A GRANDMOTHER is setting sail on a voyage halfway around the world.

Susan Peart (61), of Bellingham, is currently gearing up to tackle four of the eight legs as part of the Clipper Round the World Race in September.

And she has set an ambitious fund-raising target of £20,000 – a pound for each nautical mile she aims to complete – in aid of Tynedale Hospice at Home, a charity close to her heart for the care it, alongside Helping Hands Care and Housing at Home, provided her late husband Chris as he fought a neurological disease.

With little sailing experience, Susan is setting herself the biggest challenge she has ever faced.

Starting in September, she and her team will sail from London to Uruguay, and then on to South Africa in the race’s opening two legs. She will rejoin the race next May when she travels from Seattle to the East Coast of America, before returning to England by tackling the Atlantic Ocean.

She said: “I never ever though I would do this – I still don’t know why I am.

“From seeing a post on Facebook about the race, it has just snowballed from there, and I’m loving the training and everything else too.”

Susan has set up a fund-raising page to help with the goal of reaching £20,000.

She hopes to get as close to her target as possible to ensure other families can received the help they did.

“Chris was in and out of hospital a lot in the latter years and the care he received varied,” she said. “It was really upsetting at times so we decided to have nursing at home, and I was put in touch with Tynedale Hospice.

“Somebody came out once a week and she enabled me to have that Thursday off. He was being fed through a peg in this stomach so I couldn’t leave it to just anybody, but knowing he was in safe hands was such a big help.

“It is a wonderful charity so I hope to get as near to the £20,000 as I can.”

Anybody wishing to donate should visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/susan-peart.