Jazz Turner this year became the first woman and first disabled individual to complete a solo, non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland.

However, the 27-year-old did not follow a traditional path into sailing.

She only ended up on a ‘Learn to Sail’ experience at 13 on a typical Cornish July day - cold, wet and windy - after her friend decided the grim conditions outweighed the opportunity to try sailing.

The experience changed the course of her life, and Jazz believes she wouldn’t be the person she is today without it - or perhaps here at all.

“Sailing has been my constant. The one thing that has got me through the hardest times. It’s no understatement to say that I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t found sailing. ”

Growing up, Jazz had a tough childhood, growing up in an abusive household. Leaving home at just 15 for her own safety, she ended up homeless, alternating between sofa-surfing and sleeping rough.

Whilst life threw challenge after challenge at Jazz, sailing gave her an escape, granting her new friends, a support system to help her deal with life’s difficulties and a new, chosen family.

Initially campaigning in unadapted racing dinghies, she pivoted to adapted boats following a diagnosis with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) in 2019. EDS affects connective tissues all over the body and meant she was left with entirely dysfunctional digestive and bladder systems as well as lung and heart issues. This was on top of becoming a full-time wheelchair user due to damage to her ankles and joints.

“[I] started sailing when I was 13, in dinghies, and then progressed up mainly into double-handers, primarily in Fireballs. I did a bit of everything, though: I would crew for anyone who would let me. Sailed 420s, NACRAs, Lasers, pretty much anything!

“I now race para boats, so they've got keels. And so I race what's called RS Venture Connect, and currently we're ranked first in the world, and we just won a gold at the Europeans and a silver at the Worlds.”

Her record-breaking passage around the UK earlier this year raised money for Newhaven & Seaford Sailability, a foundation Jazz and her foster parents set up which aims to get disabled people out onto the water.

“I founded New Haven Sailability in 2019 alongside my (foster) parents and so that's my local sailing club. So we just founded the Sailability section, and we essentially work on enabling other people with disabilities to get access to sailing.

“We now have nine boats, and, yeah, pretty much over subscribed and get 100 people out a year. And so we're very, very busy now. Most of them have never sailed before, never stepped foot in a boat, never having the opportunity.

“We take them from sort of never having stepped foot in a boat, and we've just got some of them racing in our sailing club winter series, and we're looking at taking some of them to events next year.”

Her circumnavigation - so called Project Fear after Jazz’s favourite quote ‘FEAR has two meanings: forget everything and run or face everything and rise’ - saw her sail for 28 days non-stop aboard her Albin Vega 28 ‘Fear’. She chose the yacht following advice from her uncle.

“My uncle is a yacht surveyor, and when I announced the challenge to him, he gave me very specific criteria of what the boat had to have. So he really wanted it to have an integral keel and a keel skeg rudder. And so that limited the options of boats quite a lot.

“And then I also only had a £5000 budget with which to buy the boat. That limited my options even further. And then it just happened that a mate at the sailing club used to own Albins, and knew they were really solid. And I just kind of fell in love with her.”

Jazz and Fear have become inseparable, playing to each other’s strengths.

“She's definitely a part of me. I often describe this as a team, which is weird for people who aren't in the boating world, like she's an inanimate object.”

“She's as much a part of me and as much a part of the record as I am, and I couldn't have done it without her. I'm too attached to her to let her go, even though [for] the next adventure I need a bigger boat.”

Jazz enjoyed some memorable wildlife encounters during her trip.

“We had quite a few dolphin encounters, which is always incredible and  it was really cool when I was off the Orkneys after passing St Kilda having puffins flying overhead.”

Other highlights included passing of the famed Fastnet rock and rounding the Northern-most point of Scotland and the British Isles, Muckle Flugga.

“The Fastnet rock was incredible, because it's just one of those milestones in yachting that, you know, everyone talks about. So to be able to pass it, even though, when I passed it, it was actually the middle of the night, so I only saw the light, so I didn't see anything!

“And the other highlight was passing the very top of the Shetlands, Muckle Flugga. And so that was incredible, because I'd hoped I could make it that far, but never could truly believe we could, so I actually hadn't ever planned the second half of my route.

“We passed Muckle Flugga and Hannah Stodel, who was helping me with my nav, was like, ‘oh, so what's the plan?’ ‘Err, I need to plot a route first.’ She went, ‘what do you mean? I went, ‘I didn't look at the second half of the route, didn't believe I would make it that far!”

Following her record-breaking circumnavigation of the UK, Jazz has an even more ambitious adventure planned - a non-stop, around-the-world race.

“The World Star is a non-stop, around-the-world race, starting from the Royal Western Yacht Club in Plymouth in September next year. This is the first edition, and it's based on the 1STAR (Original Single-handed Transatlantic Race) and the 2STAR (Two-handed Transatlantic Race).

“I'm one of currently eight entrants, and I will be competing in the solo category. I leave on the 26th of September, and hopefully it will take me anywhere between six to nine months.

While Jazz has not yet found a suitable boat for the World Star, she is aiming for a similar set-up - only scaled up.

“I want an integral long keel [and] ideally a keel or skeg-hung rudder, something between 36 to 38 feet - something pretty solid, because the first time I face the Southern Ocean, I don't want to be worrying about the boat. I think facing the Southern Ocean alone is going to be enough of a challenge!

“So looking at things like Rustler 36, Trade Wind 35 - proper old school, [a] 1970s to 1990s boat. Something built like a tonne of bricks basically!”

For many of us, the Southern ocean is a territory unknown, an ocean spoken about in hushed whispers in yacht clubs and marinas around the world.

“It's definitely a big jump (to set off around the world).

“But having spoken to other round world sailors like Pip (Hare) and Guy (Waites), you don't ever actually feel ready for your first time going around the world. You just kind of have to take the jump eventually. 

“I definitely don't feel ready or prepared enough, but [I’m] willing to give it a go [and] see what happens!”

Offshore racers such as Pip Hare were Jazz’s role models after her initial experience on the water, way back on that blustery Cornish summer day.

“I guess my role models were Pip Hare and Ellen MacArthur, these women who were going out and proving that this stuff was possible, even when the world was telling them no. 

“And I guess I took a lot of strength and courage from that, you know, that it was possible, and they kind of already paved the way for me, which made my life a lot easier.

“They showed it could be done by a woman, so I'm only having to face the challenges of the added disability, rather than having to face the challenge of being female as well.”

Jazz said there is still some way to go to achieve full equality in sailing however.

“It's still tough, though. Women are still, you know, we're still not quite there on gender equality in sailing, but we're working on it, and there's enough good role models now that we're going in the right direction.”

Jazz is undeniably one of those role models ensuring equality is going in the correct direction. Her round-the-world adventure next year will be a momentous trip - and you can get involved. Whether it be donating equipment or donating to her crowd-funding campaign, you can help ensure Jazz is able to get to the start-line next September. 

Unfortunately, since this interview Jazz's condition has detiorated and currently her round-the-world plans have been put on hold. I speak for all of us in the sailing community when we say we hope Jazz's health improves - she is an incredible human being and an inspiration for us all, as I'm sure comes through in this interview.

With thanks to Jazz Turner for all photos provided and for agreeing to interview, as well as John Weaver (AFP) for editing and proof-reading.