Less than a week after quadriplegic yachtsman Geoff Holt launched Walking on Water, his autobiography at the Southampton Boat Show, he has learned that his book has been nominated for a Mountbatten Literary Award in the prestigious Maritime Media Awards.

The Award ceremony, organised by the Maritime Foundation, takes place in London on the 30th October 2008 and awards are presented by the President of the Maritime Foundation, Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

“I’m obviously delighted at the nomination but it has come as a complete surprise” confesses Geoff. “As the author, it goes without saying that the book is special to me, it’s a very personal account of how I have overcome various difficulties in my life, but I have always intended it to be a celebration of what can be achieved if you put your mind to it, and for me, it just so happens that it has been sailing that has been the thread which runs through my life-story. Although you hope the book will be well received, until it actually goes on sale, you have no idea if it will be liked by the general public. So now the book is published and it is being read by people who don’t know me, it is very rewarding to read all the wonderful reviews it is getting, clearly the book has achieved what I intended. And to be told only a matter of days after publication that is has been nominated for such a major award, it’s simply overwhelming. The nomination will hopefully raise awareness of the book and it is my hope that it is read by an audience beyond the yachting community, there are lessons for us all in the book, sailor or non-sailor, disabled or non-disabled.

On the 5th September 2007, Geoff became the first disabled person to sail single-handed around Great Britain. In a voyage he called his “Personal Everest”, he sailed his 15ft trimaran dinghy 1,500 miles around the country, a journey that took him and his support team to 51 destinations and took 109 days to complete, sealing his place in the record books.