Why were you inspired to do this?

Whilst on a trip of a lifetime to South Africa with great friends we started one of those conversations...one you only seem to have when you've escaped the routine and don't have a care in the world. We talked about things we've always wanted to do...then we kind of asked each other why we hadn't done it yet...when none of us could really come up with a good reason why not, we all commited to do #1 on our list within 12 months. For me, this was offshore sailing!

What were 3 things you did to make this happen?

Without question, I would not have done this without the motivation from my friends to act on something I'd always wanted to do. There was nothing really stopping me before but you'd don't always realise that until someone close to you points it out. The rest was then relatively easy....

I saw an advert from Challenge Business whilst sat on the underground one grey day in London. They were looking for participants in the next round the world race - no prior experience required. Whilst this was not for me, I checked out the website and noticed they also had programs for the Fastnet race - within a week I was signed up!

The only other hurdle was getting enough time off work....

How did you feel once you had accomplished this?

Both the training and the race were an unbelievable experience... I was pushed and tested in ways that I had never been before, and experienced a sense of accomplishment like no other. At the same time you get to appreciate some of the natural beauty of the planet like never before - night sky so clear that you can see satelites orbiting the earth, pods of wild dolphins playing with the boat and mother nature showing her most ferocious conditions....

Additional notes and tips:

Challenge Business has unfortunately since gone out of business. However, there are a number of companies offering similar training and racing experience all over the world. If you're interested, check out the back pages in Yachting Monthly or similar publications.