—Continued from previous page “I'm a mixed bag of emotions,” she said. “I can’t wait to see land. It’s been horrible sometimes; I just want it to be over. It’s been such a test and I doubt how I've lived up to those tests.” Looking back at how this complete non-sailor took on the task of looking after Geoff across the Atlantic, plus how she dealt with endless diesel issues (the generator packed in towards the end, which meant another two days upside down in a dark hole), I can’t help but take my hat off to Susana. New Zealand should award her their highest honour, because she toughed it out on the rolling seas and didn’t fail Geoff or herself. I should mention that yes, like most passage-making trips, we motor-sailed on windless days. But the cru- cial issue with needing diesel was charging batteries. Geoff was particularly reliant on the self-steering rams and sheeting hydraulics (see sidebar) to be able to sail Impossible Dream. Facing Up to Issues Mentally, Geoff faced his own issues. He could not get down to the engines, so for the days Susana and I spent tinkering, fixing, bleeding and swearing, he couldn't help. It was unspoken, but I sensed he would have been the first to pile into these problems. The many physical issues facing a quadriplegic skipper sailing a 60-foot boat included getting about, staying upright, getting ropes around winches, even pushing buttons, and of course journeying so far away from any help. On the windier and rougher days, Geoff had a job to simply stay in his chair. A large catamaran can bounce around in chop and swell as it hurtles over waves, but Impossible Dream, made from carbon and being totally rigid, had an unforgiving seesaw motion. I raced a wood- built 40-foot trimaran offshore for two years, and that was as smooth as a Rolls Royce by comparison. Geoff has limited movement in his arms (80 percent bicep; no tricep, wrist or fingers), so he types with a prodding action (actually, like a lot of full-time journal- ists I know!) It takes him a while, but he perseveres. Some days though, there was no point even trying, and I could see the sheer force of the brutal seaway causing him real trouble (me too, come to think of it). Broadcasting Onboard We did a great deal of broadcasting from onboard, so I ended up being busy. I'd never seen a live TV broad- cast to terrestrial news from a boat before, but we did several, and for me this involved a jungle of wires and a complex set-up. The BBC fitted out our boat with the best Thrane & Thrane sat-coms available to feed live pictures back to London, and technical boss Mark Tyrell, who makes sure news comes in from every cor- ner of the globe, used our project as a test case for a new system. It worked brilliantly for all the live broad- casts, video uploads and ISDN radio interviews, which was just as well, because over Christmas Geoff's story gained significant traction. The Finish Line Eventually, after the diversions, delays, overall lack of wind and a month of slog, we made the destination of Cane Garden Bay in Tortola. This was Geoff's moment. He was a bag of adrenaline, emotion, relief and delight at seeing his family. Boats tooted and crowds cheered as Geoff circled just off the beach — that most significant landmark in his life. “Incredible,” said Geoff. “Twenty-five years in the making, a year in the planning, and what a marvellous reception. What an emotional return to Cane Garden Bay. It feels like a celebration of life. What a great fin- ish to a great project.” The Governor of the British Virgin Islands, John deJongh, welcomed Geoff on land with a heartfelt speech, and the government there has made Geoff and family honorary citizens. It was an emotional and happy ending to this voyage. Sitting on the sand of Cane Garden Bay a couple of days later I asked Geoff what he thought the moral of the story was. He said, “Princess Anne summed it up A celebration. Geoff returns to a hero’s welcome off the beach that changed his life on Tortola, BVI. The island- ers have an expression ‘gone to come back’, and. many shared this emotional moment for me when she said that disability need not be a bar- rier to achieving your dream. In fact anyone, regardless of your ability, if you really set your heart on it, can achieve what you set out to do. There'll be hardships along the way, sometimes painful ones, but there’s no feeling like completing a journey against all the odds. It’s the best feeling in the world.” But I'd like to leave the final word to Tony Tromans, consultant surgeon at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre in Salisbury, one of 11 such reha- bilitation centres around the UK that do incredible work. Tony was Geoff's doctor 25 years ago. “The fact that Geoff, who can only get about in an electric wheelchair using a joystick, sails around Britain and across the Atlantic is a very useful story for us to say to patients that life hasn’t stopped. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Disability will shut some doors, but it will open others....” As a TV producer, Digby Fox has worked on the America’s Cup, documentaries, even cooking shows. Before broadcasting he was a journalist and magazine editor. Impossible Dream A great name for such an innovative prototype, Impossible Dream is a 60-foot carbon catamaran designed by Nic Bailey for Mike Browne. Mike founded the retail chain Snow & Rock, became paralysed in a skiing accident and commissioned Nic, the architect who designed those distinctive pods on the London Eye, to come up with something he could sail with family and friends. Built in 2003 by Multimarine in Plymouth, the boat is striking in many ways. The interior cabin and deck are all on one level, with a gentle slope around the outside up towards the foredeck. This makes getting around in a wheelchair easy. There is a steering position outside on each hull, but the whole ship can by operated from inside, with hydrau- lic winches and lines coming right into the ‘command module’, which looks like a set from a Star Trek film. “As a boy,” says Nic Bailey, “I used to love Dan Dare comics” (a British sci-fi comic hero, who had an excep- tionably well-named sidekick called Digby). “We built a full sized mock-up of the saloon in our studio and I spent a lot of time in a wheelchair to get a feel for how everything should work.” The height of the galley worktops is an example. They're low, and awkward to use when standing {I know), but pull up a chair and everything makes sense, with fridge, cooker, sink and utensils to hand. Actually, it was a super place to cook. Nic says his main design challenge was sail han- dling. “Sailing from a chair means no leaping up to the base of the mast to bounce halyards, so every line is powered by hydraulic winches. Sheets presented a particular problem. How can you ease a sheet from three steering positions (one inside and two outside)? Commercially available captive reel winches were too heavy and expensive, so we devised a hydraulic ram system connected to the sheets through blocks that could all be operated by simply pressing buttons. We also used hydraulic rams to control the mainsheet and the coachroof-mounted traveller.” Other clever touches include a fold-out lift platform to raise or lower a wheelchair user to the dock and back. This works from a remote control and in opera- tion is another sci-fi touch. You can see Nic’s London Eye influence in the cock- pit windows and the amazing view from inside to almost 360 degrees outside, a key element when sail- ing from a chair at the command position. Overall, Impossible Dream is a clever and complex boat, and without her, and Mike and Martine Browne’s generosity in lending her to Geoff, this trip would never have happened. 2% more (sea) horses The Perkins Sabre M225Ti is designed to replace the Perkins M200 and M235 and provides more than 22% additional available horsepower in the same package. This large capacity 6 liter engine comes in a compact package and only takes out 225 hp. By comparison, our nearest competition takes that out of a 4 liter engine. Running at a low 2500 rpm versus the competition’s 3300 rpm or higher, the M225Ti will have a longer life (minimum 12,000 hour TBO) and quieter operation. The gear-driven fresh water pump has a longer life and less to go wrong while the waste gate turbo charger gives better performance at lower rpms. An integral plate-type oil cooler combines fewer hoses with longer life and better efficiency. With Perkins’ outstanding marinization, excess hoses and belts have been engineered away and everything has easy access for stress-free maintenance. Call Parts & Power for your nearest dealer: (284) 494 2830 M92B M135 M225Ti § Perkins Sabre M225Ti POWERING A BETTER FUTURE == ae) J www.partsandpower.com