"I know how much being out on the water soothes me and helps me.
"I just thought - if I could get a group together who are all in a similar situation we could share stories, make new friends and help each other out."
Shane Brooke is a military veteran who lives in Mandurah with his partner Joanna.
When Shane found himself suffering with mental health issues after his retirement from the military, he turned to a community going through similar situations.
Now in a better place, Mr Brooke wanted to help other people in the way he knows works, by taking them out on the water.
"I'm from a military background and now I'm medically retired from defence," Mr Brooke said.
"After leaving the defence force I had a lot of mental health problems myself as well as being diagnosed with cancer.
"I got a lot of help through defence and the Department of Veteran Affairs - and the help was really beneficial for me."
Shane said while scrolling through community Facebook pages, he and his partner noticed a lot of people were struggling - and what started as a few reach-outs turned into something much bigger.
"On Facebook you see people who aren't doing the greatest.
"Last year I saw a post where people couldn't get out on cruises to see the Christmas lights, so I messaged my partner and said 'contact them and tell them we'll take them out'.
"Then I had people contact me from a cerebral palsy unit up in Perth, and there were a few wheelchair-bound women who we took out on the boat."
These outings sparked an idea for Shane - to reach out to people in Mandurah community Facebook pages who were struggling with their mental health, and offer to take them out for a cruise.
I know how much being out on the water soothes me and helps me.
- Shane Brooke
"The boat I had wasn't that great for seating or socialising so I decided to sell it and buy the boat I have now, which is a lot more user friendly.
"I thought taking people out on the water would be a good way to help them get a fresh breath of life into their day."
After taking a program on trauma recovery which involved group therapy sessions, Shane realised a group setting could be beneficial to many people.
"I did a 10-week intense trauma recovery program at Hollywood Hospital with 10 other guys," he said.
"Although we were all singularly getting help, I found that the group forum was the best for me."
With Shane's posts on community pages gaining traction, he realised there were several people interested - thus Shaneo's Wellness Cruise was born, and the first few groups took to the water.
"The people I've met and talked to have been just amazing.
"There were a couple of people who couldn't even get outside and by the end of the day they were best friends.
"We have been keeping in touch with each other all the time, I've created a couple of groups in messenger chats.
"People will post in the group and say 'good morning' or 'hey look at this rainbow I saw' - I guess it puts a little sunshine in everyone's day."
Shane plans to host his wellness cruises on a regular schedule, with new members welcome to join.
"If I could expand it, that would be amazing - I just hope that it keeps going.
"My intention is to have one cruise a month - and maybe twice a month in the summer.
"I hope it continues - and I want to keep people's friendship groups going, get people outside and once people start to feel better in themselves maybe they'll be able to help someone else.
"It's kind of a pay-it-forward type of thing."
To find out more about how to join Shane and his group on their wellness cruises, follow the Shaneo's Wellness Cruise Facebook group.
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
