Wooden Boats For Veterans (WBFV) was founded in 2014 when the Founder, Terry Moran, began taking veterans sailing aboard his own boat; today the fleet numbers five boats and has served over 600 veterans.
Their mission is to offer veterans a path for restoring overall health and well-being, by getting them on the water with sailing instruction and teaching new skills through wooden boat restoration.
WBFV partners with marine training schools to provide support to veterans interested in training for a new career. These premier schools are accredited and eligible for VA tuition assistance. Through working with WBFV they provide scholarship opportunities for eligible veterans based on need.
These funds will be used to refinance existing debt that was used for program expansion. This nonprofit loan will allow them to continue their expansion from the Bay Area to a national service organization so they can bring the magic of wooden boats to more veterans in need.
Proven to build and strengthen mindfulness skills that are so important to combating PTSD, sailing puts veterans in the present. Veterans helping veterans learn is an essential ingredient in all of WBFV’s programs.
For the warriors battling mental and physical wounds from their service to our country, the compounded effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing, and economic hardships have proven especially difficult. Thanks to their generous supporters, WBFV has been able to help them through it all, meeting their rapidly changing needs during this crisis.
WBFV emphasizes hands-on participation in the preservation of wooden boats and serves as a gateway to vocational opportunities in the marine industry. Robust partnerships with organizations (including the American Sailing Association, Marine Institute, and Northwest Center for Wooden Boat Building) enable WBFV to bring unique vocational opportunities in the marine industry.
WBFV was founded in 2014 by Terry Moran, with the idea of using wooden boats to help veterans. “Veterans are a group that tend to value tradition and history. I think in the final analysis veterans and wooden boats simply need each other.”
Terry is a licensed United States Coast Guard 100 ton Master, and the project manager for all of WBFV restoration projects. Wanting to fly, Terry went to the Naval Academy and served as a naval aviator flying the F-14 Tomcat, accumulating over 3,500 hours total flying time and 75 combat missions. He retired after 28 years of combined active and reserve service just as his oldest son began his career in the Marine Corps.
Brian, a former Navy SEAL, was part of the volunteer team restoring CLOVER, a 68-foot-long historic, wooden boat built in England 1938.
Brian says, “It became an opportunity to come together with fellow veterans from all wars and to be placed among people and places that support veterans.”
WBFV helped Brian research marine trade schools and provided letters of recommendation. Brian plans to apply to the IYRS School of Boatbuilding and become certified as a shipwright with a specialty in woodworking. He credits his success to being a part of WBFV.
