Hilary Lister has successfully completed her incredible feat of sailing solo around the British Isles in her Artemis 20 – sailed using a ‘sip and puff’ system. In the same yacht that saw her successfully circumnavigate the Isle of Wight in 2007, Hilary has sailed around the British and Irish coast in legs of between 30 to 50 nautical miles.

The voyage commenced in 2008 when Hilary and the team sailed from Dover to Newlyn, but she was unable to complete the project in 2008 after bad weather and technical issues hampered her progress. It was a tough decision to take, but she decided to postpone the project and complete the journey in 2009.

On 21 May 2009, Hilary and her team set sail from Plymouth and, after 2 legs, returned to Newlyn to pick up from where she had left off in 2008. Three months later she has returned to her starting point in Dover to celebrate a momentous achievement.

“I love the Artemis 20, she is a fantastic boat to sail that has looked after me so well, seeing me through everything from force 0 to force 6 and gusting 40 knots,” explained Hilary. “The important thing is that she is a great looking boat that people want to sail, whether they are professionals, amateurs, have never sailed or go on the water every day, and that is very important for disabled people. Everybody is very excited about the prospect of what the Artemis 20 can do and I hope I have shown some of that potential.”

The Artemis 20 was designed by Simon Rogers and built to be accessible to all. By making a few small adjustments to the control mechanism, the boat can be sailed by people with a wide range of disabilities making it an ideal platform for both the able bodied and disabled sailor to compete on a level playing field.

To read more, visit www.hilarylister.com .