WHEN most sensible people are keeping warm and dry inside, one Fylde man is fighting gale force winds, being seasick and pulling wet, heavy sails on a heaving foredeck.

Andrew Smith of Ashwood Close, Lytham, is currently in training for "America's toughest yacht race", the New World Challenge run by Sir Chay Blyth's Challenge organisation.

"It all began when I bought a book a few years ago called Only Wind And Water," said the 37-year-old former landlubber who by day works at BAE Systems at Warton and is married with two children.

"I'd been taught to sail by my grandfather and I kept whingeing to my wife Sarah how much I would like to do something like this and she got fed up with me and said 'Stop talking about and just do it!'

"I always do what my wife tells me." The race starts in just over a year's time in May 2002 from San Francisco, going the "hard way" against the prevailing winds and currents via Okohama, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cape Town and Buenos Aires before rounding the fearsome Cape Horn, travelling up the length of South America, calling in at San Diego for the last stop-over, and returning to San Francisco in January 2003.

And Andrew has just returned from his first training session where he was part of a crew being taught the ropes by an experienced training skipper.

"It was a bit of a shock and we experienced a range of conditions," he said. "Most of the time the weather was very kind to us, but still managed to reach 40 knot (gale force 8) winds during the early hours of Sunday morning while we were still several miles out in the channel off Falmouth.'

"I was surprised at how physically strong you need to be. Moving along the boat in bad weather takes enormous effort.

"I need to work hard in the gym over the next few months to build the strength that you need to simply survive in the southern ocean.

"I will miss Sarah and the kids a lot while I'm away -- though they are planning to visit me in Cape Town, San Francisco and possibly Buenos Aires."

Andrew has started to raise the £28,000 needed for the berth and would be very interested in hearing from potential sponsors. Ten per cent of the money raised will be given to the race's charity -- CARE -- who are currently busy in India following the recent earthquake. Contact Andrew on andrew@g-smith. fsnet.co.uk