Woman takes part in round the world race

IMAGINE being numb with cold as 70mph winds bite your face on a yacht rollercoastering over 50-foot waves in the middle of the ocean.

This is what confronts former Ashton Keynes resident Georgina Walker who is currently taking part in the world's toughest yacht race the Global Challenge.

The 38-year-old is a crewmember aboard Samsung, one of the 12 vessels taking part.

On October 3, the 12 identical racing yachts, each crewed by 17 ordinary men and women led by a professional skipper, sailed from Portsmouth.

Currently the Samsung is in third place in the first leg of the race, which sees the yachts go the 'wrong way' around the world against the prevailing currents and winds.

The first leg will stop at Buenos Aires in Argentina, with the next legs calling at Wellington, Sydney, Cape Town, Boston and La Rochelle, before returning to Portsmouth.

Conditions will range from the calms and energy-sapping heat of the northern hemisphere to the icebergs, storms and monumental seas of the southern oceans.

Miss Walker, a chiropractor, who now lives in Feckenham, Worcestershire, grew up and went to school in Ashton Keynes.

She learnt to sail in the cadet class at Cotswold Water Park in South Cerney.

Before setting off, she said: "I've been dinghy sailing and windsurfing from childhood, and I began yacht racing over the past 10 years on the Solent and the East Coast of Britain.

"I want to learn all aspects of how to sail this calibre of yacht safely in all conditions, to experience the thrill of ocean racing and the power of the elements in the Southern Ocean legs.

"It will require focus, commitment, determination, enthusiasm, endurance, teamwork and tolerance on a physical, mental and emotional level.

"That's why I put myself forward for this."

More than 120 organisations participate in the event, which is due to finish in July 2005, through sponsorships and partnerships.

Spectators from around the world visit the ports of call and are able to track the event on the race website or through coverage in the world's media.

Georgina's progress can be followed on the website which is found at www.globalchallenge2004.com