Sarah Hornby from Poole who is set to take on the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge

When we meet she is spending every day in the gym and eating everything in sight as she gears up to take on what's known as the toughest rowing race in the world.

Sarah, who lives in Poole, is skippering a team of four women taking part in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, which will see them row 3,000 nautical miles across the ocean.

The Atlantic Endeavour crew - which is also made up of Kate Hallam, Charlotte Best and Becky Charlton - is aiming to be the first of the 14 entrants to cross the finish line at Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbour, Antigua, in early 2017, after setting off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands this week.

They also want to set the record for the fastest women's four to complete the race, which currently stands at 40 days.

Not only will the team celebrate Christmas at sea - Sarah jokes they will dine on freeze dried turkey and dress up with fluorescent-coloured suncream - but it will also be Sarah's 31st birthday a few days after they set off.

The row itself is a huge challenge, but Sarah, a former Parkstone Grammar School pupil, insists the preparation was the hard bit - including trying to put on the two stone she is expecting to lose during the voyage.

"Everybody says it's the lead-up to it that's the most stressful bit," she says.

"It's making contacts, reaching out for sponsorship. We've had four or five fundraising events. We were all working full-time, it's the stress of bringing together these things."

Fundraising was so tough that Sarah and the crew were forced to defer the race from last December. They have now managed to charter a boat, which helped to bring the budget down.

The women were also keen that any money donated from friends, family and members of the public went directly to the two charities they are supporting - Mind and Women For Women International - and have found a corporate supporter in the form of law firm Nabarro.

"It's a psychological challenge and there are people that deal with psychological challenges on a daily basis," explains Sarah, who has already sailed the Atlantic four times professionally, as well as sailed around Arabia.

"Women For Women International goes to places where women are affected by war and conflict and faced with daily challenges and seeks to offer them relevant skills for their situation.

"Locally, we've had the support of Parkstone Yacht Club. All the members there have been supportive, they've made donations. We are doing it under the Parkstone Burgee. Each yacht club has a flag and emblem and we are flying the Parkstone flag."

The boat which will be the women's home for the duration of the challenge is just seven metres long and less than two metres wide, with a small cabin providing the only protection against the ocean and powerful sun rays.

All boats are equipped at the race start, but cannot take any repair, help or food and water during the crossing. The boats are specially made and equipped with watermakers, which change sea water to drinking water, while solar panels power the GPS and other vital electrical equipment and all boats are fitted with tracking beacons to signal the boat's location.

It all sounds rather scary, but Sarah remains undaunted.

"Life off-shore is really simple," she smiles.

"You're in a very strict routine of two hours on, two hours off. In your two hours on, you row. In your two hours off you eat, you sleep, you clean yourself, fix the boat and clean the boat. It's really, really simple.

"That's part of the appeal, that you just switch off. We've put Post-Its in the food bags that say things like 'at least you're not on the tube'. We get to be out on the ocean - it's a privilege."

It's clear that after so much preparation - the team was first formed two-and-a-half years ago when the women were united by a passion for adventure and surviving in extreme conditions - Sarah is keen to get started on the challenge ahead.

"We just want to complete is honestly and as a team," she says.

"This is not something you just wake up one day and say 'I'm going to do it'. It was just something that was niggling at me. I just knew I needed to do one more challenge. I just wasn't ready to retire from sailing and adventures."

To find out more about Atlantic Endeavour, or donate to one of the charities the crew is supporting, visit atlanticendeavour.com, search for Atlantic Endeavour on Facebook or follow @AEndeavour15 on Twitter, using the hashtag #oarsomefoursome.

You can track the crew's progress via Yellow Brick tracking, ybtracking.com