In the second and last part of this story, I describe what Lucke Gabriel, filmmaker with Eternal Media, told me about the adventures on the sea he and Sam Rowlands had with the young men who took part in ‘The Voyage to Recovery’ on the 80-foot sailing ketch Faramir, which was provided by the Cirdan Sailing Trust. Lucke also reflects on this particular recovery initiative. You can read the first part of this story here.
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The team woke up early on the second day to a spectacular red and pink sky. Pippa was the first to wake, full of energy, albeit with a croaky voice. ‘Morning sailors, Morning!’ She encouraged the team to join in with the sea shanties she was singing. On the night before, the young men were briefed that they would be participating in a race that day, which involved 40-50 boats. Lucke could see that the captain, who was a no-nonsense type of fellow and very quiet on the first day, was not expecting much of his crew in the race. He appeared to be just going through the motions.
However, at some point during the two-hour race, the captain realised how well the young men were doing. His whole demeanour changed whilst the boat was in the midst of the fleet of boats. He started to really get involved, yelling out instructions enthusiastically, and complimenting the boys. His competitive spirit had clearly been stirred, and he had a wide grin on his face.
The boys responded positively to his change in manner and to the fact that their boat continued to move through the field. There was a good deal of friendly banter and waving at other boats as they passed them. Suddenly, Faramir was running alongside the race leader and this position remained for some time. The excitement and enthusiasm on Faramir were tangible.
Sadly, the other boat tacked in a position where the wind went out of Faramir’s sails. The race was over as the other boat sailed to victory. But second place was a major victory for the young men on the boat. That second day was so different to the first morning, the young men being totally engaged and obviously very excited. Interviews with the young men were conducted after the race. Their voyage continued for five more days after the Eternal Media filmmaking finished.
‘You’ve spent all week with people in a really intensive environment and you’ve seen them overcome massive obstacles, and you’ve seen them overcome challenges. You’ve seen them go from not knowing anything about the environment they are in, being totally out of their depth. And at the end of the week, they are steering like an absolute champion, or running the show.’ Pippa Kirchmann, Cirdan Trust
‘We all help each other out in difficult times, and it’s really nice to hear their stories and experiences and sort of try to relate to what they have been through. It’s very good to feel you’re not alone, and that you can open up to these people and not feel judged. I feel a lot more comfortable talking to the people on the boat than I do talking in the room one-to-one.’ Byron
‘Yesterday, I had a bit of an episode. It would have been so easy in a normal circumstance for me to just run away. But I thought, “I’m going to fight through it, I’m going to persevere”, and I’m really glad I did because it made a massive difference. I’ve got a real feeling of self-worth. I’m starting to look at things in a different perspective really. I’m going to try and take what I’ve learnt here, and try and use it on land. Just to try and live life a little bit more. At the moment, I don’t have much of a life, to be fair.’ Richie
Lucke was thrilled to see the young men again some months later when they had a premier for the film at The Bunker in Wrexham. He found it a strange experience that he knew the men’s stories well from the previous interviews, and had spent long periods of time during the editing process ‘with them’, when they had not seen him at all since the voyage and obviously knew little about him.
He also reflected on the fact that he always had on his horizon something interesting to experience in his life, but he couldn’t be as confident about the young men having that feeling. He knew the isolated lives that they had lived prior to The Voyage, and that they were returning to the same environment in North Wales. He hoped that the positive effects of the voyage had lasted and that the men were now able to better engage with the things around them. He also hoped that the therapeutic programmes of which they were a part in North Wales provided them with further opportunities to engage in group activities.
Lucke was deeply moved by the project and the powerful stories he heard. One thing he learnt and then included in his edit of the film impacted strongly: ‘The average cost per person of one night in a psychiatric hospital is around the same as the cost of a week on Faramir.’
And Lucke knew there was much less stigma experienced by someone attending an Adventure Therapy ‘session’ then there was for someone being in a psychiatric hospital. He had really hoped that Eternal Media’s film would inspire more of these sorts of activities in communities nationwide. However, he doesn’t think that has happened. He believes that the mental health system is too bio-medically oriented, vested interests are too strong, and Big Pharma holds a grip over the field. Lucke has become more cynical over time about the situation.
During the project, Lucke realised the power of connection and how important it is for recovery from all kinds of adversity. He sees loneliness and disconnection increasing in the world today, along with an increased incidence of mental health problems. Spending a great deal of time connected to a mobile phone and the internet isn’t helping people’s situation. Connecting to people in this way doesn’t give the same fulfilment as being with people in real world situations.
Lucke believes strongly that the mental health field should be more engaged in creating initiatives that bring people together in real-world environments, where they can connect, be part of a community, and feel a true sense of belonging.
Check out The Voyage to Recovery, Part 1 if you have not already done so. Well done, Lucke, Marcus and Sam of Eternal Media on doing such a great job. You are simply awesome!
