First disabled woman to sail solo around Britain

Born: March 3, 1972;

Died: August 18, 2018

HILARY Lister, who has died aged 46, was a sailor who became the first disabled woman to sail solo around Britain in 2009. She also became the first quadriplegic to sail across the English Channel in 2005 and then the first female quadriplegic to sail around the Isle of Wight in 2007.

The system that enabled her to make the trips was remarkable. Lister was paralysed from the neck down but used a "sip-and-puff" system for steering and controlling a yacht's sails. An inward breath through a straw connected to a switch would make the boat go starboard while an outward breath would take it to port. She was also able to use other straws to control the sails and navigation system.

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) judged that Lister's round-Britain trip put her in the top four sailors in the world. It was never going to be an easy trip, though, with Lister being in severe pain; she was also at sea for three months in total, calling at 46 ports along the way and covering 60 miles a day. Lister chocked on several occasions and had to be given mouth-to-mouth; a lifeboat also had to be dispatched to accompany her boat to shore when she got into trouble in rough seas off the Welsh coast.

Ms Lister, from Canterbury, Kent, was born able-bodied but suffered from the degenerative condition reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which meant she used a wheelchair from the age of 15. Before then, she had been captain of the netball and hockey teams at school and was also keen on rugby. She first started experiencing the symptoms of reflex sympathetic dystrophy when she was 11 years old but it was a number of years before she was diagnosed.

She went on to study biochemistry at Jesus College, Oxford, but during her studies her condition worsened and she became paralysed from the neck down at the age of 27.

Ms Lister started sailing with Westbere Sailing Opportunities in Canterbury in 2003. On her first trip, she was strapped on to a dinghy in a chair, with her head held in place with tape. She said of the adventure: "Within 30 seconds of being in a boat I was in love."

She was named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year 2007 and won other accolades, including a Cosmopolitan Superhero Award and the Royal Cruising Club's Seamanship Award 2005.

Her charity, Hilary's Dream Trust, supports disabled and disadvantaged people in taking up sailing.

She met her husband Clifford while still at school and they married in 1999.