After 28 days at sea, Geoff Holt arrived at Cane Garden Bay, Tortola, on January 7, becoming the first quadriplegic sailor to cross the Atlantic single-handed. He took off from Lazorate and made the 2,700-mile journey on the 60ft catamaran Impossible Dream, unassisted in every aspect of sailing. In a journey known to Geoff as his "Personal Atlantic," he made landfall at the same place he had been swimming 25 years ago when a shallow-water dive led to a spinal injury that paralyzed him from the chest down.

We caught up with Geoff the day after his arrival.

First and foremost, congratulations on this tremendous feat. How are you feeling? Well, I'm a bit knackered seeing as how yesterday was one of the most incredible days of my life. I was so happy and so excited as I sailed into Cane Garden Bay. It was just incredible.

What was your arrival in like? I wanted to make landfall at Cane Garden Bay, the place where it all started, so that was very emotional in and of itself. As I sailed in, there must have been over a thousand people on the beach. A whole beach! On their feet! All those people clapping and cheering and waving flags. It was amazing to think, "(Laughs) They're all here for me!"

Looking back, what would you say was the most difficult part of your trip? It's hard to explain, but for 25 years, I've adapted my life to cope with my disability. My wife would even say I'm low maintenance. But on this trip, every aspect of my disability was amplified. For the first time in 25 years, I felt disabled and like everything was a challenge.

Even in spite of that, your blog posts throughout the journey were continuously upbeat. What kept you inspired? First, knowing that my family was at the other end. Also, I know that people read and hear my story and that they are somehow inspired by it. I never set out to do it, but I know I now have a great following. I have thousands of people reading my blog and hundreds e-mailing me saying I am their inspiration. It is for those people that I feel driven to succeed.

You’ve now completed a personal “Everest,” as the first quadriplegic sailor to solo circumnavigate Great Britain, and a personal Atlantic. You’ve inspired sailors around the world – both disabled and not – to exceed even their own expectations. What’s next for you? There is, of course, the one thing bigger than this – sailing around the world. I'm not saying I'm going to do it, but I've proven it's possible. I've proven to myself that there are aspects from this voyage I could apply to that voyage. It might sound arrogant to say, but I've proven that it is possible and I'm the man to do it. However, if that did happen, I'd need a bigger boat.

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