Powerboat champion Shelley Jory-Leigh to support Miss Isle

by Susie NationGrainger on 9 Jul 2014 Sea and Summit challenge 2014 - British powerboat champion Shelley Jory-Leigh has announced she’ll be supporting disabled teen sailor Natasha Lambert by leading her safety boat team during the 2014 Sea and Summit challenge.

On 24 July, Natasha (17) who has cerebral palsy and sails using her mouth to operate a ‘sip and puff’ mechanism, will embark on a month-long challenge sailing single-handed down the South West coast of England to Wales.

Shelley and her team (Gary Coleman, Dan Whapples and Andy Smith) will accompany Natasha on the 430 mile journey, following in an eight meter RIB powered by a BF250 engine kindly donated by Honda UK which will act as a safety boat.

'I’m so excited to be supporting Natasha on her remarkable journey this July and August', enthuses Shelley. 'Honda has provided me with my old start boat from my early Honda racing days which is fantastic. I would also like to thank Redstone, who are supporting our team to be able to make this happen.

'Ever since I first met Natasha I’ve remained friends with her and wanted to support her. She has been out in a powerboat with me and just laughed the whole time wanting to go faster! Her magnetism and enthusiasm to succeed overwhelms me. She is determined to lead a more than normal life!'

Natasha said: 'Shelley is just awesome and she’s a fab role model. I’m so lucky to have her and her team helping me and I really appreciate them giving up their time. I’m so excited about this adventure- it’s going to be epic!'

The Sea and Summit challenge will see Natasha sail 430 miles and climb 2,907ft whilst raising money for the RNLI, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and the RYA Foundation, as well as the profile of sailing for people with disabilities.

Natasha started sailing through RYA Sailability which supports opportunities for people with a disability to experience sailing and to sail more regularly.

For more information visit RYA.

To find out more information about Natasha Lambert and to sponsor her challenge visit www.missisle.com

Redstone was founded in 1986 and is a leader in infrastructure, smart buildings and support services. Redstone were acquired by Coms Plc in November 2013 and are now wholly owned by the company. Coms is part of the Coms Plc group which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM market since 2006 and offers a range of business solutions, from hosted VoIP telephony to smart buildings and broadband. For more information, visit www.redstone.com or www.coms.com

Special thanks to all supporters of the Miss Isle Sea and Summit challenge.