A Flackwell Heath resident is preparing to set off for a gruelling yacht race to raise money towards building a children’s hospice.

Stephen Jones, 65, is preparing to fly out to America on April 22 to join the IchorCoal team for the seventh leg of the Clipper Round the World Race, beginning on April 24, from Seattle to New York via the Panama Canal and the Caribbean.

Divided into eight legs and 14-16 individual races, the Clipper race, which started in England on August 30 last year, involves 12 identical racing yachts, each with a trained skipper to safely guide the crew through the 40,000 mile circumnavigation.

Mr Jones will be taking part in the demanding race in aid of Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service, a charity set up by the parents of Alexander, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour aged four and passed away aged eight.

The charity is now working to build and run a children's hospice in White Waltham which will provide palliative care for children in Berks and Bucks, respite care, support for families and a community outreach team.

Spending 41 days at sea, sailing 24/7, and covering 7100 miles in a 70-foot ocean racing yacht which will be shared with around 19 other crew members, Mr Jones is under no illusion that the experience will be challenging.

He said: “It is full on. I am excited but I am apprehensive too because I know from my training how difficult it will be.

“I will get seasick, which is not very nice and you can’t get off, you have to grin and bear it. You feel like death and you just have to put up with it until it passes.”

The conditions below deck are also expected to be gruelling, with tropical temperatures, trade winds and even thunderstorms expected throughout the Caribbean section of the race.

Mr Jones said: “Down below it is cramped and it will be very hot. I probably know about seven of the crew already from my pre-race training but there will be friction and disagreements from time to time.

“The boat is often at 45 degrees because boats tip and sleeping will be difficult. Four hours on and four hours off is the usual watch pattern. It is not luxury and it is not comfortable. The boat rocks around a lot, particularly going into big waves.

“It is going to be tough but all of us on the team are of a similar mind set and it is great teamwork. The banter on board is fantastic, we have lots of jokes and laughs.”

The UK Trade and Investment worker has also had to keep fit ahead of the race and has taken up Pilates to get into shape.

He said: “If I don’t do this now, I will look back and think why didn’t I do it?

“It is an experience of a lifetime, a massive physical and mental challenge but it will be a good experience. I wish I had been able to do it when I was 25."

Mr Jones will be heading home to Flackwell Heath from New York on June 22, before the final leg of the race heads back to English shores.

Visit mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/stephenjones6 to donate and go to www.clipperroundtheworld.com/ to follow live updates on the race.