Plumber to sail round world to mark 60th birthday

Bob Brown had long held a desire to take part in what is described as the world's toughest endurance challenge.

But it was not until deciding how to mark his 60th birthday in March that he decided to take the plunge and join up.

Mr Brown, from Leicester, had initially planned a trip to Australia to watch the British and Irish Lions rugby tour but said he could not justify the cost on a "lads' trip away".

Instead, the plumber has signed up to be a crew member in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, a 40,000 nautical miles (74,080km) challenge which starts in Portsmouth at the end of August.

The 10 participating crews in the race will make six ocean crossings and call into 14 ports across the globe as part of the 11-month route.

Mr Brown, who is originally from Northern Ireland, said he had planned to watch the Lions after going on tour 20 years ago.

He added: "I looked at the cost and I suppose if you chuck everything in, it would be about £20,000, and I thought 'can I justify spending £20,000 on what was a rugby tour? A lads' trip away'.

"I've followed the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race from afar for quite a long time and my inbox was getting bombarded with information from Clipper and I thought 'that would be something to tell the grandkids about'."

The race, crewed mainly by non-professional sailors, was founded 30 years ago by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.

Participants complete four weeks of training ahead of the race, in which each paying crew will be accompanied by a fully-qualified skipper and first mate.

After being selected, Mr Brown, who considered himself a novice sailor before joining up, said he thought he had "one chance" to take part in the challenge.

He added: "It has always been an itch, an adventure I wanted to do. And now things have aligned with family and work.

"I am of a certain age where I may not be able to do it in a few years, so now was the ideal opportunity."

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