Årtusenets prestasjon i soloseilas!
Geoff Holt fortjener det øverste av honnør og bemerkelser for sin soloregatta over Atlanteren, shorthanded seiling på sitt ytterste. Han er handicapet og sitter i rullestol, lammet fra brystet og ned! I sin spesialbygde 60 fots katamaran seilte han de 2.700 nm over Atlanteren, fra Lanzarote til Cane Garden Bay, alene på 28 dager!
Geoff Holt has become the first quadriplegic to sail across the Atlantic.
He has sailed the 2,700 mile journey across the Atlantic on a 60ft purpose built catamaran Impossible Dream, unassisted in every aspect of the sailing.
It has taken twenty eight days in total from his departure in Lanzarote to the arrival and emotional return to Cane Garden Bay where he will revisit the place of his accident that paralysed him 25 years ago.
This is the fourth time Geoff has sailed the Atlantic, but the first since his life changing accident in 1984 which left him paralysed from the chest down.
Geoff and Impossible Dream successfully arrive in Cane Garden Bay, Tortola British Virgin Islands, thus completing his Personal Atlantic voyage. BBC Radio and News making contact with Geoff for arrival interviews as Geoff is reunited with his family.
" Phew, what a day yesterday was. Having made the decision to divert to Antigua for emergency fuel to run the ships essential electrical and hydraulic systems, I altered course and we had a great sail through the night. My shore team had investigated several options but we settled on rendezvous`ing at noon local time with the Antigua & Barbuda Search & Rescue team (ABSAR). I was insistent that it should be a ship to ship refuel at sea, not at a marina or at anchor which would constitute making landfall - not that would be a problem but I felt it would take the shine off my arrival in Tortola. We chose Carlisle Bay (just around from Falmouth / English Harbour) as it gave protection from the Atlantic swells. The re-fuelling was textbook - my thanks to Jonathan, Sven, Barbara and Becky from ABSAR and I`m certain the owner of ID will be pleased that not a drop of diesel was spilt on his lovely decks. Within the hour, we were off again, now able to recharge our ships batteries from the engines which meant I could finally stop steering by hand, much to the relief of my right arm, and we could have hot food, the first in days.
More good wind and it wasn`t long before we were making course for Tortola (ETA 1300 local time, 1700 GMT, Thursday 7th January), sailing up past St Kitts and Nevis, the volcano dramatically backlit by the setting sun, the island lights twinkling along the shoreline. What a great sight."