Sailing as Therapy with Josh Johnson, Freedom Sailing

Josh Johnson is the Founder of Freedom Sailing.

Josh Johnson is a combat veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps with 3rd battalion 6th Marines and deployed to Afghanistan with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. After his time in service, Josh moved to Wilmington, NC to find work. Shortly after moving, he found a group of friends willing to show him how to sail. Once he proved that he was capable, he was invited to be a crew member on a 19 ft. lightning class sailboat with a local fleet during their regattas. Throughout the years, Josh has had the privilege of sailing on many larger sailboats and raced in many regattas. He has even sailed 650 miles across the Caribbean Sea on a 48 ft. catamaran for fun.

“I had been unknowingly dealing with the side effects of PTSD for many years. For me, sailing has been a great therapeutic outlet where I get the camaraderie and teamwork aspects I craved from being a part of the Marines. When I’m sailing, I forget about everything except my task on the boat, my teammates, and getting the boat to go as fast as we can with nothing but the wind in the sails.” - Josh Johnson

Freedom Sailing website:  http://freedomsailing.org/

Josh’s LinkedIn Profile:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-johnson101/

Freedom Sailing Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/Freedomsail4vets