Excalibur currently consists of Keith Harris (helm), Peter Jones (shore crew) and Keiths’ care support team. We will be adding another member to the team who will be a crew for the boat. This person will have to be female, disabled and be able to manipulate the sails.

I'm Keith Harris and I have been disabled since the age of six months old having contracted an adult strain of flu. I had a temperature of 105° for a week which damage the nerves that control movement. I am now only able to reliably move my mouth and tongue and use this to control all of my equipment.    I have been sailing on and off for the past 20 years but four years ago, after moving into independent living I discovered Sailability in Ringwood. I went there and have never looked back...

 
 I sail solo using electric motors to control the Rudder and Sails utilising a  tongue operated joystick.

For the last couple of years I have built up my racing knowledge at Spinnaker Club and have taken part in several Travellers Trophy race meetings. In my first season I really didn't do too well coming an overall 8th, so I asked one of the club coaches if he could spend a couple of hours a week training me in the art of racing. This has helped a great deal and resulted in me climbing to 4th in last year's Trophy.

    For the last four years I have sailed two boats, the Access 2.3 and the Access Liberty. Last year I had exceptional results coming second overall in the Access Travellers Trophy series of races. I managed to claim four wins out of five scored races and missed out on winning the title by a single point.

In 2010 I have been sailing the Liberty which has been problematic to say the least. Having waited for it to be delivered for over a year I then had ongoing breakages with the winches.

Peter helps run a sailing club in the South West. A RYA Senior Instructor, he coaches a successful youth squad and has  been racing for 14 years. With a previous involvement with 3 Paralympic campaigns and having attended three national and world championships with SKUD teams, Peter is a great asset to the success of Excalibur Sailing Team.