Sea and Summit leg seven - Rain fails to dampen Tash's spirits

by RYA on 3 Aug 2014 Sea and Summit Challenge - Miss Isle arrives in Fowey. 'Sip and Puff’ sailing teen Natasha 'Miss isle' Lambert endured very wet weather conditions today (01 August) as she resumed her Sea and Summit challenge sailing from Plymouth to Fowey in just four hours.

The 17-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and controls her boat by breathing through a straw in a specially-engineered bicycle helmet, experienced lashings of heavy rain and stronger winds as she departed from her half way point following a rest day.

'We all know Tash doesn’t enjoy using the auto pilot so of course she was pleased we had more breeze today, an average of 15 knots. She didn’t even complain when she sailed through the torrential rain' said her coach Phil Devereux.

'However even with the arrival of more breeze, the highlight of the day for the whole team was experiencing the sight a jelly fish the size of a dustbin lid just left of Looe. It was incredible'.

Sea and Summit is Natasha’s biggest challenge yet - a month-long project sailing her specially-designed 21ft yacht, Miss Isle Too, single-handed around the South West coast of England to Wales. She will then swap her boat for her special Hart Walker to climb Pen y Fan, the highest peak in Southern Britain.

Natasha has completed seven of the scheduled 12 sailing legs and will now face some of her sternest sailing tests in the waters off Cornwall, around Lands End and across to Swansea.

Through the Sea and Summit challenge Natasha will sail 430 miles and climb 2,907ft to raise 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’s mum Amanda Lambert explains: 'One of the things has been so special for all of us is the people we’ve met along the way. And that’s what this is all about, encouraging other to have a go at something Natasha loves, something that means so much to her.'

Sailing has been Natasha’s big love since she first went on holiday with the Calvert Trust aged nine. She then started sailing at home and spent two years sailing with the Even Keel Project and her local RYA Sailability. Last year she sailed across the English Channel, and in 2012, the 50-miles around the Isle of Wight.

To support Natasha's challenge visit Miss Isle.

For more information on getting involved in disability sailing visit RYA.