- Born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy, Natasha defied doctors’ predictions and discovered her love of sailing at nine
- Her dad invented a sip-and-puff system that allowed her to steer a boat using her breath, helping her become the first person to sail across the Atlantic using the technology
- After losing her mum, Mandy, to cancer, Natasha and her family are preparing to cross the Atlantic again in November to honour her memory
Here Gary Lambert, 66, tells his story in his own words
As the wind whipped against our faces, I felt alive. My wife, Mandy, then 45, and I were with our toddler Rachel in a safety boat, while we watched our eldest, Natasha, 11.
She was sailing across the Solent, a 32-km strait that separates the Isle of Wight from Britain’s mainland, in a 20-foot boat with her instructor.
‘That was impressive!’ she said, reaching the mainland.
It truly was, and not just because Tash was so young.
Our girl, who was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy, was steering the vessel using a sip-and-puff system, which involved her breathing into a straw attached to a specialised helmet that sent signals to control the steering wheel and rudders.
Inhaling into the straw turned the vessel right, while exhaling swerved it to the left.
Despite doctors warning us Tash would never walk or talk after she suffered a lack of oxygen to her brain during birth, our daughter had always proven them wrong.
Defying the odds, Tash was verbal since about one, and, despite using a wheelchair most of the time, she took her first wobbly steps aged three with a walking frame.
‘Well done!’ we cheered.
When Tash was nine, we were overjoyed to welcome her baby sister, Rachel, in November 2006.
The following year, we took Tash to an activity centre for people with disabilities.
There, she dabbled in archery, abseiling and horseriding, that were adapted for her abilities.
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But what really caught her fancy was sailing. She loved being on the water.
‘I want to be the captain,’ she told us afterwards.
We’d never been into sailing as a family, but we got to work, brainstorming how to make Tash’s dream come true.
Conjuring up some ideas, I thought about sip-puff sailing – a technology that would allow Tash to control sailboats using a special breathing apparatus.
Though she had limited control in her arms and legs, Tash can control her breath and drink with a straw.
So using my skills as an electrician, I taught myself to code, and created a system that relied on inhaling and exhaling through a tube attached to a helmet, which transmitted signals to controls on a remote-control boat.
Once she got the hang of that, I was confident I could apply the same technology to a real sailing boat.
Buying a second-hand 20-foot (6m) sailboat with our savings, I spent six months fitting it out with the special technology.
Then, when Tash was 11, it was time for her maiden voyage.
Although we were nervous, we had a back-up system to manually steer the boat in case the sip-and-puff system broke, or if Tash ran out of steam.
Using steady breaths, Tash sailed across the Solent with her instructor.
And, using a tongue-operated LED light beam switch, she was able to control the sails.
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It was a joy to see our girl’s dream come true.
‘I want to go further,’ she beamed afterwards.
Soon after, aged 12, Tash did her first solo sail, with us in another boat alongside her, in case anything happened.
The following year, Tash sailed around the Isle of Wight all by herself, raising about $32k for various charities. Incredibly, she sailed the 94 kilometre circumference in 13 hours.
Over the next few years, Tash took the helm, as we sailed to Wales and around Scotland, and across the English Channel into French waters.
Then in 2020, we embarked on our biggest challenge yet – crossing the Atlantic.
Acquiring a 46-foot (14m) catamaran, we named her Blown Away.
Tash, then 23, was our wonderful captain.
Mandy’s role was preparing food, Rachel, then 14, was an all-rounder and helped wherever she was needed.
And I was Mr Fix-It, tending to the generator and general sailing maintenance.
Midway through our journey, we had a terrifying experience when we entered a cluster of electric storms, with rain, severe winds and gigantic waves.
We turned off all our electronics – including Tash’s system – in case we were struck by lightning.
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I steered the wheel manually following the compass, while Tash was on watch.
Incredibly, after navigating the 5000km in 18 days, Tash became the first person to sail the Atlantic using the sip-puff system.
Mandy and I were so proud.
‘Now let’s do the Pacific,’ Tash smiled, setting her sights on her next challenge.
We spent the next six months in the Caribbean, making memories together as a family.
Tragically, in February this year we lost my beloved wife to cancer, aged 60.
We were all devastated, but we remind ourselves of Mandy’s wish – ‘keep living’.
So to honour her, we are sailing across the Atlantic again in November, to raise thousands for a mix of charities, one of those being a cancer foundation.
With Tash at the helm, life is one big adventure.
