Tranquility Ocean Adventures
Find Your Peace
We are focused on ocean excursions for recovering service members who are suffering from PTSD and other related behavioral health issues. We provide a variety of ocean specific adventures that range from scuba diving to trans-oceanic sails.
**** WE NEED YOUR HELP! We are looking for help with equipment, training, and funding for maintenance and all that goes into making this adventure a reality. Don't forget those who have given so much of themselves to preserve our quality of life. Please share this page and its contents. Any type of donation is appreciated. Our goal is to start adventuring by the end of the year! ****
Coastal Cruising Day Trips
Fishing Trips
Swimming, Snorkeling, and Scuba Diving
Trans-Oceanic Sailing
Reasons to Support Us!
We have all benefited from those who have chosen to serve this country. We know the sayings "freedom isn't free" and "all gave some, and some gave all", but the truth is less than 5% of our entire population has served and very few of us know someone who has served if we have not served ourselves. Therefore, what has been truly sacraficed by service members is largely unknown. This venture is designed to support those who are recovering while spreading awareness of how impactful some of the experiences have been on the veteran. The path to healing starts with one single step. The intent of this program is to help those service members and former service members who are suffering with a life preserver that provides the opportunity to take that first step.
"If you drop a pebble in a pond, eventually the ripples reach the edge." - Bruce Lee
We Need Equipment
We Need Training Services
We Need Financial Support
Anyone who provides support will have a seat on an adventure of their choosing!
Bookings will begin in the summer of 2025!
Time doesn't stop! Take action today!
If you have been considering treatment but have not been truly willing to take the first step, this is a sign that it is time to start walking. You cannot make important changes overnight, but you can make progress by making one step forward at a time. If you are uncertain of where to begin, many of us started our road to recovery through Military One Source. Click on the link to the left of this message to be redirected to their website. your block, write your own text and edit me.
Sign-up
Once the adventure is ready to go, visit this website for a calendar of events that you can register for.
Enjoy!
Go to the destination of your choice and take part in the activities we offer.
Relax!
Engage in our activities and enjoy the relaxing atmospheres.
Heal
Through our unique ocean-themed experiences, enjoy healing and tranquility.
Countdown
We anticipate adventuring in the summer of 2025 but check periodically to see if we are ahead of schedule!
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Let's go sailing!
Gallery
Dustin Shepherd
Founder
My name is Dustin Shepherd and I am a 29 year veteran of the US Army. I joined the service immediately after high school and embarked on a journey that few will ever understand. When it was time to retire, I silently reflected on all that I had experienced in the service and I felt accomplished. However, there was something that kept tugging at me and I couldn't ignore it any longer.
When I returned from my second combat deployment in 2005 I had a tremendous amount of difficulty adjusting back to normal life. I buried myself in my work, started a family, and chased what I thought was a dream job. I wanted to be a university professor and mold young minds. Unfortunately, the residue of that deployment haunted me for a long time and acted as a significant roadblock that prevented me from pursuing my dreams.
Although I was not convinced I needed it, I had tried therapy and I was not about to let the Army know I was not ok. I feared for my career and felt I could manage my trauma on my own. In 2019 my world began to crumble and I knew it was time to get serious about getting help. It was about this time that I went on a day-sail with a small group of friends. According to John Henry Parker and Danny Facto, authors of "Transitioning Veteran: How We Get in Our Own Way...and What to Do About It", our quality of life exists between our triggers. I realized this was my life between my triggers. I felt the normal distractions of every day life wither away in that moment. I had clarity and the world made sense. I began treating my mental health with a high degree of commitment and focusing on how I manage myself and my environment in a more positive way.
I looked at my experience and how affected I was by something many of our friends, neighbors, colleagues, and any other person in our lives may never understand. I knew it was far too late to commit to treatment in an effort to save my life as I knew it, and there was very little of that life that I knew so well that could be salvaged. The sound of this awakening was deafening and drowned my tinnitus.
I thought about my awakening and I wanted to share this feeling and encourage others to seek what I had felt that day, on the ocean, with a small and intimate group of friends. I initiated this project in March 2020, a week before the pandemic was officially declared and lock downs became mandatory. When I finally retired in 2023, I knew it was the time to shift my focus to do something that had a more profound impact. To this point in my life I never thought of how I could give back, nor did I want to. But through my self healing and treating my mental health, I realized there are many service members out there that share my disposition and simply don't know what else to do. Therein lies the purpose of this project.
This project is designed to provide a moment between triggers and allow those service members who are suffering an opportunity to shed away the binds of life, gain clarity, and seek their own awakening. These veterans may not need or want mental health treatment, but let us help them find their peace.