Triple amputee’s solo Pacific sail more dangerous each day | UK News

A veteran attempting to become the first triple amputee to sail solo across the Pacific Ocean said his journey was becoming more dangerous with each passing day.

Craig Wood, a former Army rifleman who lost both legs and his left arm in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan, is sailing non-stop for 7,000 nautical miles (12,964km) from Mexico to Japan for charity.

The 33-year-old from Doncaster set off from Puerto Vallarta on 25 March and hopes to reach Osaka in early June to avoid Japan’s typhoon season.

Speaking aboard his 41ft (12m) aluminium catamaran Sirius II near Hawaii on Friday, he said: “The longer it takes me, the more in danger I am.”

Mr Wood, who normally lives on the boat with his fiancée and two young children, encountered his first hiccup right at the beginning of his voyage.

“I noticed during a routine check that water had gotten into my starboard engine,” he said.

“This isn’t a concern at the moment, as I am sailing, but I will need the engine once I arrive in Japan to enter the harbour so I have spent some time working on it and will hopefully get it sorted beforehand.”

Other than that, it has been smooth sailing for Mr Wood, who said his biggest challenge so far has been trying to pass the time – especially with so little to see on the open ocean.

“I was quite surprised of this. I was thinking it would be wildlife, wildlife, wildlife,” he said.

“I thought ‘oh, I’m going to see loads of birds, best get a book’ but that’s not been the case.”

He added: “I’ll be getting slightly more apprehensive about the weather the closer to Japan I get.”

In hindsight, he said he wished he had prepared his Kindle e-reader with more reading material – and packed a lot more beef jerky.

After nearly a month at sea, the father of two said reaching Japan and completing his journey would fill him with an “overwhelming sense of achievement”.

“The more you expose yourself to the oceans, the higher the percentage of something that’s going to go wrong,” he said.

“It’ll be a huge sense of achievement and emotional to be with my family again.”

As part of his journey, he is raising money for Turn to Starboard and Blesma, two charities that supported him through his own recovery.

Mr Wood was just 18 when was seriously injured during his first tour in Sangin, Afghanistan in 2009.

He suffered a collapsed lung, lost 27 pints of blood, underwent 20 operations and spent 14 days in a coma.

He hopes his expedition across the Pacific Ocean will inspire others and change perceptions of “what is possible for people with disabilities”.