Being in a wheelchair on dry land comes with a unique set of discouraging challenges. Curbs, sets of stairs, steep ramps, and uneven sidewalks, it is as though the whole world screams ‘you don’t belong here.’ On the ocean nobody belongs and those who choose to go share a bond bigger than a disability, ethnicity, social or economic status. The seas can be rough, fish are strong and hard to fight, you don’t catch them all, the sun and weather can be unforgiving and yet there is no one who will say ‘you don’t belong here’ and the bond created between friends from being on the water is like no other. Dryland sucks if you’re in a wheelchair and the ocean even on its worst day is more accessible for me than the city sidewalk and that’s because of my friends. I love fishing, I love the ocean, I’ve loved it my whole life and after being injured I thought perhaps I’d never be able to do it again. Thanks to Lucas and so many folks in the St. Augustine community and who have supported my journey since being injured my dream of being on the water has turned into the ability to share it with others and every day I get to be out there feels like extra.