On June 2, Jazz Turner set sail from Brighton, UK, to attempt to become the first disabled person to complete a solo, non-stop, and unassisted 2,070 mile (3,331km) circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland in a sail boat. 

Turner, a 26-year-old, engineer from Seaford, lives with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a debilitating genetic condition that affects connective tissue. She was diagnosed with the illness when she was 18, which causes fainting and seizures.  A full-time wheelchair user, doctors have told her that her condition is now terminal, due to complications.

Turner is sailing an Albin Vega 27-foot yacht named FEAR which stands for “Face Everything and Rise.” She is currently sailing north-west of Cape Wrath, Scotland, the most north-westerly point in Great Britain. 

“I’ve accepted the idea of dying and I know it is imminent”, she says confidently. “I don’t want to die in a hospice; instead I’ve chosen to sail and chase my dreams”. She says the voyage is “about showing anything is possible. With a bit of imagination and a lot of hard work, there’s no limit to what we are capable of.”

Through her Project Fear, Turner had hoped to raise £30,000 for Sailability, a charity which makes sailing possible for the disabled.  She has now raised her target to £50,000.

Writing on Instagram, she said: “When I set my target it seemed impossible. We have not only achieved it, we have smashed it. There aren’t enough words to say thank you. The impact this will have on others is incredible.”

The money will be used to buy two adapted boats for the charity.

Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.