Video: Sailor who steers by breath plans Atlantic crossing for charity

Multi-award-winning disabled sailor and adventurer Natasha Lambert will helm the 46ft catamaran Blown Away with her breath when she leaves Las Palmas on Sunday 8 November for her second Atlantic crossing.

Lambert has quadriplegic athetoid cerebral palsy, which affects her speech and muscle control. She controls her 46ft catamaran, Blown Away, entirely using her mouth via an adaptive breath-and-tongue system designed by her father, Gary. Inhaling steers the boat to starboard; puffing (exhaling) steers to port. Flicks of her tongue on a light-beam switch inside her helmet trim the sails.

Family sailing in memory of mother

Gary and Lambert’s sister Rachel will be on board. The family hopes to raise £30,000 for three charities as they sail to Grenada in memory of the sisters’ mother, Amanda.

The family had originally planned to leave in November 2025 but postponed the voyage after Amanda was diagnosed with cancer. Before her death in February 2026, she asked Gary and their daughters to keep sailing so that others could see what was possible. This will be Lambert’s first expedition since then.

Lambert first tried sailing as a child at Calvert Lakes, beside Bassenthwaite Lake in Cumbria. That visit gave Gary the idea for the sip-and-puff system his daughter now uses to steer Blown Away by breathing in or out.

The Lake District Calvert Trust, which runs the centre, will receive a share of the money raised. It offers accessible activity holidays for disabled people and welcomes families, carers and school groups. The family is also raising funds for RNLI lifeboat crews and the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, which takes young people sailing during and after treatment.

From Gran Canaria, Natasha and her crew of six will sail some 850 nautical miles to the Cape Verdean island of São Vicente. They plan to spend time ashore and stock up there before the longer leg to Grenada, a further 2,150 nautical miles. The family expects to spend about three weeks at sea over the 3,000-nautical-mile voyage.

In 2020, Lambert completed a 5,000km journey across the Atlantic, as part of a five-person crew. She finished the crossing from Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia in 18 days, 21 hours, 39 minutes and eight seconds, using her breath and tongue to control the boat.

Lambert received a British Empire Medal in 2015 and has also won a Pride of Sport award for her fundraising and achievements in sailing.

To donate, visit Lambert’s Atlantic Challenge 2026 page on JustGiving.