This morning over breakfast in a hotel lobby, I found myself overhearing a bizarre exchange between 2 men, and I was one of those being discussed.

 The conversation related to the BBC’s “The One Show” last night. There was a piece on sailing which concluded with Matthew Pincent interviewing quadriplegic Hilary Lister.  Hilary is attempting to repeat my circumnavigation and sail around GB.  She tried last year but was defeated by bad weather and kit problems. The piece on TV, although stating she hoped to be the first female quadriplegic to complete the voyage, it made no reference to my trip in 2007.  “So what?” you might say.  Well, for no other reason, by ignoring what has gone before, it is an insult to all of those who made it happen; sponsors, crew, friends and family.  There is also a danger that history gets re-written and, with the journalists always keen for stories of “the first”, they are allowing themselves to overlook the facts.

 But then I hear this guy in the hotel say to his colleague, “I’m sure some guy already did that last year”.  To which his friend replies, “it’s not the same, that guy could move his arms”.

 “Move his arms!!!”  They were referring to me. I was dumbstruck.  These two, fit, healthy guys, discussing the merits of two quadriplegics, and just because I have 25% arm mobility (0% hand mobility), that somehow made my achievement less “newsworthy”.

 And then it kind of dawned on me that people have no real comprehension of quadriplegia.  Quadra means 4 in Latin.  It is when all 4 limbs are effected.  I broke my neck at the 5^th cervical verbrae, and it paralysed my triceps and all my wrist, hand and finger movement is non-existent. All the movement I have above my chest is a severely reduced bicep function and no feeling at all in my arms and clawed hands.  But because I have adapted a trick movement which allows me to move my paralysed arms around, it has, in the minds of some, made me “less disabled”.  

I know Hilary well, we are friends.  Like me, she hates being referred to as courageous or brave.  We are just getting on with our lives the best we can in difficult circumstances.  Even though I can just about “move my arms”, like Hilary, I can not get out of my chair unaided, I can not get onto a bed unaided or go to the loo unaided; being a quadriplegic is bloody tough and it makes you reliant on others to exist – it is that which I hate the most and, I would guess, so too would Hilary.

 Yes I am lucky, having a bit of arm movement does allow me to steer my own wheelchair and to put food in my own mouth, but it is not without pain and discomfort to do so.  Unfortunately for me it would appear that little bit of movement makes my story less impressive – 109 days away, visiting 51 destinations and sailing 1,500 miles (all without self-steering and using my teeth and limp arms to pull ropes.

 So when I hear people who don’t know the true meaning of quadriplegia suggesting that someone who can move their arms is “less disabled” than someone who can’t, I do get quite upset.  This isn’t a case of “she’s more disabled than you”, it’s about recognising the strength of the human spirit which drives us, not the strength of our limbs.

 In case you are wondering, no, I didn’t introduce myself to the men, I was too saddened by what I heard.

Click here for the BBC interview.

Me with Sarah and Ellen

(Sarah's boat in background)

If you are joining me for the first time, then you may be one of the many who saw me on the BBC today.  Roger Johnson has just left my house having filmed his piece for tonight's programme much to my wife's embarrassment as she is having her highlights done and had to bid him farewell with a skull cap pulled over her head and the smell of peroxide in the air.  Oh, the pleasures of being female.

Web traffic on the site has been building steadily in recent weeks and it is thanks to all of the publicity which has been generated in the press.  We had a whole page in the Portsmouth News last week and I have done interviews for forward publication in a variety of magazine and journals including Yachting Monthly, Beautiful Britain and the RNLI magazine to name but a few, so watch out for them.

All the publicity helps to raise the profile of the project which should, hopefully, attract a sponsor.  We have had several good leads with potential sponsors but the dreaded "credit crunch" has been a considerable factor for those considering sponsorship. I remain, as ever, optimistic, and the challenge will happen regardless of whether we find a sponsor, but it is such a wonderful opportunity, it would be a shame for a company to miss out on the journey.

Talking of journeys, my friend Sarah Outen has set out, for a second time, on her attempt to row the Indian Ocean.  If you have not done so already, I really would encourage you to visit Sarah's website www.sarahouten.co.uk and read her blogs and view her tracker.  Crikey, I thought I had a difficult task ahead of me, but it is nothing compared to what lies ahead for Sarah.

If you haven't already registered to receive updates on this site, then please do so, it's very easy, we only ask for your name and email address.  And if you haven't explored the rest of my world, why not visit www.geoffholt.com where you will find a vast collection of information.

Phil at the wheel of Liberty

You may have seen Major Phil Packer on the national news or in the papers recently. Phil was injured in Iraq last year and, following his rehab, has devoted much of his time to raising £1 million for the Help 4 Heroes charity by undertaking as many and as varied sporting challenges as he can.  When I heard of Phil, I contacted him and suggested he might like to come out for a blast in my powerboat. After a week of balmy warm weather with light breezes, yesterday it all changed and decided to blow a NW force 6.  Once in the lee of the land, we managed to open her up off Calshot Spit hitting 30 mph but coming back was a bumpy and rather wet affair.  So we went to the upper reaches of the Hamble where the sea state was much calmer. For more details on Phil and his magnificent efforts, visit www.philpacker.com  Fortunately, he's recovered some motor movement in his legs so he's planning to do the London marathon next month.  At 2 miles a day, it's going to take him a while.  Any potential sponsors, contact him through his website.

After 10 days at sea, my friend Sarah Outen www.sarahouten.co.uk effectively rowed a huge circle and is now back where she started from in Freemantle Australia.  Calling it her "warm up lap" and not in the least bit downhearted, Sarah is hoping to head off again soon on her attempt to row the Indian Ocean. A magnificent challenge if ever there was one.

Registrations on this website are going really well.  Since the launch last week, we already have more than 100 members so thank you all.  In the next few days we hope to have an automated notification system set up so you will get an email each time my Blog is updated. If you haven't already registered, then please do so. It's free and takes less than a minute.

Tim & me at Twickenham yesterday

England 34 - France 10

Spent a great day at Twickenham yesterday watching England beat France 34-10.  I won't gloat. It's not as though it was on the cards. It was Tim's first visit to Twickenham and first time watching England. He was pretty starstruck, and we had front-row seats.  He proudly wore his own team shirt, No. 10, for Fareham Heathens where he plays in the under 7's.  Talk about opposite ends of the rugby spectrum.

Saturday night, Elaine & I were entertained by the RNLI who kindly invited us to the magnificent Lifeboat College in Poole for dinner.  Paul Atterbury, the chap from the Antiques Roadshow was guest speaker and we were treated to a fascinating insight into the making of the programme. He also spoke about Poole Pottery which is right on their doorstep.

So, how are things progressing with the Atlantic campaign?  Pretty good I must say.  You'll know that the websites are now up and running.  A complement of 4 delivery crew are flying out to Malta on the 26th April to sail Impossible Dream back to the UK where she will undergo some work to make her ready for the sail later in the year.

As I write, I have my potential carer staying out my house at this very moment.  I have had a tremendous response to my search for my personal carer to accompany me on the voyage and it has not been an easy task to find the right person.  First and foremost, it was essential that the person was qualified in the care of someone with a Spinal Cord Injury.  I require some quite specific help in order to live each day so that was the main criteria.  Second, was that they have no experience in sailing / yachting. Well, after several interviews, I'm fairly certain that I have found what I'm looking for.  I'm afraid that I can not reveal their identity yet, there is still much to discuss and for both parties to satisfy themselves it is what we want, but I'm quietly optimistic - more details to follow soon.

The search for a primary sponsor continues but I remain optimistic, we are certainly generating a lot of interest around the world and there's a main feature due shortly on the Rotary International website.

I must quickly mention my friend Sarah Outen. You may recall that Sarah was one of my Personal Everest crew and has plans to row single-handed across the Indian Ocean.  Well, she left Perth on Friday for Mauritus and is already 70 miles into her 100+ day adventure. You really should visit her site www.sarahouten.co.uk and join her email list. She is one of life's happiest and joyous characters.

And on that note, Timothy has just come in with a cut and grazed knee.  First day in shorts for 6 months and this is the result.  At least no tears. Unlike the French yesterday. Allez les blancs...

Another year older!!!  Elaine, Tim and me at the local Chinese restaurant celebrating my 21st birthday last week.

Well, time is slipping away fast and we are now into March with less than 9 months to go to the start of my Atlantic bid.  I'm at the same stage I was with Personal Everest, if you've read the book, you'll know what I mean.  It's that calm before the storm. I must have a dozen or more balls in the air and I predict they are all going to come down all at once in the next few weeks.  We are still looking for a Title Sponsor so if you can think of anyone, let me know. The success of Personal Everest was all the more amazing considering the weather that year. And now I face another, equally challenging set of circumstances. But this time it's not the weather, it's the economic climate. Jeez, what a tough time to be finding money.

On the positive side, my 2 web sites are now live. www.geoffholt.com and www.personalatlantic.com, both the products of my good friend and clever IT whizz Richard who has endured my fanatical attention to detail to get the right end-product and he's worked some amazing technical wizardry on www.geoffholt.com. Please do register your details on www.personalatlantic.com so we can keep you updated with all of the latest news.

I have also had some meetings with OC Technology about fitting cameras to the boat to capture footage on the voyage itself.  OC Group is one of Dame Ellen's company's and in the next few weeks we've got some exciting news about supporting her charity, the Ellen Macarthur Trust. Please donate to this very worthy cause using the widget on the left.

In another exciting development, I have now shortlisted a couple of potential crew members.  They will both be coming to spend a few days with us at home so they can assess if they will be able to tolerate living with me on the boat for a month - Elaine will no doubt give them some useful tips.

Preparations are also now under way to bring Impossible Dream back from Malta in April.

The talks continue and I'm delighted to have been asked to be guest speaker with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston at Trinity House later this week at the launch of Clipper Venture's new events calendar. What an honour that is for me.

I must quickly tell you that I managed to go fishing at the weekend, the first opportunity in weeks. Friends and family know that I love my sea fishing and there's not much I like more than bobbing around in the Solent, rod in my hand, flask of chicken noodle soup in the other, just watching the world go by. And for the first time in months I caught one, only a Whiting, too small to keep so we put him back.What a great day.

Another day, another hotel, another speaking engagement.  Thursday night saw me in Bourne, Lincolnshire talking to local residents as guest speaker in the Len Pick Trust lecture.  Len Pick was a prominent local farmer who died several years ago and, in his memory, each year, their is a memorial lecture for the local residents funded by his Trust. It was a sell-out with more than 200 people which made for a great evening.  Friends from Rutland Sailability also turned out, as did my ex-crew member Sarah Outen who, in little over a month, sets off from Australia in her 16ft rowing boat to become the first woman to row the Indian Ocean. More info here.

Yesterday I drove direct from Lincolnshire to Bristol where I am now, preparing for a talk to the Westerley Owners Association who are holding their AGM here today in little over an hour with about 150 guests attending. 

Being in Bristol gave me an opportunity to do something I should have done years ago.  If you have read my book, you will recall the generosity of British Caledonian Airways and a medical repatriation company called Wings, without whom, I would not have been repatriated to the UK after my accident 25 years ago.  Well, Wings is based here in Bristol so I took the opportunity to meet with Roy Harrill who set up the company Wings and it was he who flew out to Puerto Rico in 1984 to bring me home.  The last time we saw each other, he was handing over responsibility for my care to the Spinal Unit in Salisbury on the heli-pad at Odstock hospital, that was 25 years ago.  So it was quite emotional to see him again yesterday and we spent a busy hour catching up on my life since then.  It was strange to hear that his first memories of seeing me in hospital in Puerto Rico were the same as my vidid recollection - that of the blood stained pillow supporting my head bequeathed to me by the mother of a young man who had died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head hours earlier. It was the only means I had of resting my head which, despite having broken my neck days earlier, was left unsupported without even a collar. Horrific memories.

On a brighter note, I see that Michel Desjoyeux is about to win the Vendee Globe.  30 boats started last year, only about 12 are left, including my friend Dee Caffari who is currently at the equator.  When she finishes, she will have become the only woman to have sailed single-handed around the world in both directions.  WOW.  She's a great lady, a true inspiration.  I wish I was there to see them all safely home, it's going to be very emotional,

Right, back to work, I have an audience waiting for me.

Welcome to what (hopefully) will become a regular part of your enjoyment of this site, my blog. In the coming months, this site will be growing and developing as the Personal Atlantic project itself develops, culminating in the daily blogs I will be posting during the event itself - we aim to leave the Canaries early December but there is much to do before then and time is disappearing fast; can you believe Christmas was a month ago already. 

Why not subscribe to my RSS feed so you can keep udated with my news when it happens.

In a strange way, I find myself in exactly the same situation I was before Personal Everest. The plan is in place, most of the component parts are ready to fit into place, but we are in that period of limbo, the calm before the storm.  It's as though I have dozens of balls in the air, waiting for them to come crashing down all at once. For example, when will I appoint a carer? Who will become my primary sponsor? All major nuts to crack but I've every confidence I will.  The boat is not due back from Malta until May so we can not start to make any modifications to her until then.  Nor can we start spending money until we find a sponsor.  Yet still we must plan for the eventuality; arrange berthing for the boat when she's back, arrange delivery crew to get her back, arrange the PR plan, plan for the voyage itself.  You get the picture.

This is only my first blog on the new site so I'll keep it short but I thought you might like to see a picture of me in the Canary Islands a few weeks ago practising for the start of my trip from Gran Canaria. In case you are wondering, I'm actually sitting in the back of the thing - no miraculous leg peddling ability I'm afraid.