A late diagnosis
Attention disorder, hyperactivity, hypersensitivity, autism spectrum, high potential, so many words and concepts with which Thomas, and those around him, have learned to compose: “I have three children, two were diagnosed with ADH. And when I saw my greatest son growing up, I realized that his childhood was very similar to mine. I decided to consult a neuropsychiatrist and the diagnosis fell, at 36, I learned that I was ADHD. Now I have a word to define what I live, there was a relief at this level”.
It all starts at the lakes of time water
In 2019, Thomas, tried a sailing course, with time water lakes: “The first day, not a breath of wind. The second day, we were able to take out the sails and it was the immediate click. Having to manage the boat, the water, the wind, it allowed me to feel relaxed, the brain without hyperactivity”. Completely convinced, a month later, he bought a small sailboat and learned the basics in self -taught before passing the appropriate training and obtaining the necessary patents.
A month without assistance
And the dream quickly took shape: cross the Atlantic to sail. Thomas Preillon wants to engage in the “Mini Transat baker”, a solo race, on sailboat 6.50, which allows only one GPS, a VHF radio and the minimum equipment. “It is not preparing lightly, so I aim to participate in 2029”. The crossing starts from the sands of Olonne to reach Saint-François du Levant, in Guadeloupe. The police inspector sums up, smiling in his voice: “To be alone, it can be a little scary. I am very sociable and I speak a lot, there, I can only chat with the seagulls”.
Call for crowdfunding
Apart from the purchase of a 6.50 sailboat, a project of this kind, it is a range around 30,000 € per year, for various costs, training, preparations, medical follow-up. “I launched a crowdfunding campaign to be supported in this project, I also look for sponsors and, even, why not, a godfather or a godmother in the sail world”. Thomas Preillon keeps his social networks up to date, about this major project.
An asbl turned to the others
If it will be lonely on the waves, this adventure is not seen alone, for Thomas, who concludes: “To broadcast this message around ADHD, I created an ASBL, called” Cap Tdah “. We want to speak in the widest sense of TDAH people but also about their entourage, their families. And all the additional funds that will be collected by the ASBL will be donated to other structures that help neuroatypic people”.
A 2023 testimony of the Mini Transat
