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Twenty four solo skippers from as young as 21 to veterans in their 60's are preparing to take part in the bluQube Solo 1000 sailing race that involves three legs (the first 185 mile leg is from Mylor to Kinsale, Ireland) covering a total of 1,000 miles. The race begins on Sunday, June 29 at 9.30am from Mylor Sailing Club, near Falmouth.

Katie Miller aged 21 is the youngest contestant in the field and won the Raymarine YJA Young Sailor of the Year Award in 2006.

Katie is studying Yacht Production and Surveying at Southampton Solent University. "The bluQube 1000 Solo will be my first long distance solo race, and will provide a challenging test for me and my boat "Hot Socks". It will be a very steep learning curve and we will be competing against some very talented and very experienced solo racers," she said. "Ultimately my aim is to complete the 1000 miles in order to qualify for the OSTAR next year, but it will also be an opportunity to learn from my competitors, and push myself a little bit further than I have before. But right now, I can't wait for it to start."

Race Director Paul Peggs from Racing at Petit Bateau, an organisation which has a membership of over 360 solo sailors world wide commented: "Sailors will be travelling from all over the world to take part including Canada, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Holland and of course the UK. The bluQube Solo 1000 is very appealing because it covers some extremely challenging waters including the Bay of Biscay and is also an official qualifier for the 2009 OSTAR, the famous transatlantic race previously won by Francis Chichester in1960 and Ellen MacArthur in 2000."

One of the veteran sailors is Mary Falk aged 62 who lives in Lymington and is also raising money for Cancer Research. Now retired, Mary previously worked as a solicitor in London for over 30 years. She has taken part in many races including two handed Round Britain & Ireland (five times), Azores and Back (four times), Singlehanded Transatlantic - OSTAR - (three times including class record of 19 days 22 hours 57 minutes in 1996) and many of Petit Bateau's Races.

In 2005 Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer but shortly after completion of the seven months of treatment, continued to take part in sailing and raising funds for charity.

Other contestants are from a variety of professions including lawyers, doctors, surveyors, mariners, IT professionals, financiers and musicians.

The other legs in the race include Kinsale to Santander (Spain) and Santander to Camaret (France).

Mylor Yacht club will host the Petit Bateau sailors for the fourth time in five years, at a welcome supper on June 28, before starting the fleet on the 185 miles first leg.

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