Miss Isle eyes Atlantic record
Natasha Lambert, who holds the title as the youngest disabled woman to skipper a yacht from Scotland to Ireland, is now preparing for a new challenge – to sail across the Atlantic Ocean using just breath control, similar to ‘sip and puff’ pioneer Hilary Lister.
The 21-year-old from Cowes has athetoid cerebral palsy which affects all of her limbs and her speech. Unable to use conventional controls, she instead sails by sipping and puffing into a single straw – a system developed by her father, Gary.
Natasha has just purchased a Bavaria Nautitech 46 catamaran ahead of the ARC in November 2019. If she completes the passage from Gran Canaria to St Lucia, she’ll become the first person to cross the Atlantic by breath control.
“To cross an ocean for Natasha is massive as she can’t walk across a room by herself. It is a huge adventure for her,” explained Natasha’s mother, Amanda. “We want to show people that sailing is very inclusive and can be an adventure for the whole family,” she told PBO.
Amanda, Gary and Natasha’s sister, Rachel, will be making the crossing with Natasha, who has founded her own charity, the Miss Isle School of Sip and Puff, which teaches sip and puff sailing around the Isle of Wight.
Natasha, who is more familiar with sailing her modified 21ft Mini Transat Miss Isle Too, is already getting a feel for multihull sailing, having been onboard during the delivery trip from La Rochelle to the Hamble.