Natasha’s powerful dream gets boost
Dorset based company Fischer Panda are helping young disabled sailor Natasha Lambert by literally powering her dreams.
The company has donated a generator that has been installed on the 46ft Catamaran that is currently being adapted for Natasha by Wight Shipyard to sail across the Atlantic Ocean later this year. The generator will power the electrics, water maker, electric winches etc during the crossing and make ‘bluewater sailing’ a reality.
Natasha has taken on many challenges in the past, but this will be her biggest challenge yet. The start date for the sail is 24 November, setting sail from the Canaries to St Lucia in the Caribbean. The crossing will take Natasha and her team around three weeks.
Natasha, 21, has quadriplegic athetoid cerebral palsy and sails using breath control, a specially adapted system developed by her father using open source software. The sip-puff system utilises a single straw that enables Natasha to control both the steering (helm) and the sails. She will be the first person to sail across the Atlantic by sip-puff, and the boat ‘Blown Away’ will be the largest boat to be converted to breath control.
Natasha and her support team are incredible grateful to Fischer Panda for the donation of the generator, and supply of the water maker, heating and AC system.
Natasha said: “Thank you so much for your help to make my dream of sailing an ocean possible. I cannot wait to sail across the Atlantic!”
Gary Lambert added: “This is a huge project for us to take on, the cost of which is phenomenal so to receive this major piece of equipment such as this is a real boost.”
Natasha is raising awareness of disabled sailing, and just what is possible with teamwork. Natasha will be fundraising for three waterbased charities: RNLI, The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and the MissIsle School of Sip-puff Sailing.
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