Quadriplegic to sail around Britain solo !

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A quadriplegic woman is embarking on a record-breaking attempt to sail solo around Britain using just her breath to navigate a 20ft sailing boat!


Hilary Lister, 36, who is only able to move her head, eyes and mouth, will spend the next three months sailing round the British Isles in a specially adapted boat she controls using a 'sip-and-puff' system of straws.

She suffers from a rare disorder known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, an agonising muscle-wasting condition which has left her with no movement below the neck.

At home in Canterbury, Kent, she can only do the simplest of tasks by using her forehead to push levers on a machine which changes the channel on the television or answers the telephone.

A SCHOOL SPORTS CAPTAIN

Mrs Lister was a sporty child who captained her school's hockey swimming and netball team, but by the time she was 15 she was confined to a wheelchair.

She has tried to lead as active a life as possible and graduated from Oxford University with a high 2.1 in biochemistry despite having to dictate papers while lying flat on her back with epidural painkillers being pumped into her spine.

WHAT SAILING MEANS TO HER

"When I'm sailing I go into a different world... it's like flying!"

"It is the ultimate freedom for me," she said. "I get out on to the water and suddenly my physical inabilities no longer matter.


"It's amazing, I use my breath through three straws and they control the sails and the tiller.

Speaking about safety on her own of a kind voyage, "I have a support boat that follows me from half a mile away, and even that feels too close."

HER ACHIEVEMENTS

Able to move only her head, eyes and mouth, Hilary Lister acheived her dream to sail solo across the English Channel on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2005.

Overcoming severe physical pain to navigate her boat unaided through one of the busiest shipping channels, Hilary Lister became the first quadriplegic to sail, single-handed, across the English Channel, from Dover to Calais.

Hilary sailed into the record books in 6 hours and 13 minutes and the story hit the frontpages of newspapers worldwide. It was the first time a quadriplegic sailor had crossed the Channel and was the longest solo voyage ever, by a quadriplegic.

ROUND BRITAIN DREAM

Hilary plans to sail her Artemis 20 using a 'sip and puff' system around the coast in short day sails. Each day the team will record her finishing latitude and longitude from her GPS, so they can tow Hilary back to exactly the same point the next sailing day. Hilary is anticipating the sail will take 3-4 months. It will involve venturing both into the North Sea and the Irish Sea, as well as the English Channel. Hilary's route will take her through the Caledonian Canal.


Each night Hilary will be towed into a port where the team will stay. We’ll certainly be visiting a lot of towns round Britain! We'll be visiting ports in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Wales. At each port, the shore based team will be setting up camp and waiting for Hilary’s arrival which will give people around the country a chance to meet Hilary and the team.

HER OBJECTIVE

Through her challenge, Mrs Lister hopes to raise money for her charity, Hilary's Dream Trust, which aims to help other people with disabilities achieve their dreams of sailing.

Mrs Lister's progress will be posted on her website.