Hilary Lister has died at the age of 46. She was a quadriplegic from Kent, England who found escape and freedom in solo sailing. In doing so, she set many sailing records and serves as an inspiration to us all.

Lister was able-bodied until she was 15, when she was struck down by a degenerative disease, reflex sympathetic dystrophy. By the age of 19, she had lost the use of her legs and by 27 was a quadriplegic. In addition to paralysis, she was left in near constant pain. Lost in the tedium and pain of paralysis, she considered suicide. Then she discovered sailing. 

From her New York Times obituary:  “I had been a very active person as a child,” she told The Sunday Telegraph of London in 2008. “I did sport. I played the clarinet. I went to Oxford University and studied biochemistry, and yet at that point I not only couldn’t do anything, but I was also in terrible pain. It’s so dull sitting here. I just couldn’t see the point in continuing, really.”

Then a friend persuaded Ms. Lister to come sailing, and she found a reason to live.

“I was out in the middle of the lake and I had the sensation of movement,” she said. “It was as if I was free.”

In 2005, only two years after she began sailing, Lister became the first quadriplegic to sail solo across the English Channel (in 6 hours and 13 minutes). In 2007, she became the first female quadriplegic to sail solo around the Isle of Wight (in 11 hours 4 minutes). In 2009, after three attempts, Lister was the first disabled woman to sail solo around Britain. Lister sailed across the Arabian Sea in 2014, this time with a crew. She sailed until about a year and a half ago, when her illness made it impossible to continue.

She controlled her sailboats by using “puff and sip” technology, similar to that used by paraplegics to control their wheelchairs. By blowing or sucking on straws connected to pneumatic sensors linked to electronic motors, she could control the steering and the sails. A puff on one straw would turn the tiller to port while sucking air would turn to starboard. Likewise, puffing or sucking could ease or trim sheets to control the sails. 

She said that when she was on the water it was the only time when she was in control, able to change direction and speed on her own. She noted that some called her a “cyborg” in that she and the boat effectively became one unit. Lister described sailing as the closest thing she had experienced to flying.

Again, from the New York Time obituary: Ms. Lister told The Telegraph in 2009 that the best way for her to endure her illness was to “live every second of every day to its maximum potential,” but also to accept the inevitable.

“Always look ahead, always assume you will live forever,” she continued, “and if you don’t, you don’t.”

Meet Hillary Lister

Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.