ROUND-THE-WORLD yachtsman Andy Hindley will share some of his sailing secrets when he takes part in a live internet chat.

People are invited to log on and put questions to Accrington-born Andy, his fellow sailors from Team Philips and other world-famous adventurers, including polar explorer David Hempleman-Adams and hot air balloon captain Brian Jones.

The online chat, on January 12, has been organised as part of the build-up to the RACE, a non-stop, no-limits race around the world that starts at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2000 in Barcelona.

Andy, 32, whose parents still live in Accrington, will be crewing on a revolutionary 120ft catamaran which is thought to be the most technologically advanced racing boat ever built.

He was invited to join the team by skipper Pete Goss.

Quoted on the Team Philips website, Andy said: "To be part of a team, sailing the most radical-looking yacht I'd ever seen, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting into when I accepted Pete's invitation to join the crew. That's the nature of such a project, I suppose. It almost defies the imagination.

"None of us will really get a true idea of what she is capable of until she hits the water. In a strange way that uncertainty is attractive."

Andy said the race was sailing's equivalent of going into space.

"I'm looking forward to finding out a little bit more about myself, because this is the ultimate progression in anyone's sailing career.

"It is a fantastic opportunity, the realisation of a dream."

The boat will be launched in Totnes, Devon, on February 29, 2000, and named by the Queen in London on March 14. The five-strong crew hopes to complete two transatlantic passages before the round-the-world race.

Andy said: "The yacht is huge, 120ft long, 70ft wide and has two 135ft masts - but the ride will be wild and the life wet.

"The accommodation pod is slung between the two beams that hold the hulls apart and when you are at the steering position your head will be some 18ft above the water - but you will still get wet.

"The revolutionary design of the wave-piercing hulls means that the bows of the yacht may go as far as 14ft under water, which with a little bit of wind and spray means the poor driver may get the occasional drenching."

He said the motion of the boat would also cause problems for the crew, for standing up, never mind cooking or carrying out maintenance.

"As for sleeping and general living it will be pretty grim. With only five in the crew the workload will be high but the rewards fantastic," he said.

"The down side, and there is always a down side, is that if one person is injured we lose 20 per cent of our workforce." Andy, who lives in Twickenham with his wife, Julie, started sailing dinghies at the age of 11 and sailed for the county team throughout his school years.

He has circumnavigated the globe twice already.

The chat will be broadcast on the Team Philips website (www.teamphilips.com) at noon on January 12.

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