Man to sail around the world with no prior experience

A man is taking on an endurance challenge like no other, spending the best part of a year on a yacht, despite no previous sailing experience.

Kevin Lynch, 42, from Wokingham, Berkshire is preparing to take part in a 40,000-mile nautical race around the globe, starting in Portsmouth, Hampshire on 31 August.

At its most remote points, those competing in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race will be closer to astronauts on the International Space Station than people on Earth.

Mr Lynch, who previously worked in IT, said he "didn't even have an interest in sailing" before signing up for the challenge.

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, crewed mainly by non-professional sailors, was founded 30 years ago by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in March 1995.

Participants will complete four weeks of training ahead of the 11-month route through treacherous seas.

Taking part in all of the different legs of the race costs around £50,000.

The global race will also take in Cape Town, Qingdao, Tongyeong City, Seattle and Oban.

Mr Lynch told BBC Berkshire he loves being outdoors and taking on challenges, having previously undertaken a running trip in Borneo.

He said: "If I'm not outdoors and doing challenges then I'm indoors, doing rock climbing and hot yoga."

He said in many ways, he is "not the right man for the job".

He explained how he saw an advert on social media last year and thought it looked "pretty cool".

He then made a "spontaneous" application after taking voluntary redundancy in December.

He said: "I'm not sure I even know what I'm doing, I've had no experience in sailing and no interest which is strange.

"The high end training that they put you through is seriously intense.

"There's people from all walks of life and all levels of sailing.

"There could be people who have done their yacht masters who actually teach people like me, who have no sailing experience and people who sailed when they were young and want to get back into it."

He said he is "physically prepared" and looking forward to getting to know his race team.

He added: "I'm going to be cold, I'm probably going to get seasick and be tired, but that's okay, I will deal with it - I know it's going to happen."

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