Twenty-four-year old Sara Willis is one of the four Bermudians sailing on the Lord Nelson in the Tall Ships 2000 Race from Spain to Bermuda.

Like many of the trainees, Sara had never sailed before. Before she boarded the 180-foot square rigger, Miss Willis shared her thoughts about sailing out on the vast Atlantic for the first time.

Brimming with enthusiasm, she was understandably unsure about her untested abilities and the unknown ocean.

"I think it will be beautiful sailing in a tall ship,'' Miss Willis said. "I am hoping to be on the watch from 4 to 8, which is in the early morning or evening. I would love to see a sunrise or sunset on the ocean and perhaps some dolphins will swim along.

"Meeting new people, is another joyful aspect of the voyage,'' she said.

"It will also be a special experience on a ship like the Lord Nelson,'' Miss Willis said. "There will be people onboard who are blind or deaf, or in a wheelchair. I know I have to be patient and helpful at all times, even as I am learning myself. I imagine us all getting to know each other and coming together as a team to make the ship sail.

"I am a little uncertain about climbing up high in the rigging,'' she said.

"I like to set goals for myself and that will be a real challenge!'' However, an unknown voyage is is mix of anticpated fun and concerns about the unknown rigours of life on a tall ship.

"A few days before I was to leave Bermuda for Spain, there was a thunderstorm in the early morning,'' Miss Willis related.

"I thought to myself, this is OK while I'm lying in my nice warm bed with a solid house arund me, but I wondered how scary thunder and lightening would be out on the ocean, with the ship pitching and rolling from side to side.'' So Miss Willis set about learning as much as she could about the ocean. Sara visited The Rose , when she docked in St George's this Spring. The Rose is the same size as the Lord Nelson and Sara wanted to get a feel for what would be her floating home for close to a month.

She watched the Discovery Channel and some National Geographic videos on the ocean trying to get a better idea of what it would really be like out on the ocean.

"It made me realise that anything could happen out there,'' she said. "I had to turn off something called `White Squall', it was too scary.

"I decided to put my fears aside and rely on the professinals on board the Lord Nelson, who have plenty of experience. I am now psyched to go.'' Miss Willis likes to be well prepared for almost a month at sea and spent plenty of time and thought on just what she was going to take on on board. She was organised early on, and asked for expensive foul weather gear for her Christmas present.

"The Lord Nelson gave us a list of all the stuff we would need,'' she said.

"We were advised that foul weather gear has to be red,'' she said, "so they can keep track of you in rainy weather. And to get knee-high boots to wear in bad weather when the decks are wet and slippery.

"They tell you to eat everything put in front of you so you'll have plenty of energy, and if you are seasick, you'll have something to bring up. So I packed plenty of sea sickness pills, my insulin supplies for my diabetes, and band-aids for blisters.

"On a more positive note, I brought loads of sunscreen, my journal, waterproof cameras, and my camcorder. When I'm up on that top spar pulling in the sails, I want to have a picture of it!'' About the time this supplement will go to press, Sara and the Lord Nelson will be about to cross the finishing line off Ber muda.

Crossing the line with Sara will be Catherine White, Laura Smith and Craig Smith.

Six new Bermudian crew -- Kirsty Anderson, Paula Cann, Phyliss Harshaw, Ann Lindroth, Mark Richardson and Valerie Wade -- will join the Lord Nelson in Bermuda and make a voyage to the East Coast of the United States.

Challenge: Sara Willis