Now after a few years, I can finally tell you. There is a blind captain out there somewhere in the English Channel with his skipper certificate in a plastic folder around his neck. It is supposed to be an immediate recognisable proof of his skills, in case he crashes into a rock or a boat. You could argue he will not need the certificate anymore if he get’s into trouble, but it seemed a good idea at the time. I noticed he had trained himself up to become an excellent guesser when we did the sailing training, in many cases he did better than the seeing sailors.
The last day I took him apart from the rest of the group on the boat and told him that normally I would not let a blind man pass the skipper exam, but I had decided to do it. He must look disappointed so the others would not know.
You can blame me for it and say that it is madness, but who has the right to deny an old
man, who has no other choice but to live on his boat, to return to a life on land where he has nothing. No, I told him to stay away from the summer holiday places during daytime and keep quiet with his loud singing, but please be careful out there, and look out for a sailor with black hair and sunglasses, singing Shenandoa somewhere in the middle of the night.
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