A Buckden mum will brave stormy seas, freezing ­temperatures and sleepless nights on a round the world sailing voyage – despite having had just three weeks training on board a yacht.

Setting sail from Rio de Janeiro on Friday of next week, Elaine Lamdin, 48, a project manager, of Greenway, will join her crew as it navigates the South Atlantic to reach Cape Town by October 27.

This will be the second leg of the Clipper Round the World Race, an eight-stage challenge which started on September 1 and lasts 11 months.

Mrs Lamdin will take on two legs of the race – rejoining the crew on April 18, the penultimate leg of the race, which starts at San Francisco sailing via the Panama Canal to Port Antonio, Jamaica, before making a final dash to New York, on June 1.

Her crew will then continue to the finishing line at London’s St Katharine Docks, on July 12.

Each of the crews includes amateur sailors accompanied by a professional skipper.

Mrs Lamdin said she was inspired to take on the challenge after a management consultant, who had previously circumnavigated the globe, visited her workplace and gave a series of talks about teamwork using sailing anecdotes.

“It’s something you don’t get too many opportunities to do and something which is really pushing the boundaries,” she said.

“It’s very far outside of my comfort zone. It’s the chance to prove you can do something very different.”

Mrs Lamdin’s preparation consisted of three weeks formal training on board a boat, and one week of training ashore.

Team members are encouraged to take part in other sailing exercises in the run-up to the race.

Alongside storms, long nights manning the boat, bitterly cold winds and sea sickness, Mrs Lamdin will also have limited contact via satellite phone with her husband Phil and nine-year-old son Alex.

She said: “My son has mixed emotions from proudly telling ­everyone what I am doing, to saying that he will miss me when I’m gone while my husband is positive ... but concerned.”