Back in April this year, 2025, my 97 year old father Howard died. Just two days before he died I asked him whether I was foolhardy to do a leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht race. He said simply "You do what you do".

Coming from someone whose mantra was "Try everything once", this was about as close to a yes as I will get. My father paid for my first sailing lesson when i was aged 6 in a wayfarer in Rock, Cornwall so for me this race is his legacy.

In May I signed up to do Leg 4 of the race around Australia which offers diverse conditions, from towering swells to tropical squalls. The route starts off on the West Coast of Australia then heads down towards the Roaring Forties, one of the most remote parts of the world.

In total sailing 6500km in the renowned Southern Ocean from Perth to below Tasmania and up the East coast of Australia to the Barrier reef.

Ten teams in identical 76 ft /23m racing yachts will compete in eight legs circumnavigating the globe in 11 months. I will be one of 700 crew taking part in this epic adventure which involves people from over 40 countries. I will be at sea for up to 20 days and nights with a crew of up to 21 in the Southern Ocean which experiences the Earth's strongest winds and largest waves. This race is as much mental as physical.

I am half way through my training for the race and have spent much of the last month in the English Channel in a training yacht learning how to survive at sea and how to race a powerful yacht under all conditions. I have been violently sick, been a rescue swimmer for man overboard practice and learned how to cook at a 45 degree angle and sleeping in an echo chamber which feels like a washing machine. So far i have met some incredible people from all walks of life and been taught how to sail fast and survive by some talented young professional sailors.

The aim of the Clipper team this year is to raise £420,000 for Unicef. My voyage is entirely self funded so everything you donate will go straight to UNICEF.

UNICEF has been both a Charity and Team Partner for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race since the 2015-16 edition and during this time has raised £1.6 million for children around the world.

UNICEF has 15,000 people working for children in more than 190 countries, responding to emergencies and building long-term resilience. UNICEF saveschildren's lives with vaccines, clean water, and therapeutic food. UNICEF protects children from violence, exploitation, and abuse. It empowers children through quality education. And it seeks to create a safe and sustainable world where children can live, learn and grow.

Every pound we raise will make a difference to every child, every day, everywhere.

- A donation of £165 could buy a wheelchair for a child with limited mobility

- A donation of £275 could buy a midwifery kit containing all of the medicines, medical supplies and sterilisation equipment for a maternity ward to support the delivery of 50 babies