Geoff Holt was a teenage sailor with vast potential when an accident changed his life. But his love of the sea and spirit of adventure have no bounds

There were no lifeguards on duty to warn Geoff Holt about the dangers of swimming in the bay that day. Diving forwards into the warm tropical sea, he hit his head on a sand bar, the weight of his body forcing his head downward, snapping his spine between the shoulder blades, immediately rendering him quadriplegic, paralysed from the chest down, for the rest of his life.

The date was September 1984. The bay was Cane Garden Bay on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. He was just 18 years old.

In the 2 years between leaving school and his accident, Geoff had sailed in excess of 30,000 miles including three transatlantic crossings, two of which when he was just 16 years old. He was destined for great things in the yachting industry.

The accident changed the course of his life but, although he did not know it at the time, his life would help to inspire countless others who have followed his story.

Readjusting
Twenty eight years on from that accident, Geoff’s adventures continue to push boundaries and, in his own words: ‘It’s not about coping with disability; it’s about finding the reserves we all have to achieve our goals in spite of it.’

A year in hospital equipped Geoff with the skills he needed for a life in a wheelchair. It also equipped him with his wife Elaine who had been his nurse! The couple celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this year. ‘It was worth paying my National Health Insurance contributions,’ he jokes.

Retraining in computing, he secured a job with a firm of accountants in their marketing department. Within a few years, Geoff had been promoted to regional Marketing Manager for the firm Deloitte.

He continued his passion for sailing and was one of the inaugural trustees of the newly founded charity RYA Sailability in 1995, a charity he was to be Chairman of for 6 years, working tirelessly to encourage people with disabilities to get afloat. Disabled sailors in the UK now number more than 30,000 at more than 150 designated sites throughout the UK.

Personal Everest
Geoff first appeared on the radar screens of the international media in 2007 when he embarked on his Personal Everest. It was the name he gave his plan to become the first disabled person to sail single-handed around the UK.

On Monday 14 May 2007, he set off on his adventure. Geoff states: ‘The journey itself was, and will remain, the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life. I put together a team of eight volunteers to help me. It was to last 109 days. In a series of day-sails and overnights in a motorhome, we visited 51 harbours around the UK and I sailed my little 4.5m trimaran dinghy 1,500 miles.’

The RNLI family
It was during this circumnavigation that the reach of the RNLI and how the charity is interwoven into coastal communities really struck him: ‘In every one of those 51 destinations we were helped or given advice by at least one member of the RNLI. That Summer my son Tim was the luckiest 5-year-old in the country.

‘I lost count of the number of evenings I would arrive at a new harbour after a dozen or more hours at sea, tired, cold and hungry. But my spirits were always lifted when I would see my son, coming out on a lifeboat, to escort me into harbour.’

Geoff has since become a loyal supporter and close friend of the RNLI. This year he joined the RNLI Council.

Nightmare and dream
Keen to relive his teenage memories, Geoff set about his next challenge. In December 2009, accompanied only by a nurse to help with his medical needs and a BBC cameraman, neither of whom could assist in any aspect of the sailing, Geoff set sail from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands to cross the Atlantic Ocean again.

The 18m catamaran Impossible Dream was designed to be sailed by a wheelchair user; all sails and navigation instruments controlled with push-button technology. Four weeks and 3,000 miles later, Geoff dropped anchor in Cane Garden Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

‘There could be no other destination could there?’ he asks with a wry smile. It was here that Geoff had his accident. He explains: ‘The beach may have taken away my ability to walk but it couldn’t take away my spirit or my determination.

‘The crossing was never about “closure” or exorcising demons: it was a celebration of life. Had I not had my accident I would not have met my wife and we would not have had our son. I wouldn’t change a thing.’

An unstoppable force
Geoff’s a busy man – just this year he took a formal part in both Jubilee and Olympic celebrations. And he runs his new, wheelchair accessible powerboat Wetwheels out off Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth.

‘I have personally witnessed many thousands of disabled people access the water, and it is being on the water that gives the greatest pleasure, regardless of whether that be on a sailing or motor boat. ‘Every single person we have taken out on Wetwheels, disabled or non-disabled, leaves the boat with the biggest grin on their face. If you need to know why I do what I do, then look no further than the smiles. That is my reward.’ 

So what next? Well, there can only be one other item on Geoff’s ‘To do’ list – to sail around the world. Fulfilling this ambition goes hand in hand with helping others: ‘We are now actively looking for a sponsor. If we can find that partner, it will be a great way to raise the profile of, and funds for, the RNLI.’

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Having achieved his Personal Everest, Geoff was inspired to write his autobiography, Walking on Water, which went on to become a bestseller. Follow Geoff’s adventures at geoffholt.com.

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Geoff's milestones

RYA Sailability Founding Chairman, 1995–2004
World Disabled Multihull Championships Bronze Medallist, 1996 and 1997
First disabled person to sail single-handed around Great Britain, 2007
First disabled person to sail unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean, 2009–10
Presented Yachtsman of the Year by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, 2010
Awarded MBE in The Queen’s Birthday Honours, 2011
Participant in the Thames Jubilee Pageant flotilla, 2012
Nominated Olympic Torchbearer by Dame Ellen MacArthur, 2012
Selector for the Paralympic Sailing Team GB, 2012
Appointed to RNLI Council, 2012

RNLI Council
The Council is the RNLI's general committee of the board that advises on and assists with broad policy and strategy. Its members are ambassadors for the charity and are also responsible for electing and appointing Trustees to the Board.