Inventure 2000
Davin and I met up met up with Trevor
in Plymouth, England. Trevor is a former helicopter pilot with
the British Navy. He became a quadriplegic as a result of a skiing
accident. An avid sailor before his accident, Trevor wanted a
way to continue sailing. To that end, he designed a wheelchair
accessible sailboat he named the Inventure, a 60 foot yacht that
uses an airfoil wing propulsion system.
You can learn more about Trevor
and the Inventure at http://www.nextchallenge.co.uk/
We went on a few sea trials with Trevor as he tested various controls
on the Inventure. The system is very complex and requires further
attention. It is never easy being the first at something.
That's Trevor at the helm, his mum
on the stern
.
That's Michal and me amidships,
below.
My brother, Mike, built some sea-legs
for me. Those gray bars that stick out keep the chair from flipping
over backwards.
When my sea-legs are not in use,
they flip up out of the way, allowing me to lean back against
the cabin.
Notice, in the picture below, the
switch to the left of the hatch. Trevor can operate that switch
to open or close the hatch. That's Dave in the hatch, checking
out the airfoils.
Between sea trials, Davin and I had fun
with Trevor's crew/friends. On the left, Louise is holding up
a cup of hot tea for me as I relaxed, leaning back against the
Inventure cabin, watching the fireworks. There were 2 nights of
fireworks competition at the Plymouth Yacht Haven/ Mount Batten
boat yard.
Below - Davin on the left, myself,
then Wendy on the right.
That's Nova on the left, myself, and Wendy
on the right. Boats are babe magnets. So are puppies and little
kids. One day I'll get a boat, a puppy and a babe.
On the piture below, you can see
the wheelchair lift on the port (that's 'left' to you landlubbers)
side of the ship.
