I am raising money to support other amputees across the world, with funds donated to Blesma and Turn 2 Starboard, two of the charities that helped me the most when times were difficult throughout my upcoming bid to become the first triple amputee in history to sail Solo across the Pacific Ocean (in fact any Ocean I have since been told)
Sailing Towards Better Lives - Help Me Change Lives for Others
I am Craig Wood, and aged 18, as an army recruit from a small village just north of Doncaster, I was three months into my first tour in Afghanistan when life changed in an instant, and forever.
An IED blast took both my legs and left hand and my face was ravaged by shrapnel. Waking up 14 days later from an induced coma, I lost count of the number of operations in the months that followed.
It took eight months to learn to walk again and four-and-a-half years of rehabilitation work at the dedicated Headley Court facility in Surrey to improve my quality of life.
On returning home as a triple-amputee, there was only one thing left to do, return to the hobby my father had taught on our family trips to Bridlington and sail. It was escapism and freedom, and eventually gave me a reason to carry on living.
Fifteen years on, I live on our boat, Sirius II, with my wife, Renata, and two young children for much of the year.
Most days are an adventure. I operate an open boat policy, inviting all-comers onboard to share food and fellowship as well as providing free education on how to sail - whether you have a disability or not.
My next adventure will be a demanding solo sail over 6,000 nautical miles from La Paz in Mexico to Yokohama in Japan at the beginning of 2025.
A three-month window at the start of 2025 is forecast to be the best slot to set sail and the whole trip is predicted to take up to 80 days.
With this enormous endeavour, I want to help change the narrative and perceptions around disability and raise awareness of the amazing work that turntostarboard and Blesma do. Both of these organisations supported me in my darkest of hours - they helped me find hope, showed me the potential of living a fulfilling life and inspired me to replace my missing limbs with ‘sea legs’. Hopefully, this voyage will show anyone facing a challenging set back in life, that through perseverance you have the ability to achieve anything you put your mind to.
Follow me on my sail on Instagram and other socials media on @CraigWoodSails and if what I am doing has inspired you please donate here!
Raising for
Donation Summary
£1,005
raised of £50,000
