About us

Paul Strzelecki

Paul Strzelecki is a marine and sailing industry veteran and has recently become a trustee of the Wetwheels Foundation.

Paul has held many positions including Chairman of Henri Lloyd the company founded by his Father Henri and co-owned with his brother. During that time he led sponsorships of numerous events like Cowes Week and America’s Cup and individuals like Sir Ben Ainslie and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. 

He was a Director of British Marine for many years including a stint as Chairman of National Boat Shows and  brings many years of experience both in the U.K. and Internationally.

Laura Trapnell

Laura has recently joined our board of Trustees. She has volunteered for wetwheels Solent for the last ten years and describes herself as incompetent crew!
Her day job is as a Partner in the law firm Trethowans, where she deals with intellectual property and IT contracts.
Outside of work, when not on Wetwheels, Laura enjoys all things water related - cold water swimming, diving, SUP-ing and sailing.

Gemma Osgood

Gemma Osgood is a clinical negligence solicitor at Hugh James in Southampton. She has over 15 years’ worth of experience in this type of work and has worked with many disabled clients and their case managers over the years to help them get compensation for their injuries.

Gemma’s work means that she is able to make a difference to those individuals whose lives have been affected as a result of negligence, and is something that she finds extremely rewarding and enjoyable.

Gemma grew up on the Isle of Wight and has always had a passion for sailing and being on the water from a young age. She raced competitively for many years, and currently races a Folkboat with her husband, actively competing in various events across Europe. In 2019 Gemma finished 5^th in the Folkboat Gold Cup, and in 2011 she was awarded first lady helm in the XOD fleet at Cowes week, finishing 21^st out of 146 boats.

Doug Barrow MBE

Doug Barrow is a former mariner who spent 30 years refuelling ships around the world. He
was the CEO of Maritime London, promoting the UK’s maritime services for several years
and was Director of the UK Ship Register. He has also held other consultancy roles in the
maritime and security areas.
Doug was an elected member of the City of London Corporation for 15 years, during that
time he chaired the Police Authority Board for four years.
His strong City connections include being a Past Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company
of Shipwrights, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Fuellers and a Younger Brother
of Trinity House. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from Southampton Solent University and
was awarded an MBE in 2021 for “Services to the Maritime Sector and the City of London”.
Yachting is not one of Doug’s strengths, although he was part of a syndicate owning, racing
and breaking Thames Raters many years ago! However, he does have a love of matters
maritime and always enjoys a day at sea – a joy to be shared by all with Wetwheels barrier-
free boating.

Trevor Phillips

Trevor Phillips is a corporate advisor. He assists entrepreneurs and company leaders with creating effective strategies and solutions for reaching organisational goals and to stimulate long-term prosperity.

Following a successful trading career in the City of London, over the last 20 years Trevor has advised a range of clients from high net worth individuals through to FTSE250 companies.

Trevor is a keen sailor and in addition to regular club sailing has also completed a number of offshore races.

Geoff Holt MBE DL

Geoff was paralysed in a swimming accident in 1984 and uses a wheelchair. In 1995 he became the inaugural Chairman of RYA Sailability. In 2007 he became the first disabled person to sail single-handed around Great Britain. In 2009 he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean unassisted. He was awarded an MBE for “Services to Disabled Sailing” in 2010 and named ‘Yachtsman of the Year’ shortly after. He was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire in 2012. He is a Council member of the RNLI. He is patron and ambassador for several charities for people with disabilities.

Geoff has 20 years experience in marketing & PR working for international accountancy firms Deloitte & Coopers & Lybrand. He holds a degree in Antiques and Auctioneering. He is the author of "Walking on Water" and is a professional speaker. In 2011 he founded Wetwheels

Andy Fell

Andy Fell  is an independent disability and assistive technology consultant with almost 20 years extensive experience of all disabilities and age groups.

Andy has worked with a wide range of charitable organisations including Guide Dogs for the Blind – where he was Head of Assistive Technology; emergency services, blue chip companies and various government departments including Job Centre Plus.

Among current roles he is a Senior Associate Trainer for the British Dyslexia Association and a National Disability Awareness Trainer for RYA Sailability.

David Parkinson

David Parkinson is an established consultant, trainer and coach whose experience includes posts as charity chief executive and chair of multi-agency public committees. He has been working independently across commercial, public and voluntary sectors for the last 18 years.

David has arranged programmes of training and mentoring for 1,200 charity chief executives, involving commercial sponsors, and provided courses on leadership, personal effectiveness and presentation skills for the Met Police, Essex Probation Service and a supermarket graduate programme, among others.

He also provides commercial voiceovers, and has recorded several books for Audible.com.