AN Army major from Leyburn will be hoping to show the Navy a thing or two when he joins a 3,600-mile yacht race across the Atlantic.

Robin Bolton, of the Royal Artillery, has left his base at Catterick Garrison to join a 14-man crew on board Discoverer - entered by the Army in the DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge.

There are 62 vessels in the race, including one from the German Army, which starts from Newport, in the US, tomorrow, en route to Hamburg, in Germany.

All the Discoverer's crew are experienced sailors, including Major Bolton, who estimates he has sailed 16,000 nautical miles.

He said: Crossing the Atlantic is one of my ambitions, so to be given the opportunity to do this and represent the Army and Britain at the same time is fantastic.

"We have a great team of sailors but, most importantly, we are all team players, which is vital in sailing.

"Racing across the Atlantic will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience."