraid to take risks
and just getting out there.
I was sad to leave, it was...
I wanted to stay there, like, I never wanted to leave.
I was, like, so used to it, I found, like, my home there.
We were all going our separate ways,
but we all made friends together
and we were all connected in some ways.
I realized, you know, we had to go back
and we had to... we had to start our lives,
it was time for us to start our lives.
We got on the plane, and we went home,
and we got to the airport, and I was like, "All right,
what are we gonna do next?"
We are the Blind Buccaneers.
♪
That trip, I don't think I would've been
confident enough to just, like,
try something new, and what I ended up trying
was I ended up taking the city bus,
first, from my school to my house
and then, after, just from my house to FBC.
So now I'm just, like, more confident learning
how to take the city bus to, I guess, almost anywhere.
♪
Um, I feel like this trip has
let me be better
at making new friends.
I feel like this trip has really made me
know what I want out of life,
you know, just how I'm gonna get there.
I feel like this trip has, you know,
certainly made me a stronger person,
and I was glad that I did it because I learned a lot.
♪
I've been able to gain more confidence in what I do,
and I want to motivate myself
to do bigger and better things, and, um,
I realize that I have a voice
and that I can motivate other people
even if they're sighted or they just, like...
It's crazy that we, just from going on that trip,
can motivate the ones that were on this trip
and that I can reach out
to a bigger audience someday
and maybe they'll get motivation from my stories.
♪
Um, this trip is something
that will always be in my heart.
It's something special to me.
I got to see a lot of new things,
I got to meet new people,
and I just made a lot of connections,
and I'm really curious about other things
out there in the world, like, I want to explore,
I want to meet new people, new languages, you know,
new food, new everything.
And, yeah, I just want to make new experiences now.
I want to take challenges, you know, take risks
and stuff like... I don't know.
It's just so interesting to me now.
And, yeah, and just confident
and, yeah, I just want to explore.
♪
Like, I'm hoping to take more opportunities in life,
not just sitting here and just letting...
Letting opportunities just pass by me.
♪
I think what I was left with was memories
of the incredible experience we had
and just personally a new sense of confidence
and a sense of adventure and a sense of,
"Hey, they're doing it?
I can do that too."
And I think that's something that I didn't have before
or definitely not as prominently.
And it was something that is imprinted on me
and will be with me forever.
And, so, even though, you know, what we had,
you know, we'll forget some things
and it'll become more and more in the past,
but I think what we took away from it
in terms of confidence and who we are,
that'll never go away, and it'll be with us
every time we face a challenge or every time, you know,
somebody questions if we can do that
or looks at us, like, "Really?
You know, you're visually impaired.
You can do that?"
We just... we have the evidence for it
that proves, "Yeah, I'm gonna do it, and I can,"
so that'll always be with us.
♪
We saw our individual strengths.
♪
And we let each one of us,
um, do that,
and so it mainly came together really well,
and we all felt that we did a good job at doing that.
I would say, um, just give it what you got
and don't...
Don't think that you can't do it.
Just, um...
♪
Like, people say, um,
believe in what you can do.
I mainly say know what you can do
and just do it.
♪
I don't make friends very easily,
and, um...
♪
I guess I was just
always stressed about it.
And then along comes the trip and...
♪
I made friends,
and I forgot about school
for, like, three days
until a bunch of people on my group chat in my class
started texting about homework,
and I'm like, "Oh, please don't, people.
I was really hoping to not have to worry about this."
Um, but I've come back and...
♪
Um, that stuff still matters.
I don't think... I don't think it matters as much
because that's not all there is to life,
and sometimes, sometimes it's really hard
to remember that 'cause you get caught up
in the fact that there's a test tomorrow or whatever.
♪
I feel like after this trip,
I feel like I'm, you know...
♪
Whenever something comes my way,
I feel like I can overcome it and take on
and... 'cause, you know, what we did on the trip,
like, you know, the sailing, the SNUBA diving, the hiking,
all that, those were kind of...
Before I did those, I was like, I was...
I was like a tiny bit apprehensive, I guess,
and I didn't know what to expect,
but then when I did it, I felt like,
I felt, you know, a lot better,
and I felt like I could overcome
whatever comes my way.
♪
Um, I've...
I wouldn't say any new adventures have sparked up.
I've just been more willing to do things
as far as trying new foods...
Well, I've always been willing to do that,
but trying, just trying new things in general,
and just being like, "Hey, I've done this,
so why can't I do this?"
♪
Well, the future is,
uh, playing football in high school
and making my way to, uh,
a scholarship for college,
and by senior year,
having a GPA of 3.5.
And then, after college, going to the NFL,
breaking records,
inspiring people,
win the Super Bowl rings, MVPs,
and just doing all I can
to change the world.
♪
It's very cliché, but I'd tell them to do it.
And, you know, clichés are cliché for a reason
because it's, you know, if you have an opportunity
to do something you've never done,
you should take it because you'll never know
what you... you never know what you could've learned.
And so, I would tell that kid, you know, to take it
and to just live life and to, you know,
not really listen to what people say,
and there will always be people
who say something negative,
and there will always be people who believe
that you can't do what you want to,
but just live your life the way you want
and just prove them wrong.
♪
The Foundation for Blind Children
does these challenge events
really for one reason:
to give these kids, these students,
their moment of glory,
their moment where they challenge themselves
and they overcome a major obstacle.
They can say, "I did this.
What else can I do now?
Where can I go?
♪
How...
♪
Can I fulfill my dreams?"
♪
And it works.
These kids challenge themselves.
They get to the top,
they swim across those oceans,
and they go on to go to college,
go to work, start a family, support a family.
♪
And it works every single time.
♪
Anybody tells you you can't do it,
what do you say?
- Yes, I can! - Yes, I can!
You guys have sailed
the Spanish Virgin Islands,
you guys ran those boats,
you guys put those sails up and down
and trimmed the jib,
you guys tacked and jibed.
It was you guys.
Nobody else.
You guys took that opportunity,
you made it happen, and you did it.
Remember that.
Write about it.
You're all going to college.
This is a great college essay.
Tell your story.
Tell it often because there's a lot more kids just like you
that are coming up behind you that need to hear that story.
You guys are brave souls.
You guys are Blind Buccaneers.
Thanks for being a part of this.
♪
What do I want to tell the kids?
I probably would tell them the same thing
I would say to my own kids
which is I admire their resilience,
the way they do stuff.
I'm very impressed with how smart they are
and how well they can organize their thoughts
at that young age.
And the fact that, uh,
they are not self-conscious
about bad things that are coming towards them,
they are very comfortable within themselves,
and that will carry you through your life
in no matter what situation,
so I actually congratulate these kids on that.
And if I could tell them something,
just to continue pursuing
that kind of attitude of...
self, um...
self... that big self-esteem that they have to themselves,
that's... that's awesome.
I congratulate them.
For me, it's been awesome.
Um, I'm surprised.
I'm surprised how these kids
can handle themselves,
you know, in almost every aspect.
So, for me, it's been a great experience.
It surpassed my expectations.
My overall experience when I first got here,
you know, us, what I do as a captain,
you usually do everything, you handle everything, right?
And knowing now passing all these days,
knowing what they know, all the lines that they know,
they were not using any buttons.
The first time, the sail took 15, 20 minutes to get it up.
Today, it's like, I would barely say
two minutes or less to get it up, right?
So that, for me,
guys, I can sail the world around
with you guys, all right?
You've got my full trust.
And it's been really special.
Letting you guys... letting me be a part of this
is really special, all right?
And I hope when you're older,
you'll still remember this whole experience
and what I showed you in this little time
that we have together, all right?
Appreciate it.
♪
Karl! Karl!
Go get the helmet.
I think one thing about Adonis is he's more, um,
he's just more open to staying at home.
He has a real busy schedule and busy routine,
and that was his first time away from home,
so he just seemed like he's celebrating
and he just wanted to be kind of with us more.
And I enjoyed that 'cause he's a very quiet kid
and he always likes to do things
on his own, independently.
And when he came back, he just seemed more, like,
wanting to be at home, enjoying his routine.
But when he wasn't at school,
he wasn't at the gym working out
and wasn't playing wrestling or football,
he wanted to be home,
so that was a nice change with family time
and things like that.
He seemed more involved with us as a family, I think,
in his spare time.
My name is Caroline Dingwell, mom to Elle and Fionn.
I'm actually really excited for her
because I think she's ready.
I think she needs to take on this challenge
for her independence
to prove to herself and the rest of the world
that she's able to live an independent life.
Hello, I'm Grandpa.
My name is Dave, but everybody calls me Papa.
I keep looking away, I know that, sorry.
Hello, I'm Grandpa.
And I can't keep my eyes focused.
Hi, my name is Isabelle Chapman.
♪
I appreciate the FBC
and everything they've done for us and her.
And she... she has this confidence
because of the experiences that she's had,
and like I said, it's changed a lot
in just the last three or four years.
And I just want to say thank you
to everybody that's involved
and everybody that's helping.
People just don't know people
that are visually impaired or blind,
and so when they first meet
or interact with them, they don't even know how...
They're trying to be politically correct
about things, and you know,
we had an incident where the guy realized
at one point that she couldn't see,
and he looked to me, stopped talking to her
and looked at me and said, "Is she blind?"
And I was like,
"You can talk to her."
Like I said, I'm really excited for her.
She's one to kind of face adventure.
She's always been our kid that it's like, you know,
the one that's gonna get into trouble,
that's gonna be Kaylee, so...
So it doesn't surprise me that, you know,
this adventure came to her and this is for her,
but as a parent, it's very nerve-racking,
you know, and I get all those nerve-racking questions.
Everyone tells her how great it is,
and everyone's like, "So, Mom, you gonna let her do this?"
And I'm like, "Of course I'm gonna let her do it."
So, yeah, I mean, deep down, just excited for her, really.
And you always worry about your kids,
but you're always happy for them too.
Nine months old or so and was sitting up,
and there was this giant yellow ball.
And Maggie didn't smile a whole lot
when she was an infant,
but I would sit her on the floor
and I'd put that giant yellow ball in front of her,
and she would reach out and touch the ball,
and it lit up her face.
It was like sunshine.
And we have pictures of her just loving on this ball.
And I thought, you know, "If I can keep
inspiring her joy with things that she can see,
colors and textures and shapes,
and just exposing her to all of the world,
if she eventually lost her vision,
she would have the experience of her memories
and her imagination."
And she still imagines things, and she even talks about...
She gets to know people and they end up having a color.
Even though she can't see the color very distinctly,
we all have colors.
A very wise person inside the Foundation for the Blind
said to me,
"I understand you're having these problems with Morgann
at this point not being confident in herself
and is starting to build up with fear
and what her future is gonna be like,
and even doing the simplest of tasks
are starting to scare her.
And my question to you would be,
'If we don't get out of their way,
how do we expect them to get out of their own way?'"
So it is my job as a parent,
um, to move... step aside.
There's a life out there waiting for her.
And that's the whole point to all of this,
is teaching them that the future
is theirs to grasp and hold on to
and build it to whatever they want to become.
And it's not easy,
but it's necessary.
Hi, my name is Jocelyn Castro, and I'm 11 years old,
and I'm Jorge Castro's little sister.
You know, like, that was doubting your brother,
and they said, like, "Your brother can't do this.
He's blind.
He's just, like, he's gonna get lost.
He's gonna... something bad is gonna happen."
What would you say to those people?
I would be like, "You don't know, like,
what he's been doing his entire life.
Like, he's been training for this day.
I mean, you might think he's something different,
that he's someone else,
he's like an alien, but he's not.
He can... he's a normal human.
I mean, he can do whatever we can.
It's just his eyes, his vision lost."
Hi, I'm Samantha and I'm Steven's little sister.
Before, he was really excited,
but he was... he seemed a little nervous to me.
And, like, afterwards, he seemed more confident
and more spirited to experience
that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
I feel proud that, uh,
he's a good big brother,
that he would do something for me like that.
Sorry.
♪
Um...
I feel proud to call him my brother.
And, um...
♪
That I get to have him as my brother,
it is amazing.
♪
Sorry.
♪
If we get to do this again, I think...
Now this is all on me... I underestimated the kids.
I thought it'd be a lot harder,
it would be a lot more complicated.
It really wasn't.
They really took to sailing.
They enjoyed it.
They had good boats, they had good instructors with them
besides myself.
And if I do it again,
I'd probably go a little bit more hardcore
'cause I think they were ready for it.
We would have done probably more racing,
would have been more in tune in competition
just to get them going,
and I think they would've handled it perfectly well.
♪