Quadriplegic woman prepares for round Britain sail

A quadriplegic woman from Kent who made history when she sailed across the Channel using only her mouth to control her boat is preparing for a round Britain voyage.

Hilary Lister, 35, from Dunkirk, near Canterbury, made her epic crossing from Dover to Calais in August, 2005, in six hours 13 minutes.

Now she plans to sail her Artemis 20 using a “sip and puff” system around the coast of Britain.

She is anticipating it will take three to four months.

Seated in a custom seating module that maintains her body position and comfort, Hilary controls everything with her breath, through an innovative Power Assist System.

A “control stalk” positions three pneumatic “straws”, ready for her breath commands as a “sip” or a “puff” semaphore. The straws are connected to sensitive pressure switches on a computer, programmed to do exactly what Hilary needs to do.

~ Read more about Hilary's trip on her website >>>

A former pupil of the King's Schol, Canterbury, Hilary was diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy when she was a teenager.

She lost the use of her arms in 1998 and is now a quadriplegic, only able to move her head, eyes and mouth.

Hilary wants to show that disabled people can live exciting lives and challenge people to rethink their views on disability.

KentOnline