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 extra step to do something you haven’t done before, with the necessary guardrails in place?

We want those effected by epilepsy to join us on this journey and are planning an online community to share inspirational stories of taking One More Step towards a fuller life.
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.
The One More Step Challenge: Are you able to take one extra step to do something you haven’t done before, with the necessary guardrails in place?
Celebrate our global community of virtual shipmates who will take their own steps on a personal voyage towards living a fuller life.
The Sail For Epilepsy voyage is one that will cross the world’s oceans. We are all on a journey: between port stops or life’s challenges.
A percentage of all online and corporate donations to Sail For Epilepsy will go directly to our partners. Research and purchase new boat appropriate for sailing around the world. Shake down the new boat, refurbish and add sponsor & partner logos. Kick-off sponsor events. Continue races on the existing sailboat, Cepheus. Finalize changes to the project sailboat, including the addition of solar panels and water generators to reduce our carbon footprint. Recommission project sailboat and test sail in preparation for fall departure. Set sail to Bermuda and the Caribbean! Sail to the Panama Canal and take the boat through to the Pacific Ocean. Subsequently, we will sail in the appropriate seasons for each ocean and when in port, Sail For Epilepsy will engage with patients with epilepsy and their families to educate and inspire. Sailing through the different oceans will take 3 years and will include Phil returning to Boston, while we await a safe weather window to cross each ocean. In the off-periods, when back in New England, we will keep the program alive with Sail For Epilepsy races and events in the Boston area.Sail For Epilepsy Timeline
Race Season Starts Aboard Cepheus
Announce Partners
Find Project Boat
Refit new boat
Sponsor events
Race Season
Project Preparation
Project Preparation
Begin ‘Round the World Voyage