Portsmouth-based WetWheels Foundation announces new trustee

A foundation that gives disabled people the opportunity to enjoy exciting experiences on water has announced the appointment of a new trustee.

Gemma Osgood, a senior associate in the clinical negligence team at Southampton law firm Clarke Willmott LLP, has taken up the voluntary position with WetWheels.

Osgood will assist the board in shaping the future of the charity which was set up by disabled yachtsman Geoff Holt MBE in 2011.

The foundation aims to ensure that everyone can access the water with a safe, barrier-free, enriching experience, and offers a unique opportunity for disabled and disadvantaged people of all ages to become active participants on board by steering the vessel and learning seamanship.

The first WetWheels boat was commissioned in Portsmouth in 2011 and has since been followed by other boats in Jersey, Hamble, Yorkshire, Dover and Falmouth with plans to add a further boat in 2021.

Osgood said: “I am really looking forward to working with WetWheels. The charity’s beneficiaries have disabilities and needs similar to those people I often help in my day-to-day job at Clarke Willmott, so it will be great to be able to advise our own clients and their families on the opportunities available to them through WetWheels.

“As a keen sailor myself it is wonderful to see people of all ages and abilities being given the opportunity to experience life on the water and I can see how the charity’s work helps to broaden aspirations, increase confidence and directly impact on the health and well-being of its service users.”

Clarke Willmott is a national law firm with offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton.