A dedicated adventurer who has backpacked round the world is getting ready to face a new challenge - a 3,000 mile unsupported rowing race across the Atlantic.

Robert Hamilton, 28, of Temple Road, Windsor has signed up for the 2020 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge as a solo rower. He will leave from the Canary Islands in December next year to row to Antigua and says all his friends think he is mad.

He said: "I will have to contend with sleep deprivation, hallucinations, salt sores, sharks, dehydration, 35 degree heat and despite eating 6000 calories a day I will likely lose 15kg.

"The whole trip could take up to three months and I will spend the whole time on my boat as I will be taking all my food, navigation equipment and a water making desalinator. While there are support boats, they are for the entire fleet (up to 30 teams) and so if I need help it may be several days before a boat is able to reach me."

Robert admits he is not even much of a rower but says that for some reason the Talisker Whisky challenge has been an obsession of his for 10 years.

He said his motivation increased after the bitter disappointment of being medically discharged from the army because he injured his knee during training.

He made up for that disappointment by back packing through the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa and becoming an accomplished scuba diver.

He recently returned from a four month stay in Jordan working for the Collateral Repair Project helping refugees from war torn Syria and Iraq.

But the next year will be spent preparing for the massive rowing challenge he is undertaking and that has meant calming down a bit - taking a job with a crisis response insurance company in Henley.

In order to get to the start line of next year's race he needs to get corporate partnerships and would like to work with the local community as part of this.

He can be reached on www.atlantic-titan.com and his journey to the start line of the big race and beyond can be followed on instagram: @robhamilton_adventures