A wonderful story reported by the BBC. Craig Wood, a British Army veteran who lost both his legs and his left arm while serving in Afghanistan set sail late last month in an attempt to become the first triple amputee to sail solo across the Pacific.
Rifleman Wood lost both his legs and an arm when he was blown up by a roadside bomb while serving in Sangin, southern Afghanistan, in 2009. He was just 18 and only three months into his first tour.
Mr Wood, now 33, hopes to sail 6,000 nautical miles (11,112km) solo and unsupported in 80 days, from Puerto Vallarta in Mexico to Yokohama, Japan, and is expected to finish in early May. After 14 days at sea, he has sailed so far over 1,500 nautical miles.
His custom-built 41ft (12m) aluminium catamaran, Sirius II, had been specially adapted to ensure he ccan continue using it, should anything happen with his prosthetic limbs.
“We have fully adapted my catamaran for the voyage so that even if I have an issue with my prosthetic arm, I can still sail one-handed,” he said.
“That’s not just adding in rails and electric winches, but also reconfiguring the galley to make sure everything is at an accessible height.”
Following the explosion in Afghanistan in 2009, Mr Wood lost 27 pints of blood and both his lungs collapsed.
He was later taken to the Headley Court facility in Surrey for rehabilitation, spending eight months learning to walk again and undergoing more than 20 operations over four years.
“At points it almost got the best of me, but my family were amazing, and I couldn’t change my situation – so I came to terms with it and decided to be the best triple amputee I could be,” he said.
Mr Wood said his voyage across the Pacific would be a chance to raise awareness and money for “the two amazing charities that were there for me during my rehabilitation and recovery”.
He said he aimed to raise £50,000 for the British Limbless Ex-Service Men’s Association and Turn to Starboard, a charity using sailing courses to support current and retired armed forces personnel.
2025 Pacific Solo Sail Launch Video
Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.
How poignant. I am going to the funeral today of Andy Cassell, a man born without legs that became a Gold Medal Paralympian in the first sailing event in the 1996 Los Angelos Paralympics after he fought for the sport’s inclusion. In previous years he had been sailing full bodied Olympic dinghies but his backer ran ouf of money. In the same year he founded the Andy Cassell Foundation which purchased a fleet of Sonar keelboats which have been used to introduce thousands of disabled people to sailing. The Foundation is still active 29 years later.
I sailed thousands of miles with Andy including a Fastnet Race in 1983 but that paled into insignificance when you realise he had sailed a J30 in the fatal 1979 Fastnet storm to a safe port in Eire.
I am certain he would have known and inspired Craig, two remarkable people.