From folkboats to five oceans

It’s not hard being on your own. Or even being in the middle of the ocean. It’s learning to sleep that’s so tough,” confides British sailor Pip Hare, ahead of her 2020 Vendée Globe attempt. “You reach the point when you’re falling off a cliff, and lose your ability to problem-solve. You literally have to lie on the floor and sleep. It’s terrifying the first couple of days – when the boat’s going on its own – but you get used to it.”

Surely learning to sleep – something we all do from birth – can’t be that hard?

But factor in that it’s blowing 40 knots, you’re mid-Atlantic and have just 10 minutes before you’re back on deck to gybe 600m2+ of sail, and you can start to see the difficulty.

Next November, when Pip sets sail on the 24,000-mile solo round-the-world race, she’ll be looking to sleep no more than 40 minutes at a time; often just five or