Quadriplegic sailor Geoff Holt has won the Yachtsman of the Year Award.

The announcement was made at an awards ceremony held at Trinity House, London. Southampton based Geoff, 44, became the first quadriplegic to sail across the Atlantic when he sailed into the British Virgin Islands on January 7, 2010, overcoming personal adversity and achieving his own impossible dream.

He 28 days to complete the 2,700 mile voyage.

 Other finalists in contention for the high prestige YJA Pantaenius Yachtsman of the Year award were Edward Wright, Finn World Champion and double World Cup Winner, and Lucy MacGregor and her team, Ladies World Match Racing Winners.

The YJA Pantaenius Yachtsman of the Year Award was
initiated in 1955 by Sir Max Aitken and now bears the names of the
greatest achievers in British yachting circles over the past five
decades. Previous winners include Eric Hiscock, Sir Francis Chichester,
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Sir Chay Blyth, Sir Edward Heath, Clare
Francis, Harold Cudmore, Tracy Edwards MBE, Sir Peter Blake, Dame Ellen
MacArthur and Ben Ainslie CBE.

Geoff
receives the prestigious Yachtsman of the Year trophy, a silver
navigation buoy mounted on a sea of crystal, which was commissioned by
the late Sir Max Aitken.