8:52 PM Sun 21 Jun 2009 GMT
 | | 'Hilary’s progress so far. ’H’ marks her position'
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Hilary Lister is aiming to become the 1st disabled woman to sail solo around Britain. She started her journey in 2008, but mechanical delays caused a delay over winter. She has begun again this year, sailing from Plymouth on the 21st May 2009. Hilary has so far reached the coast of Ireland, and is currently sailing northward along the Irish coast reaching Howth on 21st June.
Here is her account of the testing sail across the Irish Sea to Arklow:
 | Hilary - .. . |
We set sail from Fishguard and it was only after we'd raised the sails that Huw and I realised that
A) the 'boat' on my C80 was going sideways and
B) the electronic compass heading wasn't changing. Normally I carry a compass my Mum gave me after I sailed the channel, but I'd managed to leave that back in Kent. However, not all was lost! Most importantly SUB had two working compasses, one manual and one electronic. I also had a nice steady south westerly breeze, the sun and later on the stars. I also had, crucially, information on where I had been, which at least told me whether I was heading in the right direction.
Without a compass there was no autopilot, which meant a long night of sipping and puffing especially as we were aiming to head north. It's easy to set arty up to sail upwind, but downwind sailing needs more input from me. It was a very long night and at 1 AM I did wonder whether I would be able to stay awake. Despite lying on the bed for several hours before we left I had failed to sleep. By the time dawn hit however I was once again wide-awake. It barely gets dark at this time of year, even in the middle of the Irish sea. Apparently it's still 'blinking cold' (according to my support team!)
We arrived in Arklow several hours early, catching folks on the hop. We still had the most amazing welcome from the RNLI (Paul, had you picked up the phone? :-)), the sailing club and the Lions Club. We were piped ashore, which is a huge honour.
 | Pictures of Hilary Lister (paraplegic) sailing her Artemis 20 'sip and puff' controlled yacht - .. . |
Everyone in Arklow looked after us incredibly well. I was put up in 'The Bay Hotel', who had a bath I could use. I think I spent more time in it than in the bed! The rest of the team had an apartment, which was upstairs. Both were organised by the sailing club through a lady called Pia. I was proud to be made a member of Arklow Sailing Club, somewhere I will be very happy to revisit.
The Lions and Sailing Club raised ?1,100 for the dream trust. It's a truly staggering amount of money. Thank you to everyone who gave anything from one cent to their time and energy organising things. Particular thanks has to go to the kids involved with the club who I suspect twisted a fair number of arms!
by Sail-World Cruising
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