Geoff Holt (sailor)
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Geoff Holt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 February 1966 Portsmouth, Hampshire, England |
| Known for | The first solo circumnavigation of Britain by a quadriplegic yachtsman and his activisms for equality of those with physical disabilities. |
| Spouse | Elaine Holt |
| Children | Tim Holt |
| Website | www.geoffholt.com |
Geoffrey Trevor Marden Holt MBE, DL (born 24 February 1966) is an English sailor from Portsmouth, Hampshire. Paralysed in an accident at the age of eighteen, in 2007, he became the first quadriplegic yachtsman to sail solo around Great Britain.
In September 2007, Holt completed his 1,500-mile (2,414 km) sail around the UK in his 15-foot (4.6 m) trimaran dinghy Freethinker, becoming the first severely disabled person to make the journey. In December 2007, he was named BBC South Sports Personality of the Year.[1]
In 2008, Holt wrote his autobiography Walking on Water.
In December 2009, he set out to cross the Atlantic Ocean on his yacht the Impossible Dream, aiming to become the first quadriplegic to do so. He succeeded in the 2,700-mile (4,345 km) crossing, arriving on 7 January 2010.[2]
Holt was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.[3]
Holt also won the title of Yachting Journalist Association (YJA) Pantaenius Yachtsman of the Year for 2010.[4] Of this award, he said: "For me this is the knighthood of sailing".[5]
In 2012, Holt was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire.[6]
In 2024, Holt completed a second circumnavigation of the United Kingdom, this time in a powerboat from his Wetwheels charity as part of an ongoing campaign called finishing the dream to raise the funds for four more disabled accessible powerboats to help ensure every disabled person has a barrier-free access to the water as part of the Wetwheels foundation.
References
[edit]- ^ "Geoff Holt is BBC South Sports Personality of the Year 2007". BBC Press Office. BBC. 4 December 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
- ^ "Making sailing history". The Independent. London. 20 January 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "No. 59446". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2010. p. 17.
- ^ "Geoff Holt crowned Yachtsman of the Year". 12 January 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ Laven, Kate (12 January 2011). "Geoff Holt hails Yachtsman of the Year award as knighthood of sailing". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "Deputy Lieutenant Commissions".
External links
[edit]
- 1966 births
- Living people
- Deputy lieutenants of Hampshire
- English people with disabilities
- English non-fiction outdoors writers
- English male sailors (sport)
- Maritime writers
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Sportspeople from Portsmouth
- People with tetraplegia
- British yacht racing biography stubs
- English sportspeople stubs