EAST Lancashire students proved they were shipshape and nearly ready to sail as they prepared for the trip of a lifetime on the high seas.

The students, who are taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, will represent Blackburn with Darwen in the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race this summer.

The race is the world's largest annual international sailing event.

It enables thousands of young people from around the world to sail together on the high seas.

Students travelled overland to Ipswich to inspect the 72-foot Bermudan ketch Hartlepool Renaissance which they will crew in the prestigious event.

And they got to grips with giving the vessel a thorough clean and carrying out maintenance jobs on woodwork and fittings.

Richard Jarvis, Duke of Edinburgh's Award co-ordinator in Blackburn with Darwen, said: "This was the beginning of a programme of teamwork building and training which will lead up to them racing the vessel on behalf of the borough in this major international event at the end of July."

Schools and colleges throughout the borough nominated one student each to take part in the event and 12 young people were selected.

"They will be ambassadors for their school or college, for the award and for the borough," Mr Jarvis said.

"It's a major opportunity for young people educated in the borough and drawn from diverse backgrounds to work together as a real team and to take part in a respected international event."

No sailing experience is necessary as crew are trained on the job and half of each ship's crew has to be between the ages of 16 to 25.

Crews are divided into groups, work in shifts, and are involved in everything from cooking for crewmates and cleaning the decks to climbing the rigging and furling the sails.

Races take place during July and August and each year the route is different -- with the ships either racing in the Baltic Sea, North Sea or the notorious Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Council needs to find £900 for each crew member to cover the cost of their participation in the event, including the training programme.

Clare Skardon, of employment specialists Adecco in King William Street, Blackburn, said: "We are working with the award to try to get as many local businesses as possible to share support for this project.

"We want to demonstrate support for local young people who are making a positive contribution to this area."