The main purpose of our periodic blog writings is to pass along interesting stories that we hear on our Rum Runner deliveries. There are so many that soon our blogs would just take up too much space. However, every once in a while, we come across a story that really peaks our interest. This is one such story…
Several months ago, I received a text message from some people who were headed down to charter a boat, visit North Sound, see Drake and order some drinks. They wanted to know the best way to reach us. My response was the pretty standard “call us on Channel 72 or wave like crazy.” Well, it turns out this whole boat was going to be captained and crewed with 10 deaf people and using the radio was not an option. We quickly pivoted to text messages and started our communication back and forth so we would be ready to accommodate them.
Having a severe hearing loss myself, I wanted to do everything we could to make their visit a success. Sure enough on the appointed day, they arrived, had their kisses from Drake and received their drinks. It was such a fun group of people and despite their disability, they were having a ball. I was in such admiration because you never really know how much you depend on a sense until you lose it. Their hearing losses were not going to get in the way of a great vacation. Of the 10, 5 of them are accomplished sailors with hundreds of hours of cruising experience. The group ranged from teachers, to software experts, to scuba instructions specializing in working with deaf people. They all were living normal lives without a hint of victimization. It was so inspiring.
I asked how they were treated on their journey through our islands. They had nothing but high praise for the service and accommodations they were given. Texting was a great tool to help them navigate through the normal challenges of chartering, such as finding water when you needed it, making reservations and getting that little boat fix done.
While I was super impressed and proud of this group, I was just as impressed that our fellow BVI islanders did such a great job of taking care of this special group.