Sailboat © mikebaird
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Some people manage to be both incredibly inspiring and, well, seemingly a little crazy. Exhibit A: 62 year-old American man Dennis Howard who is planning to sail around the world after having lost 95% of his vision.
He plans to depart on his specially designed 20-foot (6.1 meter) boat the “Avalo” from San Diego, California, in late October. The voyage is expected to take around one and a half to two years, with Howard hoping to end the journey in France. Although he admits it will be difficult, Howard sees the voyage as an opportunity to show others that disability needn’t be a barrier.
“After I lost my sight I didn’t go into the tailspin of despair and fear,” he said. “But what I immediately gave up on in my head was sailing. I just thought, ‘well, I’ll never do it again.’ But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I just had to change the way I sail … I want people to realize that they shouldn’t just give up.”
Talk about guts. And here I am, proud of myself if I can navigate a canoe to a dock in broad daylight without tipping.
Read the full story from CNN.