Iconoclastic sailor Lia Ditton, 29, has thrown her hat in the ring for the double-handed, non-stop  round the world Barcelona World Race in Open 60s which starts on December 31st 2010.

She is recently back from the Woodland Rowing Race – a double-handed gruelling three month passage across the Atlantic – which she used as a training session for the Barcelona Race.

She reports: ‘Gone are the days of being naked sitting in a boat feeling the heat of the sun and the tickle of the breeze on my skin; the rock and roll of the boat through my body; the curl and viscosity of the water playing with the oars- the oars acting as an extension of my arms. There are so many things that I do not miss about that experience, but for its rawness it may, in my lifetime, be unrivalled.’