The past month has been the busiest of the year travelling the country to attend conferences, deliver inspirational talks and work with a variety of charities.  It’s exhausting but I wouldn’t have it any other way, I love talking to people and preaching the gospel of getting afloat.

A month ago I was delivering a keynote address to the Scottish Sport Development conference in Aviemore. Three hundred delegates but sadly not one representing sailing or any watersports. It was tough, but I think I converted a few of our Celtic cousins from caber tossing to the delights of sailing.

Aviemore was beautiful but next time I’ll think twice about getting the overnight sleeper from Euston. On paper a 36-hour round trip to the Highlands was the perfect plan but in practice, trying to sleep in a wheelchair cabin the size of a (2nd class) postage stamp on a train is bordering on comical; it’s certainly not the Orient Express.

We arrived back in London at 0630 the following morning looking enviously at the rough sleepers with their cardboard beds and fighting back our indignation at commuters offering us their small change.

A quick wash and scrub and it was back to the London area as special guest at the tenth anniversary of Colne Valley Special Sailors in Rickmansworth.

Set inside the M25 in parkland and adjacent to the Grand Union Canal, Bury Lake offers some great sailing opportunities for their disabled sailors.

I must confess that I “wince” at the term “Special Sailors” – sorry guys, but you might want to re-think that one before the politically correct posse take you to task – it is a bit patronising.  But that aside, what a great group with no shortage of enthusiastic sailors and volunteers.

Having Waitrose as a sponsor ensured it was one of the best lunches I’ve ever eaten at a sailing club.  A day after my visit, CVSS along with Rudyard Sailability near Leeke, were named winners of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, and well deserved too.

Back on the south coast, my schedule was no less relentless. Following a private tour of the RNLI’s HQ in Poole, including the amazing bridge simulator – which made me feel seasick for the first time in 40-plus years - and a tour of the sea survival pool, capable of simulating a sea-rescue situation in strong winds and metre high waves, it was straight off to Cowes on the IOW for the Old Gaffer’s Festival.

I was there as a reporter for the BBC Radio Solent H2O Show which goes out live on a Friday night. Co-host Shelley Jory and I managed to interview just about everyone, our favourites being the French biscuit seller and the West Indian ladies selling curried goat which I demolished on the return ferry to Yarmouth much to the disgust of our producer.

The following week I was at the Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy for the Sail for Gold regatta.  As a member of the RYA’s Paralympic Steering Group, it was an opportunity to see our current Team GBR disabled sailors on the water and our future hopefuls too.

We weren’t to be disappointed. Our current Team GBR Sonar three-person crew, skippered by John Robertson claimed the gold medal and our SKUD crew, Niki Birrell and Alexandra Rickham took the silver.

All three Paralympic classes were on show and, with competitors from around the world, it was an incredibly tough competition sailed in some strong winds which tested the Olympic and Paralympic sailors equally.

Of particular note to all attendees was the number of UK SKUD entries including one skippered and helmed by the indefatigable Keith Harris using only his tongue to steer. It was quite remarkable to watch.

A few days later I was sharing the stage again with quadriplegic sailor Alexandra Rickham.  I was keynote speaker at a conference called Capture the Wave, organised by Solent University and sponsored by Active Nation.

The conference was aimed at children with learning disabilities and was themed around water-based Paralympic sports including swimming, rowing and sailing with lots of speakers clutching their gold medals.

The man with the biggest haul, three golds won at the Barcelona Paralympic games, was swimmer Peter Hull and he was joined by Andy Cassell, gold medalist in the sailing event in Atlanta in 1996.

Peter had his three medals professionally framed whilst Andy chose to bring his in his trouser pocket.

Potential Paralympic sailing medalist, SKUD sailor Alexandra Rickham was also on hand with rower Gus McKechnie to share their words of inspiration with the kids.  What a great day with just about all schools attending winning sailing experiences with Sailability, Southampton Water Activities Centre (SWAC), the UKSA and the Jubilee Sailing Trust.

Within two days I was at SWAC myself, this time as an Ambassador for Active Southampton to celebrate the launching of a new Sonar class boat by Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal.

Following a tour of their facilities on the banks of the River Itchen and meeting a number of their disabled sailors, she complimented them on their Sailability programme before pouring champagne on the bows of Active Rupert.  It never ceases to amaze me how much time and effort she devotes to disabled sailing.

Whilst munching my coco-pops one morning this week, I was particularly moved to see the results of one of my sermons bring about real practical change in a young person’s life.

A talk I gave to 800 kids at a local secondary school a few weeks ago resulted in the most heart-warming ending. One of the students, a 14-year-old called Alastair with special needs, was in the audience.

I was overwhelmed to hear that, motivated by my talk, he applied along with 200 other applicants from around the UK for one of only six berths on the STS John Laing sailing from Felixstowe to Southampton later this year.

The voyages are sponsored by MDL and I’m delighted that Alastair not only won one of the placements, but generously cited me as his inspiration.

Let me tell you, as a human being it doesn’t get much better than that to brighten up your day. And that’s what I mean when I say I’m very privileged to do what I do and I love every minute of it.

www.geoffholt.com

Diary Date

July 1 to 8: IFDS World Championships, Weymouth