“Sailing gives you freedom”
Image credit Tom Pilston
Jazz Turner (26) from Seaford in East Sussex is a force for good, breaking down barriers for disabled people and raising over £50,000 for Sailability in the process.
"I’m still tired, and it hasn’t really sunk in yet," she says. "But it’s slowly dawning on me. I’m just so happy to be home, to hug my friends and family again… and to spend time with Phoebe, my dog."
On Monday 30 June 2025, GB Para-athlete and engineer Jazz Turner arrived in Brighton Marina, marking the end of a 2,070 mile (3,331km) non-stop solo sail around Britain and Ireland. Welcomed by family, friends, and supporters from across the UK, Jazz became the first known disabled person to complete the journey unaided — undertaken to raise funds for Newhaven and Seaford Sailability, a community close to her heart.
Speaking with the RYA about her reflections on both the challenge and her journey in sailing, Jazz is a positive light for the sailing community, demonstrating that the water is for everyone and inspiring others along the way.
Discovering the water
Image credit Fergus Kennedy
Her relationship with sailing started, as many great things do, by accident.
"I was on holiday with a friend who’d been given a ‘try sailing’ voucher for her birthday," she recalls. “It was typical British summer weather, pouring rain, freezing cold and blowing a gale. My friend didn't want to go and so I went instead.”
That day changed everything. "I came off the water grinning like an idiot. I just knew I couldn’t stop."
From those first windswept moments, she joined her local sailing club and began racing — first in dinghies, then in Lasers and 420s. She progressed through RYA youth squads with competitive ambition — until her health began to change course and she became less mobile.
Having been diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a debilitating genetic condition that affects connective tissue, by 2019 Jazz had transitioned to using wheelchairs full time.
Sailability and starting over
"I didn’t know adapted boats existed," she admits. "I had assumed I was going to have to stop sailing but that’s when the journey started.”
That’s when she found Sailability, the RYA programme dedicated to making boating accessible for people with disabilities. But even then, the challenges were far from over.
"Some centres said I was too medically complex, that I’d need an able-bodied person with me at all times. That was hard to hear — especially as I’d just won my first World Championship."
Determined to create a more inclusive environment, she founded Newhaven & Seaford Sailability with help from her parents, building a community where others with complex conditions could thrive. What started with two second-hand boats and a hoist funded by an RYA grant has now grown to support around 100 participants a year, with regular weekly sessions and a dedicated community.
For Jazz, the heart of Sailability isn’t just about getting people on the water — it’s about creating transformation through access.
‘My sailing family are my chosen family’
Image credit Fergus Kennedy
Backed by a deeply supportive sailing family who kept her on the water as her condition progressed, she felt a responsibility to pass on the opportunities she’d been lucky to have. Sailing, for her, became more than a sport—it became a lifeline, a career, and the way she met her foster parents.
“I met my foster parents through the sailing club. I often say: my sailing family are my chosen family. They are incredible humans who've got me through the hard times. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
But if sailing brought her a family, it also brought something even more fundamental: identity. On land, she recounts that she is seen as a young woman in a wheelchair, needing help from others. On water, she’s just a sailor.
“You can’t tell I have a disability when I’m in a boat. You can’t tell I’m terminally ill. It’s just sailing’s incredible ability to level the playing field and allow you to be like everyone else.”
Project FEAR: “Face Everything And Rise”
In December 2023, Jazz’s medical team and family made an unthinkable decision: due to a major complication, they would withdraw life-sustaining treatment. Originally given a prognosis of six months, when it drew to the end of this period, Jazz faced a key question.
She says. “How do you live when you don’t know how long you’ve got left?”
She didn’t have an answer. But she had a dream.
“I’d always wanted to sail around the world. My parents weren’t too thrilled and so we took a step back. We tried to figure out what was the ‘baby step’?”
The result: Project Fear — a solo circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland in a modest sailing yacht.
Months of physical hardship. Endless logistics. And the enormous task of raising £30,000 to save two of her group’s most vital boats—crucial for continuing the work of Sailability in her region.
In the end, she didn’t raise £30,000—she raised over £50,000, completing the journey solo and making history in the process.
"The incredible amount of support I had — from people I know and even people I don’t know—has been amazing. I mean, there's been endless moments of kindness. Every time I faltered, or felt like giving up - I only had to remember who I was doing it for.”
Image credit Fergus Kennedy
Challenging a culture of ‘No’
Despite the success of her voyage and her work with Sailability, Jazz believes there is still more to be done. When she first tried to enter the world of yachting, she was often met with rejection—not out of malice, but fear.
People were unsure how to support her condition and, rather than ask, they chose to say no. That, she believes, needs to change.
“If your first reaction is fear, and you shut down the conversation, then you stop something potentially amazing from ever happening,” she explains. Her own journey—planning and completing a solo sail around the UK—was possible only because those closest to her said “Let’s try.” That attitude, she says, is the difference between limitation and possibility.
Freedom on the water
To those with disabilities who might be curious about sailing but feel it’s out of reach, she offers a powerful message:
“Yes, it’s scary, getting into a boat — especially if you have less control over your body than most people. But if you don’t try, you’ll never know what’s possible.”
More than anything, she hopes her story shows that sailing — and adventure — are for everyone.
“Whether you’ve grown up in foster care, have a disability, or you’re a girl… there’s no reason you can’t access sailing. You might have to do things differently, but that’s OK.”
Her message is simple, but deeply resonant: with creativity, determination, and the right support, anything is possible. Sailing, for her, is freedom — and now, she’s on a mission to make sure others get the chance to feel it too.
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