SAILING was his life. By the age of 18, Geoff Holt had completed three Atlantic crossings and was one of the youngest charter skippers working in the Caribbean.

However, just days after getting a top skipper's job, his career was brought to a tragic halt when a swimming accident left him paralysed from the chest down.

When doctors told him he would never walk again, he knew his life as a professional sailor was over.

Twenty-two years on, the inspirational 40-year-old from Shedfield has set himself the ultimate new year resolution - to be the first disabled sailor to sail round Great Britain single-handed.

Despite being confined to a wheelchair, he plans to sail his way into the record books by completing the 1,600-mile adventure in the spring.

Sailing eight hours a day, Geoff will have to brave strong winds, high seas, dehydration, exposure and severe discomfort to complete the challenge, which is being dubbed "the Everest of all sailing challenges".

It will take him about 50 days to complete the voyage in his specially modified 15ft trimaran Freethinker.

The idea came about 18 months ago after Geoff got tired of sailing his boat for pleasure.

"It was such an effort just to go for a sail," he explained.

"It takes so long to get in and out of the boat, plus my wife then has to sit on the shore for two hours while I get wet and cold in the boat.

"I decided I needed a proper challenge, and one day came up with the idea of sailing single-handed round Great Britain.

"I'm a yachtsman through and through, and I'm always looking for the next challenge."

Geoff will be supported on the water by a fully crewed rescue craft and will spend each night ashore in his wheelchair-accessible motorhome, driven by his wife Elaine. Their four-year-old son Timothy will also join the adventure on the support boat.

Geoff said: "It would be difficult to overstate the complexities of putting together a project like this - the logistics are simply enormous.

"From organising the stopover venues to identifying the right support craft and crew, it would be difficult enough were I not disabled.

"There will be approximately six people in the team, each with their own area of expertise.

"Compared to the planning, I think the sailing is going to be the easy bit.

"An Atlantic crossing would actually have been easier to organise!"

Luckily for Geoff, his right-hand man is Ian Clover, an ocean yachtmaster from the Isle of Wight. Geoff said: "He knows everything there is to know. I will feel so much safer having him calling the shots."

Geoff is Hampshire born and bred, having grown up in Southampton and attended St Mary's College in Bitterne. His love of boats developed at an early age, thanks to his father.

Geoff said: "My dad was really into sailing, and for a while we used to live on a 45ft yacht on the River Hamble.

"Although my brother and sister never picked it up, I developed a great love for sailing and covered thousands of miles at a very young age."

Despite having his promising career in sailing cut short, Geoff has never been bitter about the accident that ended his dreams.

"I had been in the Caribbean for a few years, working my way up from deckhand to mate and then finally to skipper," he said.

"Then came the accident. I dived head-first into shallow water and hit the floor, breaking my neck."

The 18-year-old was instantly paralysed from the chest down.

Three weeks after his accident, doctors told Geoff he would never walk again.

He said: "My job and career were instantly taken away from me. I knew there was no chance I could continue a career in sailing."

Although the accident ended his future plans and left him with no feeling in his legs and limited use of his hands, Geoff said he always remained positive.

"Despite what happened, I never got down or depressed about it," he said.

"By the time of the accident I had done a lot of things in my life. I had done everything I had wanted to do.

"I have never been prepared to accept that there are boundaries put around me. I'm a great believer in just getting on with life."

For five years after the accident, Geoff didn't set foot on a boat, as he was convinced that he wouldn't be able to sail one.

Then he was introduced to the Challenger trimaran - a 15ft boat designed specifically for disabled sailing.

Before long he was sailing it on a regular basis, and was thrilled to be back on the water again.

When in 1995 Geoff was approached to be the first chairman of new disabled sailing charity Sailability, he jumped at the chance.

During his six years at the charity's helm, with a further two as vice-chairman, he helped the charity to gain national, and international, recognition.

He said: "Sailability went from a small charity to a national one.

"It's something I'm very proud to have been a part of. Last year, between 15,000 and 16,000 disabled people went sailing, thanks to Sailability."

Geoff has named Sailability as the official charity of the challenge.

With more than 25 years of sailing and thousands of sea miles under his belt, Geoff also holds a string of disabled sailing endurance records.

In 1992 he became the first disabled sailor to sail single-handed around the Isle of Wight, in a respectable time of 14 hours.

Five years later he smashed his own record with a time of seven hours and 55 minutes, prompting round-the-world yachtswoman Tracey Edwards to describe him as "inspirational".

In 2004, Geoff's hard work was recognised when he was awarded the RYA award for services to yachting.

Geoff, of St Anne's Lane, Shedfield, near Fareham, will now spend the next few months preparing for the challenge, and is on course for an official celebrity-led campaign launch in March.

He has already secured sponsorship from Henri Lloyd, Raymarine and Marinetrak, but is due to announce a title sponsor in the coming weeks.

He added: "The next five months are going to fly by and, although we have the funding there is still much work to be done, including identifying the right yacht to act as mothership'.

"Were it not for the many supporting sponsors and the goodwill of everyone involved, I'm not sure we would be in such a strong position to not only attempt such a challenge, but complete it too."

Debbie Blachford, Sailability manager, said: "Geoff is a committed supporter of Sailability and an experienced and outstanding yachtsman.

"The Round Britain Challenge is a personal challenge Geoff has wanted to undertake for some time.

"At the same time he wants to say to other disabled people look, I can do this - you can do it too'.

"You can be active, play sport, get out on the water - you just have to seize the opportunity.

"We wish Geoff all the very best for his challenge and will be following his progress closely."

  • It will take Geoff around 50 days to complete the 1,600 miles
  • The easiest food to eat at sea is cereal bars. Geoff will eat at least five a day, making a total of 250 bars over the trip
  • Geoff needs to drink at least two litres of water every eight-hour session, making a total of 100 litres over the 50 days
  • There is no room in the boat to store food and drink. Hot drinks and food will be passed to Geoff by members of the crew from the support boat, often at speeds of about 10mph to maintain boat speed
  • The support crew will consist of seven adults plus Geoff's four-year-old son Timothy
  • In the run-up to the challenge, Geoff will train for around 20 hours a week on the water plus 20 hours in the gym
  • Geoff has sailed about 27,000 sea miles including three trans-atlantic crossings

  • Visit www.personaleverest.com to follow the project's progress.