Help Art Bring His Father Scott Home
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My name is Art. With a heavy heart, I need to share that my father, Scott Neil, has unexpectedly passed away. I have never asked for help like this. I don't know all the right things to say. All I can do is tell the story as elegantly as I can, keep breathing, and take one step at a time. I have always written in a semi-poetic style, please forgive me. Thank you for taking a moment to read, listen, or watch. Art.
I am the son of a son of a sailor, and my life has been shaped by the extraordinary legacy of my father. He wasn’t just my dad—he was my pillar of strength, my guiding star in the night sky, and the source of my hunger for true adventure. My dad supported my dreams. Together, we sailed the open seas, raised horses with gentle hands and steady hearts, and shared poetry that captured the beauty and struggles of our lives. He supported my wish to face the unforgiving waters of the Bering Sea as a king crabber. We rode horses for days on end through New Mexico and Nevada. He started teaching me SCUBA at the age of five. By the time I was 14, I was a commercial harvest diver. I cannot put into words the impact a person like Scott has on someone. If you knew him, you understand what I mean. He was a force of nature. Now that he’s gone, I feel the weight of his absence deeply. But I also carry with me the courage, love, and spirit of exploration that he lived by—a gift that will guide me through the rest of my days.
Over two years ago, he and I, with inspiration from a dear friend, decided to go back to the sea. We bought a 60-foot sailing yacht that was badly damaged by a typhoon in Vietnam. My dad was my ace in the deck because he was already living in the Philippines. All I had to do was get the boat "Cameron" to the Philippines, and he could take on the next phase of refit and repair.
The last few weeks before Christmas, we worked hard on getting Cameron ready. As Christmas grew closer, I flew him home to Manila, where he became ill. Rushing him to the hospital wasn't quick enough. Two emergency surgeries later, he succumbed to sepsis.
Some people are lucky enough to have parents that care and love them. I had two parents that were my pillars of life, each one holding me above their needs to reach high and achieve big dreams. I will tell this as simply as I can. Having lost my dad during the refit and repair of Cameron has broken me. It's left us without a direction, without a mentor, without a man with 40 years of life on the sea.
The challenges we face bringing him home from Manila seem insurmountable. We simply do not have the means to pay the hospital bills they are forcing upon us for his remains, nor the means to begin to travel back and forth, not to mention any financial means to give Cameron some stability until we find a new path for all of us.
As uncomfortable as this feels to me, I hope there are people reading this that have some time and ability to help us. If not, just reading this is enough for me. Thank you for taking your time to know more about my dad's legacy and to take the time to have come this far with us means the world. I love you all dearly. Art
Fundraising team: Fundraiser Team (1)
Arthur Neil
Organizer
Reno, NV
Devin Coughtry
Team member