Fewer people have sailed around the world than have climbed Mount Everest – and a Carlisle man is set to join that elite group.

Seamus Kellock, 23, of Lowry Gardens, Carlisle, will participate in the mammoth Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

The route takes 11 months to complete and stretches over 50,000 miles.

Seamus said: “I visited the yacht show and got to see one of the boats used in the race.

“I signed up for it on the day and decided to go for it - it was very spur of the moment.”

The fact that Seamus has an interest in sailing at all is more to do with chance than design.

He said: “I decided not to go to university and went and worked on a ski resort in the Alps.

“My manager also ran a holiday resort in Rhodes where you could go and do sports activities.

“I did five summers there and fell in love with the sport.”

Seamus is taking what started out as a hobby to a whole new level by competing in the world's longest sailing competition.

Founded in 1995 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the race pits 12 identical yachts against each other.

Each boat is staffed by a team of amateurs who have been given four weeks of intensive training and are overseen by a professional skipper.

Teamwork, Seamus says, is the key: “You can do it having never sailed before because once you've done the training that's all you need.

“When you are on the boat people get assigned certain jobs.

“You might be 'mother watch' which means you are in charge of the food and drinks for the crew.

“Or you might be helming which is where you are in charge of steering the boat.

“You have to do everything.”

The race made headlines in 2015 after the death of two people participating in the competition.

Seamus said: “I'm slightly nervous – two people died on the last race but that had never happened before.

“Like any extreme sport there are worries but as long as you stick to the training and do what you are told it's safe as it can be.

“It's in the back of your mind that you might not come home but it would never stop me doing it.”

Seamus has raised £20,000 but needs to find another £30,000 before he sets sail next year.

He is currently working three jobs and has poured his personal savings into it.

He said: “My mum is quite supportive and thinks it's amazing – she wishes she had done it.

“My gran think it's ridiculous and that I should go to university instead.”

The first leg of the race, from London to Brazil, begins August 17, 2017.