Members of Cowes RNLI lifeboat welcomed quadriplegic cerebral palsy sufferer, Natasha Lambert, to the station’s boathouse, to celebrate her extraordinary fundraising crossing of the Atlantic.
Natasha, 24, embarked on the challenge in November last year, accompanied by her mother, father, sister and four others.
The 3,000-mile crossing from Gran Canaria to St Lucia on the specially adapted catamaran, Blown Away, has led to three charities – the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, the Missisle School of Sip Puff Sailing, and Cowes RNLI – each receiving £3,342.33.
When Natasha was on watch the boat’s controls were switched to an ingenious sip puff technology (designed by her father, Gary), allowing Natasha to both steer the boat and trim and sails.
The voyage took 18 days and 22 hours to complete, during which the crew encountered challenging seas.
Cowes station’s operations manager, Mark Southwell, said:
“What Natasha achieved was well outside many people’s comfort zone.
We are honoured to be the beneficiary for the third time of her wonderful maritime exploits – the previous ones having paid for the station’s kitchen and the extra-large TV screen for training purposes.”