A business executive is swapping the boardroom for a sailor's berth when he attempts to cross the Pacific Ocean for charity.

Adrian Carey, 50, will tackle monstrous waves and ferocious storms during his 6,597-mile journey from China to the United States.

Mr Carey, who lives near Oxford, is aiming to raise more than £5,000 for national charity Leap Confronting Conflict, which works with young people and adults to help prevent violence. He said: "I am a totally novice sailor - I have done a little bit of what I call 'gin-and-tonic sailing' when someone has invited me.

"It will be amazing, but as time draws near the trepidation will build. I have heard of lots of injuries and men overboard recently. I don't know if it's a bit of a mid-life crisis, but I am somebody that wants to do exciting things while I am young and fit enough to do them."

Mr Carey will tackle the challenge as part of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

The father-of-two will join up to 18 amateur sailors and a professional skipper on a 68-foot racing yacht called Jamaica when he leaves the Chinese port of Qingdao in February.

They will stop off in Hawaii and aim to arrive in Santa Cruz, California, about six weeks later.

It is the longest - and some claim the toughest - of the seven legs of the 35,000-mile round-the-world race, which involves 10 internationally-backed yachts visiting 14 ports on five continents.

The fleet left Liverpool in September and is expected to return next July.

As reported in yesterday's Oxford Mail, Nicholas Mullineux, 27, of Summertown, Oxford, is also taking part in the race. He has dropped anchor in Fremantle, Western Australia, where the crews are taking a two-week Christmas break.

Mr Carey, a non-executive director, said: "There will be up to 19 of us, one professional skipper and 18 amateurs, pushing ourselves and the boat to the limits in cramped and basic conditions, with temperatures ranging from -20C to +35C and all the weather and sea conditions the Pacific can throw at us." Mr Carey is funding the cost of the trip himself - so all the money he raises will go directly to charity. To donate visit www.justgiving.com/adriancarey