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'Epic journey was my Everest'
Ahead of him lay a huge challenge of sailing more than 1,400 miles around the British coast.
But his journey – what he called his personal Everest – had barely started and already Geoff Holt was facing his worst nightmare.
Paralysed below the shoulders, he had been thrown out of his trimaran dinghy Freethinker by wash from another boat. Now he was lying face down, motionless, in the cold waters of the Solent. He was seconds from drowning.
Geoff says: 'I remember a sensation of crying because of the intense burning pain in my chest. I was aware that if I breathed in just one shallow gulp of water, with my already compromised lung capacity, I would probably die.'
Just 15 minutes earlier, he had kissed wife Elaine and five-year-old son Timmy and set off from Hamble in his bid to become the first quadriplegic yachtsman to sail singlehanded around Britain.
Now he decided he would count to five and breathe.
Geoff recalls: 'I knew the consequence would be almost certain death, but I could fight it no longer. I mentally said my goodbyes to my family.'
When he got to four, Geoff felt a pair of strong hands grab him from behind and turn him over. His lungs filled with air, not water. He was alive. Spike, one of his support crew, had jumped in and swum to his rescue.
It was an eventful beginning to what was to be an epic journey for Geoff. After 109 days and 1,445 miles, he finally made it back to Hamble on September 5, 2007.
He'd originally left in May and allowed 60 days for the journey, but dreadful weather forced him and his support team to stop 51 times. At one point in North Wales they were forced to wait for 25 days for conditions to improve.
The 42-year-old of St Anne's Lane, Shedfield, near Fareham, eventually completed the historic voyage 23 years to the day since he dived into shallow water in the Caribbean and ended up paralysed from the chest down.
Now he's written a book about the journey and about his life before and after disability.
>> See The News today for a chance to win a signed copy of Geoff's book.
Finishing the book has been a journey in its own right. It has involved five months of Geoff tapping in almost a million keystrokes in writing and editing 130,000 words, using only his right index finger.
He was determined to take on the round-Britain challenge in a specially-adapted dinghy after completing a solo sail round the Isle of Wight in 1997.
It took 18 months of planning to prepare for the difficulties he would face. There were times along the way when he was very close to quitting, but he bravely made it to the end.
Geoff says: 'This was about me achieving something – but then other people also became inspired by what I was doing. That made it all so much more worthwhile.'
En route he saw dolphins, whales and even a basking shark. There was stunning scenery too, but it was no pleasure cruise.
Geoff says: 'It was getting up at 4am and putting my body through extremes. I also felt a lot of pressure not to let down my crew or those people who had said I had given them hope.'
He adds: 'When I rounded Selsey Bill and saw the Spinnaker Tower, I knew I had done it. That was a great feeling and I could finally enjoy it.'
Since completing the voyage, Geoff has collected several awards, including BBC TV South Sports Personality of the Year 2007, Tetraplegic of the Year from the REGAIN charitable trust, and one for Special Achievement in The News We Can Do It awards.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 11 February 2012
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