A RAMSBURY woman who has barely set foot on a yacht has made the brave decision to sail around the world and take part in an 'adventure of a lifetime'.

For 11 months, Tessa Hicks, of Isles Road, will swap the familiar surroundings of her village for the unrelenting seven seas when she sets sail from Liverpool's Albert Docks on August 20 for the 40,000 nautical mile Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Over the duration of the gruelling challenge, the 59-year-old self employed GP will be joined by hundreds of people across the globe, all of whom are amateur sailors who will crew a dozen 70ft yachts, where they will race to ports in six different continents along the way.

Ms Hicks, who is raising funds for Unicef, has now completed two of four, several-day long training sessions in Portsmouth, where she is being taught the sailing essentials to help man the yacht, but she says will learn the most when having to overcome 90ft waves and gusts of up to 100mph.

"People think I am mad to do this and maybe I am but for me this is an adventure of a lifetime," said Ms Hicks, who has three children, all of whom live away from home, in Gemma, 31, Fiona, 28, and James, 26.

"It was a spur of the moment thing. I was travelling along the tube before Christmas and I saw a poster for the Clipper Race and I instantly thought, 'I have to do this.' By the next morning I had logged my application and now I am off to travel the world.

"I have been on a tourist yacht but I have never actually sailed before. I have two more training sections being led by professionals to go in June and July. I am so excited but also apprehensive. I will probably curse myself for doing it but I will be determined to finish it.

"Some crew members are going for just one leg but I had to do the whole thing. I want to master the oceans and over the course of 11 months I should get good at it. As I am a self employed GP I can do this and my family are so supportive of me doing this.

"Due to my medical school background, I have been appointed medical assistant for my yacht which is exciting. It is going to be one of the hardest things I will ever do but I am up for the challenge."

The route will go from Liverpool to Uruguay, then Cape Town to Western Australia, followed by Eastern Australia, then onto China and the mighty pacific leg to Seattle, then it is onto New York before the final leg home to Liverpool and in between each stage there will be a break of around a week.

To follow her progress visit http://clipperroundtheworld.com/racecrewsupporters and to donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/Tessa-Hicks