A voyage of recovery: The charity helping recovering addicts set sail 

Colin Healy is the co-founder of Sailing Into Wellness, a pioneering Irish programme that is transforming the lives of those suffering from poor mental health, and addiction

Colin Healy, co-founder of Sailing Into Wellness. Picture: Larry Cummins

There’s a fresh breeze on Lough Derg as the wind fills the sails. Colin Healy leans his head back and closes his eyes momentarily as if in pure ecstasy.

He’s being filmed on the deck of one of two sailing vessels, owned by an organisation he helped to found. If anyone had told him a decade ago that this would be his main occupation, he would never have believed them. At that point, he could find no joy in being alive.