Triple amputee aims to be first to sail Pacific non-stop, solo and unsupported

A triple amputee is aiming to become the first to sail across the Pacific Ocean non-stop, solo and unsupported to “change the perception of what is possible as a disabled person”.

Craig Wood, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, is a former British Army rifleman who was just 18 years old when he lost both legs and his left hand in an IED (improvised explosive device) blast in Afghanistan in 2009. He also suffered facial injuries from shrapnel.

The 33-year-old father-of-two spent 14 days in an induced coma, saying that when he awoke “the emotion from my family was probably one of the hardest things” to see.

Craig Wood is hoping to ‘change the perception of what is possible for a disabled person’ (Gareth Davies/PA)

Mr Wood said he “started crying quite a lot” due to his injuries but logic imparted from his mother – who said “after you’ve done all of the crying, what are you going to do?” – hit him “like a sledgehammer” and he refocused his energy on being “the best triple amputee (he could) possibly be”.

He is now hoping to set a new world record by sailing his 41ft aluminium catamaran from La Paz in Mexico to Yokohama in Japan, starting between January and March 2025, in a mammoth journey which will cover 6,000 nautical miles and take around 80 days to complete.

With his challenge, Mr Wood is fundraising for two charities who have supported him – Blesma, a military charity for limbless veterans and Turn to Starboard, an organisation that uses sailing courses to support those affected by military operations.

The challenge will take around 80 days and see Craig Wood cover 6,000 nautical miles (Gareth Davies/PA)

“I wanted to break the world record and I wanted it to be a challenge, not just for myself, but for an able-bodied person as well,” Mr Wood told the PA news agency.

“If we assume that amputees or disabled people cannot do something, then that’s instilled in the disabled person and they cannot do it – that needs to change.

“The real aim is changing the perception of what is possible as a disabled person.”

Mr Wood said the route he will be taking across the Pacific Ocean is usually broken in Hawaii, where those crossing wait for good weather before going on to Japan.

“My route will be going via Hawaii and I’ll only stop there in case I need to for safety reasons or there’s really bad weather,” he said.

Craig Wood lost both legs and his left hand in an IED blast in Afghanistan in 2009 while serving in the British Army (Gareth Davies/PA)

“I’ll be going straight through so that’s where it becomes a real challenge.

“It will be the furthest distance a triple amputee has sailed, it will be only me along the biggest ocean in the world.

Mr Wood said he is feeling “excited but nervous at the same time” ahead of the challenge as he outlined the potential dangers he could face.

“It’s Mother Nature at the end of the day. I can only predict the weather for a maximum of 10 days at a time so the weather is an unknown and I have to pick the correct time of year to go,” he said.

“Japan has some pretty hardcore weather – in the summer it gets hurricanes and it has one of the highest tsunami rates on the planet, so the potential for something dangerous is there.”

Craig Wood will be sailing from La Paz in Mexico to Yokohama in Japan (Gareth Davies/PA)

Following the IED blast in 2009, Mr Wood was put in an induced coma for 14 days and said he woke up to his family surrounding his bed.

“It was obviously mega-emotional and the realisation that I’m now not a running around 18-year-old, I’m a bedbound triple amputee,” he said.

“Seeing the emotion from my family was probably one of the hardest things.”

Mr Wood recalled thinking “Why has this happened to me?” and “What did I do wrong”, saying: “I started crying, I started crying quite a lot, actually.

“My mum sort of said ‘After you’ve done all of the crying, what are you going to do?’, and the logic hit me like a sledgehammer.

Craig Wood said his forthcoming challenge will be ‘all new territory’ for him (Gareth Davies/PA)

“Am I really just going to cry for the rest of my life about being a triple amputee or am I going to do what she expects me to do, which is what I have done, and attack this full on and be the best triple amputee I can possibly be?”

Mr Wood said he focused his energy on recovery and rehabilitation, from re-learning how to walk, which he said took around three years, to taking on new sports.

He added that his father encouraged him to take up sailing again, a hobby he had pursued when he was a child.

“Sailing is a level-footer for me, I can partake, understand, explain and show a full skillset, which is great,” he said.

“I’m not then looked at as a disabled person who can sail, I’m looked at as a sailor who just happens to have no legs.”

Craig Wood said he is feeling ‘excited but nervous’ ahead of his mammoth sailing challenge next year (Gareth Davies/PA)

Mr Wood said the challenge next year will be “all new territory” for him because he has never done upwards of 10 days on his own at sea.

While he is feeling “apprehensive”, he said he is looking forward to night sailing.

“One of my favourite times to sail is in a full moon – there’s no clouds and the bioluminescence is looming off the back, it’s just incredible.

“I truly feel one with nature when that’s happening – I’ve got the cosmos up on top and I’ve got Mother Earth below me, showing me how beautiful she can be.”

To find out more, visit Mr Wood’s fundraising page here: crowdfunder.co.uk/p/craigwoodsails