LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- When they set sail from harbor most yachtsmen leave only their worries behind . But when Hilary Lister goes out to sea , she sheds an entire way of life . Hilary Lister says she feels `` a thousand times '' more free when she sails . The 36-year-old Briton is a quadriplegic who can only move her head , eyes and mouth and needs to rely on carers for almost every need . In spite of these restrictions she became the first disabled woman to sail solo around Britain Monday scoring a victory against the rare degenerative illness she has suffered from since age 11 . The inventive technology behind her voyage is called `` sip and puff '' -- a system of three pneumatic straws positioned near Lister 's mouth that allow her to control the boat through a series of semaphore-like commands she can give by either blowing or sucking through the straws . Developed by a Canadian engineer , the system let Lister alter course and trim the sails of her 20ft long keel boat to complete the record-breaking trip over two summers . Lister 's passion for sailing is all-consuming and , considering what it has given her , unsurprising . `` When you leave the quayside , you leave behind the stresses of everyday life , '' she told CNN . `` Any sailor will tell you that . `` If you multiply that sense of freedom a thousand times , that 's how I feel . I leave behind my wheelchair , a team of carers and suddenly it 's just me . '' An Oxford University graduate and talented sportswoman in her youth , by 2003 Hilary 's illness had laid her so low she was a virtual recluse , never leaving the home she shared with her husband Clifford , and by her own admission deeply depressed . A friend suggested she go to Westbere Sailing . The center specializes in helping disabled people on to the water , but Hilary almost never made the 20-minute trip from her home near Canterbury in southern England . `` I was ill and running a temperature and I was about to cancel it , but something stopped me from backing out , '' she said . She credits the decision to go to the center with saving her life . `` [ The staff ] treated me like an intelligent , capable person and not like an object to be pitied , '' she said . Her illness is called reflex sympathetic dystrophy . It makes it difficult for her to breathe -- the media interviews she has done since her latest achievement have exhausted her , she said . It also puts her in near-constant agony , a situation that is only manageable with the use of powerful drugs . Despite these hardships , or perhaps because of them , Hilary has no fear when she is out at sea . Her aim is to help other disabled people feel empowered in the same way and to that end she has set up her own charity , Hilary 's Dream Trust . The charity exists to provide assistance to disabled and disadvantaged adults who dream of sailing . `` It is difficult to do all the press , my diaphragm is in a bad way and I get tired easily with the interviews . But I want people to know my story because it 's important they realize disabled people can accomplish anything , given the right tools . '' Her own accomplishment she began last summer with the help of a support boat and a specially adapted motor home that she returned to after each day 's sailing to recuperate . Last August she was forced to abandon the attempt due to bad weather and strong winds . She took up the gauntlet again in May and was rewarded with some transcendent moments . `` When I was in the Irish Sea I saw something that looked like a blow hole on my starboard side , '' she said . `` I was n't sure what I 'd seen then suddenly out of the water this huge whale emerged like an Exocet missile . Next thing a pod of them -- we think they were humpbacks -- were all around my boat . `` I remember thinking , ' I wonder if this is safe ' but I was enjoying the moment so much . It was so exhilarating . ''
Hilary Lister has become the first disabled woman to sail around Britain . She navigated with a special technology using only her mouth and a straw . Hilary suffers from a rare degenerative disease that has made her paraplegic . She wants to help other disabled sailors through her charity Hilary 's Dream Trust .