A DAD-of-two is preparing to embark upon a round-the-world yacht race described as "an endurance test like no other".

Joe Govier will be swapping the comfort of his home at Slackhead, near Beetham, for a shared bunk on a stripped-back, no-frills 70-foot ocean racing yacht for six months.

The 47-year-old hopes to raise at least £1,400 for the Unicef during the Clipper Race, and he will be one of the charity's 63 amateur crew members on its distinctive blue boat.

"I'm just really excited to start and to play a part in a life-changing journey full of uncertainties and unknowns," said Joe, who is married to Lizzie and has two children - Elliot, 22, and Eve, 18.

"Crossing an ocean is on the bucket list for people who enjoy sailing.

"To do it with the Unicef blue on the boat gives that element of pride in what we are doing."

The 40,000 nautical mile circumnavigation was the brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world.

Jubilant scenes with crowds of up to 100,000 on the banks of the River Thames are predicted when the 11 identical boats set off from St Katharine's Dock, London, on September 1 - sailing under Tower Bridge and out into the English Channel.

The Atlantic Trade Winds leg to Portugal's Algarve is expected to take up to eight days. After stocking up on fresh food in the port of Portimão, to supplement their diet of pasta, chickpeas and pulses, Joe and the crew will embark on their first ocean crossing. This South Atlantic leg will see them racing "fast and hard" across 5,200 nautical miles to Punta del Este, Uruguay, arriving in mid October.

The Southern Ocean Leg is expected to reach Capetown in mid November. Joe will fly home from South Africa for a few months before rejoining the boat in Seattle in April 2020, for a race through the Panama Canal to New York.

The homeward journey across the Atlantic, passing over the Titanic's resting place, is expected to be completed in late July.

Joe, who runs an engineering company, is undergoing rigorous training to prepare for the adventure, where the 300-tonne fibreglass yacht could reach speeds up to 35 knots (40mph) in towering waves, and crew members burn 5,000 calories a day.

With no mobile phones, no showers and night-time shifts of four hours on/four hours off, Joe said: "The feedback from everyone who has done this type of activity is the sailing is easy, the living is hard."

However, he described the experience so far as "exhilarating", and thanked his family and friends for all their support.

To donate to Joe's Unicef appeal, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/joe-govier

For more about the race, see www.clipperroundtheworld.com and you can tag the Unicef crew on Instagram @thebigblueclipperboat