I am embarking on the "race of my life" as part of the Clipper Round the World yacht race.

16 races, 11 countries, 12 ocean racing yachts, 670 crew, 40,000 miles. 1 circumnavigation. The challenge of a lifetime.

The Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race starts at St Katharine Docks, London on Sunday 1 September 2013 and returns almost a year later - at 40,000 miles it’s the world’s longest ocean race.

The event was established by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to give everyone, regardless of sailing experience, the opportunity to discover the exhilaration of ocean racing.

It will be an amazing and terrifying experience, taking 11 months, and covering 45,000 nautical miles.

I am sailing on boat Jamaica, a fabulous team, and lucky enough to be skippered by the amazing Pete Stirling.

But it is actually about something much bigger: I am trying to raise money for Cornwall Air Ambulance along the way, a charity where strangers save the lives of strangers in a division of labour arrangement that never fails to take my breath away.

So, I am circumnavigating because you get one life, and because the Cornwall Air Ambulance saves thousands of lives.

We will keep this page, along with the website (www.cornwallairambulancetrust.org/roundtheworld) up to date with regular blogs of my new life at 45 degrees!

Thanks again to Cornwall Council and Kingsley Village for T-shirts and kit. And to Cornwall Air Ambulance for all their help!

Thank you for all your support - let's see if this challenge of a lifetime can raise thousands to keep Cornwall Air Ambulance flying!