Philip Haydon is a neuroscientist with medically controlled post-traumatic epilepsy. He and the Sail For Epilepsy team are on a mission to sail the oceans of the world to raise awareness of epilepsy. Sail For Epilepsy will disembark from Boston, USA in 2021 to: 

• inspire people with epilepsy; 
• raise awareness for those with epilepsy; 
• raise funds to support research into the causes of intractable epilepsy, 
• educate the population about epilepsy 

The Voyage

This three year voyage is about more than sailing around the world. We will make landfall during the project to engage with local epilepsy communities. To date, planned port stops include Bermuda, Panama, the Galapagos, Tahiti, Sydney, Bali, Madagascar, Cape Town, and the US Virgin Islands, before returning home to Boston. 

Sail For Epilepsy will post photos, videos, and blogs as we circumnavigate the globe. A boat tracker is available on the Sail For Epilepsy website and we plan to have real-time interactions with people living with epilepsy while underway. Sail For Epilepsy will build an international social media audience and offer a weekly e_newsletter for those that want to follow the voyage. 

Phil will monitor and analyze his sleep patterns, stress levels and any medical challenges he faces while sailing. Our hope is that this voyage will inspire people with epilepsy, their families, and their caregivers to ask themselves, are you able to do something to improve your quality of life? Can you take one more step to do something you haven’t done before, with the necessary guardrails in place? 

Virtual Shipmates

To recognize the courage of the One More Step Challenge participants, we’ll add their first names to the hull of our boat so that these Virtual Shipmates can come along for this exciting voyage. Several times a week during this summer’s East Coast Expedition and our upcoming voyages, we will pick one Virtual Shipmate to feature. By sharing these inspirational stories, we will raise awareness not only about epilepsy but about ways that people with epilepsy aren’t letting this disorder prevent them from living their fullest life possible. Featured Virtual Shipmates will receive a Sail For Epilepsy flag that was flown on the day they were highlighted, with the noon position and their name written on the flag.

Getting ready

During the preparatory years, Phil will be sail training and competing in solo and double-handed races in the coastal North Atlantic. Follow via the boat tracker or through our social media channels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. to keep updated about the adventures and epilepsy outreach.

Currently Phil sails a Quest 33S named Cepheus. He is actively seeking to acquire a larger and better equipped boat for the offshore legs. Once the program comes to a conclusion this boat will be sold and all proceeds donated to Sail For Epilepsy’s partners.

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