TAKING the 4am watch on board a heaving ship with icy hail stinging the face would not appeal to many pensioners - but Mrs Pat Watt is made of sterner stuff.

The 64-year-old from West Layton, near Richmond, braved the elements and a bout of seasickness to work her passage on the first leg of this summer's tall ships race.

She joined more than 40 disabled and able-bodied people from across the UK on the Jubilee Sailing Trust ship, the Lord Nelson, a four-masted barque.

"I had never sailed before and applied on the spur of the moment after seeing an article about the race in a magazine," said Mrs Watt, who was at sea for two weeks on the Southampton to Cadiz leg.

"I wanted to do something a bit different and this was attractive because it was a one-off."

Some of the cost of Mrs Watt's place was offset by a donation from the proceeds of regular whist drives organised by Mrs Pam Cross in Richmond.

The crew, aged from 15 to 75 and including one wheelchair user, was divided into watches round the clock.

"Sometimes I was getting up at 4am to go on watch, but we also took turns at helping in the kitchen, serving in the mess and even steering the ship at the helm," she said.

"Then we had what we called happy hour - scrubbing the deck and cleaning the toilets!

"The disabled people worked every bit as hard as the able-bodied. One woman, a thalidomide victim, was really marvellous. She was up the rigging and always cheerful. I admired her courage and spirit. In general, the women seemed to be the more adventurous."

The trip was not without its tricky moments; the outer jib sail blew out in strong winds in the bay of Biscay and one crew member shinned up the mast to carry out repairs.

"The trip was quite physically hard and I began to feel much fitter after a week. We also got three cooked meals a day, which helped. The ship's cook was wonderful; he even produced a chocolate cake when the first mate had her birthday."

On the trip, which totalled 1,731 nautical miles, 30pc under sail, with 13 days and 15 hours at sea, seasickness struck many of the crew when the weather was particularly rough.

Accommodation was tight - small bunks and only one bag of clothing and belongings per person.

"It wasn't exactly comfortable," she said. "My bunk was directly over the anchor chain tunnel and, when we were at anchor, there was an awful grating noise."

Night watches could be tough, in spite of the oilskins issued to crew members. "I remember hailstones driving into my face on a watch at night."

But the difficult aspects of the journey were more than compensated for by magical moments which included watching dolphins swim alongside the hull as the vessel crossed to Spain.

The might of the elements was brought home to the crew when they saw a tornado whip the ocean into a water spout which, luckily, came nowhere near the ship.

"There were about 50 ships in the race and I had envisaged us all sailing along within sight of each other but most of the time it was just us on our own," said Mrs Watt.

Docking at the Spanish port of El Ferrol for two nights gave the crew the chance to go ashore. "We had a nice meal there in a proper restaurant but I had to be back at the ship for the 12 o'clock watch," she recalled.

"My family thought it was great that I was going on the trip, although some friends thought I was mad," said Mrs Watt, who admitted the experience had given her the adventure bug. "Joining it was a spur of the moment thing. I don't know what's next but I would love to sail again."

The tall ships race ends in Amsterdam in August after calling at Bermuda, New York, Boston and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

l The Jubilee Sailing Trust was set up in 1978 to integrate physically disabled and able-bodied people. The Lord Nelson made its first voyage in 1986 and has since taken more than 15,600 people to sea. It now has a second sailing ship, the Tenacious. The trust can be contacted on 01703 449108.