Signing up to spend almost four months racing halfway around the world in a 68ft yacht with 17 new friends is not for the faint-hearted.
But within a short time of meeting Sian Reynolds it is clear she is more than up for the challenge - especially the part involving 50ft waves.
The 26-year-old solicitor, from Penarth, is about to embark on a 16,000 mile (25,750km) stretch of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
This is a woman who at 16 was advised by doctors not to sail again after dislocating her shoulder twice while horse riding and skiing.
Three years later, she developed a fear of water after falling overboard and getting trapped underneath a boat in Plymouth. She overcame it by going to the swimming pool every day.
And did I mention she gets seasick for the first two days of any sailing trip?
"I've got enough experience of the sea to know that she's feisty when she wants to be."
"When you face really tough things, the easiest option is to give up," she said. "So many times on a boat you put your head in your hands, you are tired out, exhausted.
"You don't have much more to give. But you find another 10% from somewhere... when you really learn about yourself is when you are faced with adversity."
Running the London marathon last year was a "walk in the park", compared to her next adventure, which has required 18 months' preparation.
While going to the gym five or six times a week and sailing on weekends is something Sian has taken in her stride, the biggest nightmare has been packing for four months in two holdall-sized bags.
She said: "You've got to find best equipment to keep you warm, dry and protect you from the equator sun, you have to make sure it isn't big or bulky and it's so expensive, you have to keep thinking about that. "
Sian, who works for Harding Evans Solicitors, inherited her love of sailing from her grandparents and parents Tony and Norma. Her brother Huw followed their father into the navy.
Old family photographs show Sian happily toddling around on deck still in nappies - one of many childhood trips on her parents' yacht.
As a teenager, she raced dinghies for Penarth Sailing Club and at 14 was selected for the Welsh national sailing squad which she went on to captain.
On a sports scholarship at Swansea University, she fitted in three world championships while also studying for a law degree.
Having achieved so many of her sailing goals, only one ambition remained - racing on the oceans, or "the big boys" as she calls them.
But getting a place one of the 10 Clipper yachts was no simple task.
After applying, she had to pass an interview, 30 days of intensive training and theory tests - not to mention find the £12,000 cost of joining three of the seven legs of the race.
Setting off from Liverpool on 16 September, she will sail to La Rochelle, Salvador and Durban, finishing in Freemantle, Australia.
The final stretch will be the most challenging with 40ft - 50ft waves expected in the Southern Ocean.
"The oceans can unleash whatever they want because they've got their own ecosystem," said Sian.
The fact the weather could throw up something unexpected was both exciting and daunting, she said.
"If you are frightened, that's when fear takes over... you can't fear it, you've got to respect it. I absolutely respect it.
"I've got enough experience of the sea to know that she's feisty when she wants to be."
Sian will spend up to three-and-a-half weeks at a time at sea, living in a confined space with 17 people she met during training.
Each person sleeps in a metal bunk and has one shower a week while the toilet is a tiny space shielded by a curtain.
She added: "Your luxuries are an iPod and sleeping bag. That's what you dream about - your sleeping bag. That's how basic life is on board with no radio, no TV and no internet."
Despite the enormity of the challenge, Sian is determined to achieve her dream.
She said: "If I was 95 and in a nursing home, I would always have wondered what the Southern Ocean was like. That's why I had to do it."
Sian will be keeping us up to date with her voyage over the next few weeks.
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