The recent storms have been hairy enough for land-bound people but a mother and daughter with little sailing experience had to weather them at sea.

Caroline Gunning, 41, of Wroughton, and her 64-year-old mum Gillian Perrott, also of Wroughton, took part in one of the last voyages of the tall ship Sir Winston Churchill, little realising it would be one of the worst weeks in the year to sail.

They were the only mother and daughter team in an all-female crew on a trip organised by the national Women's Institute.

Most of the 39 women from across the country were aged in their mid to late 50s, and the only training was given a few hours before setting sail.

Caroline, an accountant, had never sailed before, but Gillian had been on a few trips.

However Caroline, a mother of two, was about the only sailor to keep a healthy appetite and not get sea-sick, despite the rough seas and high winds.

"I was so pleased I wasn't sick. While the others were lying ill on their bunks picking at their food, I was eating double portions," said Caroline, 41, of Marlborough Road, Wroughton.

The pair boarded the ship in Southampton on November 5 and the weather was so bad the first thing they were given were oil skins. "We then had six hours of training which involved climbing up to the crow's nest.

"The wind was gusting, the rain was pouring and it was one of the scariest moments of my life," said Caroline, the youngest person aboard.

The captain made a decision not to sail that night because the weather was so bad and the crew so inexperienced.

So the women crawled into their narrow bunks at 9pm and attempted to get a good night's sleep while rocking up and down at port.

"There were canopies we could use to tie ourselves in to our bunks to stop us falling out, but we didn't need them that night because we weren't out at sea," said Caroline, who with her mother is a member of Chiseldon Evening WI.

The next day the women sailed Sir Winston Churchill around the Solent.

Caroline was on watch from 5am to 6am and found herself winching the anchor up by hand with two other women.

"It was really heavy and when we finished we were so filthy we had to be hosed down," she said.

During that day's voyage to Cherbourg in France many of the women were sick, including Gillian, who was ill for 48 hours.

Caroline said: "We were tipping from side to side and you would look out of a window on one side of the ship and see the sea looming towards you then you would look out of the window opposite and see the sea there."

Those who preferred their feet on dry land were relieved when the boat docked at Cherbourg at 6pm and they could wander around the town.

But the following day they set sail again.

Caroline said: "That night it was really windy and lots of ships were around and we had to watch out for them and take evasive action. I fell over and got bruises like you wouldn't believe but we were all tied on to the ship so I didn't go overboard."

They eventually anchored off the Isle of Wight for the night before sailing back to Southampton the next day.

"When we got back to the port we had the WI flag up and were all singing Jerusalem," said Caroline. "It was such a fantastic feeling because it was nothing like a normal boat. You feel like you're bombing along and when the moon is shining and you're on the deck it is the most wonderful feeling."