'Just you, the waves and the wind'

By Tom Warren
BBC News, England

Mrs Lister has been paralysed for seven years

All it took was a boat trip on a shallow lake in Kent to convince Hilary Lister that sailing was her destiny.

Five years and several record-breaking feats later, the quadriplegic has now embarked on her toughest challenge yet, a solo trip around the British coast.

Mrs Lister has no movement below her neck and operates the sails and tiller using a "sip-and-puff" system.

But despite the obvious difficulties, she refuses to let her disability stop her.

"It's getting to be an overused quote now, but it does feel like you are flying, it's utter freedom," she said.

Bad weather

"I can't describe it, in words, to an able-bodied person. When you cast off from the dock you leave all the problems and the worries of shore on shore and it's just you and the waves and the wind."

For the 36-year-old, who uses a wheelchair on land, that sense of freedom is "multiplied by about 10,000, it's the only way of living life".

Mrs Lister, from Canterbury, Kent, set off from Dover on Monday and is expecting to take up to four months to complete the voyage.

She will sail on average four days in every seven, covering between 40 and 50 miles a time, and spend up to 18 hours on the water. Bad weather on Wednesday forced her to take an unscheduled break.

There are so many things going on - it's better than sitting on the sofa at home Hilary Lister

"After two days it's hard to say what the main challenges are," she said.

"The hardest things will be psychological. The physical things you can prepare yourself for.

"I'm looking forward to the days to come and looking forward to getting back on the water."

In 2005, Mrs Lister became the first quadriplegic sailor to cross the English Channel. And in July last year she circumnavigated the Isle of Wight.

Her boat, an Artemis 20, has been specially designed so that she can operate a range of controls through just three "straws".

One works the tiller and one the sails, and the final straw allows her to select five different functions to help control the craft.

Apart from a handful of times each day when members of the support team climb aboard to feed her and administer medication, Mrs Lister travels solo.

She is supported by a six-strong crew, half of whom sail a few hundred yards behind her and half who travel on land.

Mrs Lister is supported by land and sea crews who monitor her progress.

"It's never lonely, it's always wonderful. I spend a lot of time on my own," she said.

"I'm used to that feeling of being quite happy in my own company and on the water there are so many things going on - it's better than sitting on the sofa at home."

Several quadriplegic people have sailed around Britain before. But the scale of the achievement, should the 36-year-old complete her voyage, would remain huge.

Mrs Lister said she hoped her journey would inspire other disabled people.

"I didn't set out to become a role model," she said. "But I always said if I made one person rethink their views on disability then I had done my job.

"And if I had got one person out of the house that was trapped there (through disability) then I had done my job, and that's enough for me."

Mrs Lister has been paralysed for seven years as a result of a progressive degenerative disease, reflex sympathetic dystrophy.

As a child she enjoyed playing hockey and rugby and was a committed swimmer. And she continued to take part in sports until her condition deteriorated.

Sailing has helped her to "blow the cobwebs away" once again.

Her husband Clifford and other family members are right behind her, she said.

"Every second I'm out there, even when I'm getting waves in the face, it's about having the freedom to go where I want when I want," she said.