OC Technology

Geoff Holt onboard the 60ft catamaran Impossible Dream
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On the 10th December 2009, quadriplegic yachtsman Geoff Holt has set sail in on a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. He has taken with him 2 OC Tracker units, one OC Tracker unit is mounted on the boat and reporting every hour, the other OC Tracker is stored in the emergency grab bag.

43 year-old Geoff Holt is an English sailor from Portsmouth, now based in Southampton, Hampshire. His sailing career was cut short in 1984 by a life changing accident which left him paralysed from the chest down. Diving into shallow water broke his neck causing a complete spinal cord injury and he has used a wheelchair ever since. More than 20 years after his accident, Geoff became the first disabled person to sail single-handed around Great Britain in an expedition he called Personal Everest.

In December 2007 he was named BBC South Sports Personality of the Year.

In December 2009 he set out to cross the Atlantic Ocean on the yacht the Impossible Dream, a 60ft, purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible catamaran, aiming to become the first quadriplegic to do so

Impossible Dream was manufactured by Multimarine near Plymouth in the UK, she is a custom-built design with push-button technology allowing Geoff to navigate and sail the boat using his sailing skills and experience, without relying on his physical ability. She has already crossed the Atlantic twice. The catamaran has a "racetrack" running around the perimeter to accommodate a wheelchair, hydraulic systems to control the sails and lifts to give access to the cabins and dockside. In addition, the wheelchair locks on to a small chassis mounted on a track so it can move across the cockpit but can still be controlled in bad weather.

The OC Technology Team is very proud to be part of Geoff's adventure and wishes him all the best !