Woman sails across Atlantic... steering with just her mouth
A DISABLED sailor who controls her boat using her breath has sailed across the Atlantic.
Natasha Lambert, 23, has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and gets around with the use of a wheelchair.
But using an ingenious “sip and puff” system engineered by her father she and her crew have just sailed from Gran Canaria on the Western coast of Africa to St Lucia in the Caribbean.
The trip, which hopes to raise £ 30,000 for three charities, took 18 days, 24 hours, 29 minutes and eight seconds to complete.
Her father, 51- year- old Gary, invented the system which allows her to use her mouth to control the boat.
The computer technology produced and coded by Gary in 2012 means she is able to steer the boat using a single straw, with the boat moving left or right depending on whether she sips or blows.
She can even check the navigation of her specially modified
46ft catamaran, called Blown Away, by using her tongue to operate a sensor in her helmet.
Natasha, from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, embarked on her journey on November 22 with a crew of eight people, including her sister Rachel, 13, plus mum Amanda and Gary.
Amanda, 52, said: “We are extremely proud of her. It brings us to tears when we see her sail that boat.
“We were told that her would be difficult, and life she wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things. We hope it can give people the hope that no matter what condition or disability you have, you can still have aspirations to drive towards.”
Natasha, also known locally as “MissIsle” ( after her first boat) has raised more than £ 65,000 for charity through sailing and other challenges.
Amanda views this in life.
She was awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2015.
Her latest adventure raised money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution ( RNLI), the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, and her own MissIsle School of Sip Puff Sailing, which allows people with similar disabilities to learn to sail using the same technology.
The family, plan to remain in the Caribbean for some time, teaching local communities how to use the sip and puff system. says her daughter as her occupation