A staff member at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) is embarking on the challenge of a lifetime taking part in the final leg of the Round the World Clipper Yacht Race in aid of the Boudicca Breast Cancer Appeal.
Daniel Cox, a project management officer within the surgical division, will take part in the coveted final leg of the race from New York to Liverpool in June 2020 a journey expected to take more than 22 days at sea.
Mr Cox is also taking part in the Brighton Marathon in April this year – his first marathon and just one year after taking up running with the NNUH Couch to 5k running club.
Mr Cox said: 'I am coming up to my 50th birthday and I wanted to mark it with a couple of challenges. I grew up in Greenwich which is on the route of the London Marathon and also home to all the maritime heritage so it seemed the perfect challenge - I've always had an interest in sailing and done it occasionally and I thoughts let's do something mad.
'I signed up for the Clipper Race first of all and thought I needed something to drive me and inspire me and am now well into the training programme for the Brighton Marathon.'
The Clipper Race is the only race of its kind where people with no experience of sailing can take part in the challenge which takes in six oceans and 40,000 nautical miles over eight legs.
Mr Cox will be raising money for the £800,000 appeal to provide a dedicated one-stop-shop breast cancer service where patients will receive diagnostic tests and clinical and imaging assessments on one day.
Although Mr Cox's leg of the Clipper Race is more than a year away, the full race starts in July this year and his training has already started in Portsmouth where the Clipper is based.
He said: 'It is one of the most challenging things I have ever done. It consists of finding your way around a 70ft racing boat, learning about the different sails and ropes, how to handle the boat and life on board.
'Once at sea, we will work on a shift system of four hours sleep and four hours sailing and sail through the night. There could be up to 20 people on the boat so we are hot bunking.'
• To support Mr Cox visit his JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/danielcox2020
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here