Today's the day that Hilary starts her 'Dream Sail round Britain'

by on 25 May 2009 Today's the day when Hilary Lister, 36 year old quadroplegic, will recommence her journey in an attempt to become the first disabled woman to sail solo around Britain.

Hilary is planning to leave Newlyn towards Padstow at 09:00 today, 25th May - as long as weather stays as currently predicted.

Hilary first came to prominence when, in 2005, she became the first disabled sailor to cross the English Channel, single-handed. In 2007 she became the first disabled woman to sail around the Isle of Wight

Hilary’s dream of sailing around Britain began on 16 June 2008, when she set off from Dover, supported by her team of 4 support boat crew and 3 land crew. The Lions clubs of The British Isles and Ireland also lent their considerable support. In a series of 'day sails', some in excess of 50 nautical miles, Hilary sailed the entire length of the South Coast. In Newlyn, on 13 August, due to hold ups caused mainly by the consistently poor weather, Hilary and the team reluctantly decided to postpone the rest of the journey.

To date this is the furthest that any female disabled sailor has sailed and is an amazing achievement in itself. This is the first time that the ‘Sip and puff’ system had been tested in such challenging conditions. Despite the setback of having to halt the attempt Hilary demonstrated her amazing strength of character by resolving to complete the sail starting in spring 2009, beginning at Newlyn.

About Hilary:
An extremely active youngster, Hilary suddenly found herself wheelchair-bound at the age of 15, due to a progressive neurological disorder. This would gradually lead to the loss of the use of her body from the neck down, whilst leaving her in constant pain. Despite everything, she continued her education, earning a 2.1 in Biochemistry from Oxford University in 1995 and went on to study for her PhD. She finally lost the use of her arms and hands in 1998, aged 27. In late September 2003 Hilary was taken sailing on a local lake by a friend. She credits sailing with saving her life. 'Sailing came along when life didn’t seem worth living any more. Within seconds of being on the water a light switched back on inside me. I knew that I had found what I was going to do with the rest of my life'.

Hilary’s Boat 'Me Too' is an Artemis 20; a 6m carbon fibre keelboat, designed by Rogers Yacht Design under commission by Chichester based VizualMarine. Hilary controls the boat using a ‘Sip and Puff’ system, developed by Steve Alvey of Calgary, Canada.

The system uses three straws which are connected to sensitive pressure switches. The computer is mounted in front of Hilary. A gentle 'sip' on one straw will cause the boat to go to starboard, whilst a 'puff' will take the boat to port. The second straw controls the winch motor for both sails in a similar fashion. The third straw allows Hilary to control her Raymarine autopilot, to trim one sail relative to the other and raise or lower the height of the boom.

The aims of Hilary’s 'Round Britain Dream' are not only record breaking, but to raise funds for, and awareness of, Hilary’s charity; 'Hilary’s Dream Trust' (Registered charity no.: 1124146), which exists to facilitate adults with disabilities or in financial hardship to reach their sailing own dreams.

About Hilary’s Dream Trust:
The charity has been established (registered charity number 1124146) to facilitate the sailing dreams of those with disabilities or significant disadvantages. Hilary recognises that she has been incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to realise her sailing dreams; she wants to help as many others as possible to become aware of and have access to opportunities to realise their own dreams. Hilary will be looking to raise money throughout the round Britain sail and all funds raised in excess of those required to cover the costs of the project will go to the charity.