Quadriplegic Takes Solo Sail through British Isles

A British woman, Hilary Lister, has set sail on a journey around the British Isles - guiding a sailboat using only her mouth.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on June 28 2008

Two weeks ago, 36-year-old Hilary Lister set off from the coast of England for a solo sailboat ride through the British Isles, which will take as long as three months to complete.

It sounds like enough of a challenge already –but you haven’t heard half of it: Lister, who is quadriplegic, cannot move any part of her body except for her head, eyes, and mouth. Instead of directing the sailboat by hand, she’s using a “sip-and-puff” system, in which she blows into a series of straws in order to move the sails and control the boat’s movement.

Though Lister’s got the sailboat to herself, she’s not entirely on her own: She’s got a crew following her on another boat, which generally stays about a quarter of a mile away. The crew members help her eat food and use the bathroom, and can keep on eye on her to make sure she’s safe at all times.

Sailing may seem like a strange activity for a quadriplegic to take on alone, but Lister claims the hobby has saved her life.

After being diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy at the age of fifteen, she began losing mobility in most of her body. In 2003, she spent three months as a shut-in, and “couldn’t cope with just sitting at home doing nothing, waiting to die,” she told NPR. But when a friend suggested she come along for a boat ride, “within about 30 seconds, I knew that I found what I was going to do with the rest of my life.”

In 2005, Lister sailed solo across the English Channel; this journey through the British Isles will mark another first for a quadriplegic. And she doesn’t plan to stop there: “The Atlantic [Ocean] is kind of calling,” she said.

By Kathryn Hawkins

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