Stephanie to tackle sailing challenge

1:40pm Tuesday 6th May 2008

A SAILOR will embark on the challenge of a lifetime as she takes part in a race to sail across the Atlantic.

On Saturday, May 24, Stephanie Hills, of Freeman Road, Didcot, will take part in the final leg of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Race from Jamaica to Liverpool, via New York and Cork.

She will join the crew of the Durban Clipper, one of ten identical 68ft yachts. About half of the 17 crew have taken part in the whole race but the rest are "leggers", like Miss Hills. Each boat has a professional skipper but the rest are amateur sailors who have taken part in an intensive three-week training programme.

The final week of training last July coincided with the severe weather that caused flooding across England.

Miss Hills, 37, said: "We were racing from Gosport to Rotterdam and then across the North Sea to Hull.

"It was Force 10 throughout and a steep learning curve. When it's 3am, lashing with rain, bitterly cold and the boat is slamming into the waves, you learn a valuable lesson about the realities of ocean racing. I now know that I can cope with these conditions and still have a good time."

During her time aboard the yacht, Miss Hills and her crew will get a maximum of four hours sleep after each watch and showers are rationed to once a week.

The race finishes in Liverpool on July 5.

Miss Hills wants to raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK. To sponsor her, visit: justgiving.com/sailorsteph

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