Steve answers siren’s call to sail seven seas in search of adventure

ADISABLED former soldier who lost both his legs in an explosion while on duty in Afghanistan is happily living life embarking on solo sailing adventures.

Double amputee Steve Palmer, 41, a lance-corporal in the 28 Royal Engineers, stepped on an improvised explosive device in Helmand Province in 2010.

During his rehab he tried a number of different sports including sailing with charity Toe in the Water which uses yacht racing to get injured service personnel into sport to help them adapt to life-changing injuries.

“Sailing offers a unique way of doing physical and mental care, it could be called sneaky physiotherapy,” said Mr Palmer. “I still use it in this way, but in a different focus. I certainly find sailing very freeing, while having to adapt to different situations on the water, I don’t feel I do anything overly different to a person with legs. As my boat is not adapted in any way, and this has its own challenges.”

Up to 2016 Mr Palmer had his sights set on the Paralympic Games in three-person sailing and then coached sailing on the Isle of Wight. He decided to return to education, studying a foundation degree in yacht operations at University Centre South Devon.

“I took lots away from the degree, certainly learning new skills academically and having the opportunity to engage with the wider maritime community,” he said.

Lecturer Dr Roger Hopper said: “To now see how he has gone onto solo sailing adventures is truly inspiring.”

M Palmer, who learnt to sail as a child but only started sailing full time after losing his legs, has sailed more than 10,000 nautical miles solo in the last year in his Moody 31 yacht Neruni. He started by sailing around Britain, across to Iceland, then across the North Atlantic to Canada. Crossing the Atlantic took 17 days.

“Most people I have met say I came the wrong way across, ie into the prevailing winds and currents. I believe that was part of the adventure. While I did encounter some rough weather, Neruni is a solid boat and more than up to the task. Again going the ‘wrong way’ around Newfoundland

to run away from hurricanes, the east coast of the United States seemed the practical solution to get away from the Canadian winter.”

Mr Palmer says sailing solo has its own challenges but it hasn’t held him back.

“I have visited and seen some fantastic places and sights, being in the Arctic Circle, Orcas swimming behind the boat and hearing them talk, witnessing the pure power of the wind while hurricanes and force 12 storms passed overhead.

“It can be lonely at times, I catch myself talking to nobody or a pod of dolphins, which isn’t crazy at all. I plan to keep going and enjoying the experience and adventure.”

⟫Double amputee Steve Palmer aboard his yacht