As a young man, he bought a farm, where he grew cotton and vegetables. He skydived. He played rugby. He married, and his wife bore two children.

In 1991, fearful of unrest and violence in his homeland, de Villiers moved to Texas, where he learned to lip-read English, which he'd never heard.

Frustrated in his job as a welder by supervisors who misinterpreted deafness as inability or ignorance, de Villiers decided to prove himself by sailing alone around the world.

He left Palacios on March 6 of last year and — it's a long and fascinating story, let him tell it — returned Dec. 19.

De Villiers offers a video presentation of his remarkable journey at the boat show both Saturdays and Sundays of its run. This Saturday, he's there at 2:30 p.m. On the remaining three weekend days, his program begins at 3:30 p.m. He'll be available before and after the presentations at booth 321.

As it turns out, his bosses may have been the ignorant ones.

By Doug Pike
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3566112.html