Quadriplegic sailor Geoff Holt is over halfway around the British coast on his quest to be the first disabled person to sail around the country. The 41-year-old yachtsman sailed from Berwick upon Tweed to Amble, Scotland yesterday evening, Thursday 9 August, aboard his Challenger Trimaran.

‘It was a very cold, but fairly uneventful sail’, said Geoff. ‘The wind was on the nose quite a bit, making it very frustrating, but other times it was just flat and boring. Not one of my better days, but at least we are on the homeward strait now.’ Weather permitting, Geoff will set sail for Hartlepool this morning.

Geoff, who is paralysed from the breast line down as the result of a swimming accident when he was 18, left Southampton over 80 days ago in May, but his progress has been greatly hampered by the bad weather this summer and he has spent a lot of time weatherbound in various ports. Now more than half way round, Geoff is hoping for some good weather and a speedy voyage down the East Coast and back to the Solent.