"Thank You For Welcome" As Miss Isle Prepares For Final West Country Leg 

Natasha Lambert set for penultimate sail from Padstow to Bideford

“We couldn’t have had a warmer West Country welcome.” That is the view of Amanda Lambert, mum of 'Sip and Puff’ sailor Natasha as 'Miss Isle' prepares to tackle the final South West coastal leg of her Sea and Summit Challenge from Padstow to Bideford.

The 17-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and controls her boat by breathing through a straw in a specially-engineered bicycle helmet designed by her dad Gary, has visited no fewer than eight ports in Devon and Cornwall over the past two weeks as she continues her month-long sailing and climbing challenge.

Meanwhile, the hospitality they have received at the various hotels and campsites they have stayed in across the region has gone a long way to ensuring Natasha has been as prepared as she possibly could be for the many varied sailing challenges she faced on each leg.

Exmouth, Dartmouth, Salcombe, Plymouth, Fowey, Falmouth, Newlyn and Padstow - where Natasha has been resting since rounding Land’s End on the longest leg of the challenge last Thursday (7 August) - have all played host to the Miss Isle support team before Natasha heads to Bideford from where she will then set off on the final stage of the 12-leg sailing challenge across the Bristol Channel to Swansea.  

Wherever the team has travelled around the West Country, they have been welcomed ashore by RNLI volunteers, sailors from numerous Sailability groups not to mention the hundreds of well-wishers who have simply heard about Natasha’s quest and want to offer their support and encouragement. 

Amanda said: “The welcome’s been fantastic, we’ve met some lovely people and everyone’s been so helpful. It’s been great to be able to get to know a few people and everyone’s been so supportive of what Tash has been doing. 

“One stop especially stands out in Newlyn, when we were camping by the football pitch at Mousehole AFC. There was one gentleman there, Les the Legend, who was amazing and couldn’t have done enough for us, and the RNLI guys have been fantastic too, we’ve really appreciated the cups of tea after sailing!

“Every day is a new challenge; it’s not just about the sailing, it’s finding accommodation or places to park the motor homes as we have to make sure the facilities are suitable for Natasha and if not, deal with the challenges of making do. Leaving Cowes feels like a lifetime ago, we’ve visited so many places since then, but it’s been an incredible experience for all of us so far."   

Phil Devereux, Natasha’s coach, added: “The people that we’ve met have made the trip so much more of an adventure. There’s been people just coming up on the streets, handing over money saying they love what she’s doing in all sorts of places. It’s all helped to motivate us and inspire us along."

One of the unsung heroes of Natasha’s support team is her eight-year-old sister, Rachel, who has spent the entire challenge travelling with her family, including spending many hours enjoying being alongside her big sister on the water in the team’s support/safety RIB.

Rachel admits she wouldn’t rather be spending her summer holiday doing anything else.

She said: “My best bit so far is seeing a pod of dolphins going round Land’s End and we’ve also seen a seal. I have fallen asleep a few times! But I enjoy it because I like watching Natasha sailing and it looks really fun. 

"I think what she’s achieved so far is incredible and she’s enjoying it. It’s definitely been a brilliant summer, I’ll be the only person in my class who will have done anything like this in my holidays!"  

Sea and Summit is Natasha’s biggest challenge yet, sailing her specially-designed 21ft yacht, Miss Isle Too, single-handed around the South West coast of England to Wales before she swaps her boat for her special walking aid, called a Hart Walker, to climb Pen y Fan, the highest peak in Southern Britain. 

In total she will sail around 430 miles and climb 2,907ft. Last year she sailed across the English Channel, and in 2012, the 50-miles around the Isle of Wight.

Through the Sea and Summit challenge Natasha is raising money for the RNLI, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and the RYA Foundation, as well as the profile of sailing for people with disabilities. She has a target of £15,000 to raise by the end of her challenge. 

Sailing has been Natasha’s big love since she first went on holiday with the Calvert Trust aged nine. She then started sailing at home and spent two years sailing with the Even Keel Project and her local RYA Sailability. RYA Sailability is the national programme providing people with disabilities opportunities to learn to sail and sail regularly. 

How can I support Miss Isle?

Whether you want to send Natasha messages of support or would like to donate to her fundraising there are a number of ways to get involved:

Website: www.missisle.com
Fundraising: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/missisle
Facebook: Miss Isle Community
Twitter: @miss_isle