About Geoff Holt
Yachtsman, Ambassador & Motivational Speaker
Geoff was paralysed in a swimming accident in 1984 and uses a wheelchair. In 1995 he became the inaugural Chairman of RYA Sailability. In 2007 he became the first disabled person to sail single-handed around Great Britain. In 2009 he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean unassisted. He was awarded an MBE for “Services to Disabled Sailing” in 2010 and named ‘Yachtsman of the Year’ shortly after. He was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire in 2012. He is a Council member of the RNLI. He is patron and ambassador for several charities for people with disabilities.
Geoff has 20 years experience in marketing & PR working for international accountancy firms Deloitte & Coopers & Lybrand. He holds a degree in Antiques and Auctioneering. He is the author of ‘Walking on Water’ and is a professional speaker. He is the founder of Wetwheels, an organisation that takes disabled people to sea in purpose-built, fully accessible motor boats.
Geoff’s News
Latest News
Wetwheels Texas?
Now home from our trip to Galveston/Houston (Texas) to investigate interest in taking Wetwheels to the USA, I thought I would share our week in the...
Rotary Spectacular
I always enjoy my Rotary talks, especially the large conferences. Last week I was in Llandudno in North West Wales for the Rotary NW & Isle of...
Southampton Boat Show Success
I can't remember exactly but on dead-reckoning, this was approximately my 30th boat show in Southampton. This year was extra special because, not...
Geoff’s Social
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Happy 70th Birthday Ma’am. Can’t believe this was taken 20 years ago on her 50th birthday at #windsorcastle Very proud to have you as #Patron of @WetwheelsFdn #PrincessRoyalAt70 #PrincessAnne #Royalty #birthday
3Great post. Can I suggest you watch my short video on this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhgiDyyTVjQ&t=212s
While shielding will be eased from the 6 July, it still presents many challenges for disabled people and their families.
"We haven’t been able to go outside, not even for food shopping or to see anyone outside of our household."👇
https://community.scope.org.uk/discussion/71933/navigating-through-lockdown
Join me live at 10am this morning in conversation with JunoHollyhock, CEO of @Rose_Road https://www.facebook.com/events/856701778158202/
Join me live at 10am this morning in conversation with JunoHollyhock, CEO of @Rose_Road https://www.facebook.com/events/856701778158202/
Latest Posts
Hard to believe this was 13 years ago yesterday (ignore the date in the video). www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iDQsvbX0eQ
Geoff Holt completes his challenging sail round Britain
www.youtube.com
Disabled sailor Geoff Holt completed his 1,400 mile sail round Britain on Wednesday and returned into the Hamble River to a tremendous reception.Nothing much to add except to echo the thanks to all involved. Fab day and a very proud one for yours truly.
A new Wetwheels is born..! Wetwheels South West arrived in Gunwharf this afternoon in readiness for her maiden voyage to her new home in Falmouth later this week. A proud day for me personally and everyone involved in Wetwheels. This is our 6th Wetwheels boat. It's been a marathon journey ending in a sprint as Covid put the brakes on for 3 months and then everyone, Cheetah Marine Catamarans Hypro Marine Suzuki Marine UK Marine Matters Marinetech pulled out all the stops to get her ready for her naming ceremony next week..! Huge thanks to everyone and especially @Sport England
Happy Birthday to Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, 70 years young today..! Thought I'd share a few photo memories of the past 30 years. The Princess has been incredibly supportive of me and the charities I have been involved with over the years since we first met in 1990 when I joined the Royal Yachting Association Council. Later she would become patron of RYA Sailability when I was Chairman from 1995 to 2001. In 2007 she launched my Personal Everest circumnavigation of the UK Challenger Class Association Community and then my Trans Atlantic in 2009 on Impossible Dream Catamaran. More recently she kindly agreed to be Patron of my charity Wetwheels Foundation and has hosted many events that support disabled people sailing and boating over the years including Blind Sailing UK Disabled Boating and Paralympic Sailing. Over the years I have had the pleasure of knowing 3 of her Private Secretaries and got to know BP quite well. The Princess is one of the hardest working people I know. For example, the day the Princess launched Wetwheels Yorkshire for me in 2018, it was one of 3 engagements for her that day. And that is a normal working day, sometimes it is 4. There is no doubting her enthusiasm for sailing (she is a sailor herself) and her support for all disabled sailing and boating over the years, has encouraged many thousands of disabled people to take up the sport. We owe her a great deal of thanks. I have many fond memories, particularly those August RYA Council Meetings held on @HMS Britannia in Cowes, Isle Of Wight, United Kingdom each year hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron Looking forward to the next 30 years..! British Monarchy The Royal Family Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs in the UK 2019 HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal The HRH The Princess Royal Group Accessible Oceans Disabled Entrepreneurs Business Networking Group Portsmouth News - Breaking News and Incidents Portsmouth Wheelchair Access Group Portsmouth Ambassadors Portsmouth British Marine Suzuki Marine UK Cheetah Marine Catamarans Spinal Injuries Association RNLI
Testimonials
Some Kind Words About Geoff’s Work
“Exposing our R&D staff to new ideas and challenging accepted thinking is part of our continuing commitment to be innovation leaders. Your insights and personal story were an inspiration to all who attended.”
“Geoff had the whole audience fully engaged – he was highly professional and motivating and we would recommend him to anyone looking for a fantastic speaker.”
“His story is truly inspirational and really caught the imagination of the whole room. His drive, spirit and determination, delivered in a very factual way, had the whole audience mesmerised for the whole session.”