Enrichment speaker, Stuart Boreham, is used to a gruelling challenge or two! Stuart, who was born with cerebral palsy, saw his childhood defined by surgery and physiotherapy.

Stuart, who lives in Warwickshire (about as far from the sea as is possible in the U.K.!), missed out on school sports – he watched from the side-lines as everybody played cricket and football and desperately wanted to join in himself. One of the sports he was able to do was dinghy sailing and that ignited a spark in him which would turn in to a flame some years later.

After the childhood operations, and a great deal of grit, determination, and tenacity – traits which would come to stand him in good stead in later challenges – he was able to walk better and wanted to do the things he’d never been able to, particularly around sport.
Having followed news of the British Steel Challenge 1992-93 round-the world yacht race, Stuart went to see the boats arrive at Southampton, where a chance meeting with race founder Sir Chay Blyth led to his being subsequently interviewed and accepted for the BT Global Challenge 1996-1997 event.

Stuart sailed aboard ‘Time and Tide’, a yacht crewed entirely by people with a disability or who had overcome a life-threatening illness.
Not satisfied with this achievement, Stuart went on to be the first physically disabled person in the world to row the Atlantic Ocean solo, unassisted and unsupported – a feat which saw him cover 3341 miles alone at sea between the Canaries and Barbados, taking an elapsed time of 109 days 12 hours and 9 minutes.

Click here to visit Stuart's website >> www.stuartboreham.co.uk

Stuart's talks are filled with humility, determination, humour and ultimate success after the 'journey'.

A serial adventurer, charity fundraiser and proponent that "If life was easy, everybody would be good at it" (Carl Lewis, former USA Olympic Athlete), Stuart's talks are woven with the thread that there is more in us all than we think!

Talk themes include:

• Childhood and being different - living with disability in mainstream education
• Daring to Dream
• The build-up and preparation for the BT Global Challenge 1996-97 round the world yacht race
• Taking part in the race
• Life after months in the media spotlight and the accolades the crew received
• Crew on the support vessel for the 1998 Atlantic rowing race - 4 rescues and six lives saved at sea
• The decision to row the Atlantic Ocean solo, unassisted and unsupported; raising the sponsorship - and for Macmillan Cancer Relief - and getting a boat designed, built, and equipped
• Final weeks preparing in the UK and La Gomera before departure on 15 November 2003
• The early days of the challenge, Christmas at sea, huge storms, setbacks, and equipment failures
• The final third of the trip and sighting Barbados on the Morning of 3 March 2004 - ultimately finishing after 109 days 12 hours and 9 minutes alone at sea
• Arrival, surprises, and the media whirlwind back in the UK
• Open floor for Q&As

I have worked as a speaker all over the world for 17 years. A highly competent speaker, my audiences include the Royal Family. I have spoken, well received and successfully, on board Saga, Fred Olsen and the now defunct Cruise and Maritime Voyage ships. Website is www.stuartboreham.co.uk

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.