A UK para-athlete, who is raising vital funds to help others with paralysis and disabilities to access watersports, has almost reached Ireland in her quest to round the British Isles solo and unassisted.
The incredible feat, dubbed Project Fear, is well underway as Jazz Turner approaches Ireland on her journey to raise £30,000 to help charity Sailability buy resources for other para-athletes to enter the world of sailing.
The feat is made all the more incredible by the fact that Turner, who set out from Brighton, England just yesterday 10 June 2025, will become the first female wheelchair user to achieve such a feat.
Experienced sailor Jazz will be staying at Fastnet, near Baltimore, Co Cork tonight Wednesday 11 June 2025, with her journey then taking her north around Galway and Malin Head before bracing the Irish Sea once again on her way back to Great Britain in the coming days.
A GoFundMe with that goal of £30,000 (around €35,500) is already humming along nicely, as Jazz has reached £29,000 (around €34,000) as of today 11 June. If she sails past the goal, she will be able to buy even more equipment to help the disabled take to the seas, just like Jazz herself.
Jazz, an experienced mariner having started sailing aged 13, introduced the amazing journey: "As part of my journey I want to raise money for other people with disabilities to enable them to access sailing.
"I am raising a minimum of £30,000 for Newhaven and Seaford Sailability, to allow us to purchase two new adapted hansa dinghies to get more people out sailing.
"If I exceed my target, will use the money to purchase adaptive equipment to develop systems for those with more complex disabilities to enable them the opportunity to sail independently.
"This will include equipment such as servos that can be controlled with head tilt switches, sip and puff systems or eye-gaze software.
"I hope to prove by sharing my journey that anything is possible, it just needs imagination and an awful lot of hard work."
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However, it has not all been smooth sailing so far - headwinds have slowed her progress since leaving Brighton on Tuesday 10 June. Jazz has reported that she is not quite as far along as she would have liked as she weaves her way through the unfavourable winds.
Worse still, Jazz's craft has had to stop already for repairs, After her cabin leaked, she was forced to contend with a waterlogged battery and a blown auto lifejacket, which saw her dock in Cornwall for essential repairs.
Jazz Turner revealed that she has already sailed the furthest she has ever sailed alone, but she that has "Poseidon's Blessing", she says. Jazz explained that she was joined by dolphins, which is a sign of good fortune for her endeavour.
While Jazz is delighted to be undertaking this record-breaking solo trip, she has had to make one major unexpected sacrifice. Jazz usually sails with her dog Phoebe, who is trained to aid Jazz in the event of a collapse.
But, rules around the definition of 'Solo' mean that canine friends are not allowed on board, and Jazz has already confessed to missing her four-sealegged friend, Phoebe.
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