'With the boat and the stars, I'm unstoppable'

A terminally ill 26-year-old woman on a solo sail around the British Isles says her first days have included "brutal" times but also feeling "unstoppable".

Jazz Turner, an engineer from Seaford, East Sussex, lives with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a debilitating genetic condition that affects connective tissue, meaning she is a full-time wheelchair user.

She set off from Brighton on Monday, starting off the the 2,070 mile (3,331km) trip which she hopes to complete within four to eight weeks.

"To say I'm soaked through and exhausted would be an understatement," she said.

Ms Turner said the first few days had been "incredibly brutal", with "insane winds" and "big seas".

But she said: "Sailing has this way of, just when you're ready to give up, go back to the marina and back to shore, that's when it pulls out a sunset or the stars.

"So those have been my highlights."

Significant breakages in her first days included dropping a winch handle on and cracking the screen of her chart plotter, which she described as the "brain" of her boat.

She's also had leaking windows, water tanks breaking free and soaking everything inside the cabin, and a broken magnetic compass which communicates with the chart plotter.

Nevertheless, she said: "The times where it's just me, the boat and the stars above us, it feels like we're in our own little world, totally unstoppable."

Ms Turner was diagnosed with the illness, which causes fainting and seizures, when she was 18.

Due to complications, doctors have told her that her condition is now terminal.

The journey on her boat – named Fear! - will raise money for Sailability, a charity that enables people with disabilities or who come from a difficult background to get into sailing.

Though she has been building up to the sail for eight months, she said in some ways the journey still did not feel real yet.

"I still feel like I'm going to turn around and head back to Brighton marina at any point," she said.

"The main difference is I guess I miss people more, knowing each sail, each mile takes me further away from those I love. It's hard at times."

Ms Turner said she had not expected the amount of support from those who have been tracking her sail and sending her messages.

"It's been a hard start and knowing I've got all that support has been invaluable and has carried me through each of the crappy times when a wave has soaked me again," she said.

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