A quadriplegic yachtswoman from Kent is preparing to set sail around Britain this summer.
Hilary Lister, who learnt to sail at Westbere Sailing Club, near her home town of Canterbury, is only able to move her head.
The 35-year-old uses a ‘sip and puff’ system of straws to control the sails and tiller. Last year she entered the record books for the second time after becoming the first female quadriplegic to successfully solo circumnavigate the Isle of Wight.
Weather permitting, she hopes to set sail for her three to four month journey around the UK on June 9 from Dover.
She said: “I am now so excited and can’t wait to get going. I can’t thank my team enough for the help and support they’ve given me.
“I’m not underestimating the huge physical and psychological challenge that lies ahead but the chance to spend so much time on the water doing what I love is what drives me on.”
Mrs Lister thanked Kent County Council for the £5,000 from the authority’s sports development unit which will be given to support her challenge.
She hopes her voyage will raise awareness of disabled sailing and show that disabled people can lead exciting and challenging lives.
Mrs Lister was not born a quadriplegic. As she grew up a progressive neurological disorder, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, meant she gradually began to lose the use of almost all her body.
She entered the record books in 2005 when she became the first quadriplegic to sail solo across the Channel.
POSTED: 15/05/2008 14:43:44
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