We had a heartwarming adventure at sea that helped heal children who really needed it. It was run through a nonprofit we had at the time.

On this trip, three very young siblings came aboard, along with a professional caregiver.

We were advised that these youngsters were victims of an ongoing violent and abusive domestic situation. They needed some new experiences, and we wanted to give them an emotional connection with the critters of the sea.

We were astonished at the way these children came aboard … trembling, furtively looking all about, and clinging to each other tightly.

Our work was cut out for us.

We’ll call them Johnny, Sally and Suzie. I and my crew member Capt. Tiffany showed the kids around the boat, holding items up for them to see and touch.

We fitted them all with life vests and we cast off, all the while telling them stories about the boat, the sea and the critters.

The professional caregiver knew enough to sit quietly and let the crew work with the kids, who were beginning to show a bit of interest, though they remained deep entrenched within their emotionally fortified shells of fearfulness. It was progress.

We cruised the harbor slowly on calm, flat water and showed them all the different types of boats.

We made more progress when Sally said the sails on the sailboats looked pretty and answered by pointing when we asked which was her favorite sail.

Johnny was next when a diesel engine aboard a commercial fishing boat fired up. He said it sounded like a truck.

Suzie was observing everything but was noticeably silent.

Watching us take on live bait perked the interest of all three and I was heartened to see Suzie quickly scoop up a sardine that had fallen to the deck and gently put it in the bait tank. Yet, she remained quiet.

Near the harbor entrance we gathered some pelicans, gulls and cormorants about us, and let the kids feed the birds. Tossing fish to the birds got the children to laughing, pointing and picking favorite birds.

Next, we visited the sea lions on the buoys outside the harbor, and finally introduced the kids to catch and release fishing.

They had a blast and it felt great to see Johnny and Sally chatting like any excited kids would.

Suzie was happy and having fun, but still she didn’t speak. She listened with interest as we talked about water quality issues and marine debris prevention.

On the way back to the slip, the caregiver discreetly shared with us that the kids made more progress today than they had been able to achieve in many months of therapy. They actually came out of their shells and were able to act like kids, much to the astonishment of the caregiver.

We felt great, yet disappointed that we perhaps hadn’t quite got through to Suzie. But she surprised us in a profound way.

As the group disembarked and walked up the ramp to the marina gate, Suzie stopped, turned around and stared at us.

Then she broke into a wide smile, ran back down the ramp, hugged all three of us and loudly said, “I had fun. Can I come back?”

We assured her she was welcome. As she ran happily back up the ramp, Capt. Tiffany and I were quietly wiping tears from our eyes.