Thame mayor Don Butler has embarked on a 3,500-mile trip across the Atlantic to raise money for charities.
He will be a crew member on his brother-in-law's yacht on the month-long venture, which starts in Florida.
Cllr Butler said: "My brother-in-law challenged me to do this and I think I must have been drunk or dizzy, but I said yes.
"Now I'm really looking forward to it although I'm a bit apprehensive about the weather. And, of course, there's the infamous Bermuda Triangle to negotiate."
Cllr Butler had never sailed before before accepting the challenge.
Since then he has taken a course in navigation and gotten fit.
Cllr Butler is raising money for Thame community hospital and the Helen House Hospice, Oxford.
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