Sailing is such a passion of Warren Brown's that one could be forgiven for thinking that salt water runs through his veins.

The father-of-five has been sailing for 65 of his 70 years and has travelled virtually as far north and as far south as it is possible to venture in a sailboat on planet Earth.

After dodging icebergs and sailing through hurricanes and typhoons, the Newport-Bermuda race -- this was his 19th -- might seem to Brown like the ferry ride from Hamilton to Dockyard.

But whenever Brown goes offshore, it is always with a healthy respect for Mother Nature and the dangers she can present to a yacht crew hundreds of miles from land. Throughout all his adventures on the high seas, Brown insisted he had never adopted a cavalier attitude.

"If I have taken risks at all, they have been calculated risks,'' said Brown.

"I don't cut corners, I take a lot of precautions and I always sail in a proper fashion.'' It was in the Newport-Bermuda race of 10 years ago that Brown went through what he said had been his most hair-raising experience at sea.

"We had a man overboard, it was Kevin Horsfield,'' recalled Brown. "We were about 250 miles north of Bermuda, it was blowing hard on the nose and there were big seas. It took us 40 minutes to find him and get him back on board.'' Horsfield survived to tell the tale and was a member of Bown's 12-strong crew again this year, along with fellow Bermudians Jack Ward and the captain's daughter, Melissa Moore.

"I've been through quite a bit of heavy weather,'' added Brown. "I went through a hurricane in the Gulf Stream in 1964 and about five years ago, we went through a big storm on the South Seas, between Tonga and New Zealand.

Eight boats were lost and there was a huge search and rescue operation.'' Brown purchased his 61-foot sloop War Baby from media magnate Ted Turner 18 years ago. The boat, under its previous name of Tenacious , won the notorious 1979 Fastnet race in violent weather which cost the lives of some competitors.

Brown also took part in that race and finished eighth with the previous War Baby , which is still in use under the name of American Eagle .

The steel attachment at the front end of War Baby's hull, effectively an ice-breaker, is a clue to just how far afield Brown has sailed her.

"I've sailed well south of New Zealand, to Campbell Island, and I've taken her to within 550 miles of the North Pole,'' said Brown.

"Up there in the high latitudes, there is either no wind or a lot of wind -- you never get moderate weather. One minute you can have beautiful weather, then you get a terrific storm.

"You can't take any risks in the icefields, because there are no bulkheads on this boat -- if the hull cracks, down she goes. I had some anxious moments in the ice once when the radar went out.'' Brown's father Archie Brown started the boy Warren sailing many moons ago and a life-long passion was born. He has now been ocean racing for 50 years and has no plans to quit in the forseeable future.

Brown was brought up with traditional methods of navigation -- using a sextant -- and he felt those skills remained valuable, even in the age of GPS technology capable of pinpointing a boat's position on the globe to within a few feet.

In last year's Marion-Bermuda race, Brown opted to take part in the celestial navigation class rather than the GPS class.

"The technology has made it easier for people to go out, but I don't think it has led to more people taking up offshore sailing,'' said Brown.

"The record fleet for the Newport race was when we all had to use sextants. I still use celestial navigation a lot and I know if our GPS equipment failed, I would still be able to find my way home to Bermuda.'' Man of the world: Skipper Warren Brown, pictured aboard his beloved War Baby in Newport harbour on the morning of the race start. Brown has sailed to within 550 miles of the North Pole on the 61-foot sloop.

Another voyage begins: The well-travelled War Baby departs from Newport.

SAILING SLG