OCEAN yacht racing has never been an activity for the faint-hearted, and even among the hardy brethren of this arduous sport the Fastnet race in particular enjoys a fearsome reputation.

So surely entering a crew made up entirely of sailors all missing limbs will be to take this already challenging endeavour into the heady realms of impossibility.

But no.

Ian Whiting, who has gathered together eight other legless ex-servicemen for the race, accepts that while they may be facing difficulties other crews won't even think about, they will neither ask for any quarter, nor give any, and aim not only to enter the race, but win it.

Ian, 44, is well-known in various places all over West Devon and East Cornwall by his sobriquet Fishy — a result of his surname rather than any slight on his sailing skill.

A year or so back he put on the mantle of sailing secretary for Blesma — the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association and entered a team for Cowes week.

'Cowes week races are challenging in their own right,' said Fishy. 'But several of us wanted something that was more adventurous and we had the idea of Fastnet — one of the toughest events on the British calendar.'

Blesma endorsed the idea and the guys have got on with turning the dream into cold, wet reality.

Of course, you cannot just go and 'do' the Fastnet — you need a boat, equipment and training, and none of that comes cheap. Blesma has underwritten the project and the crew are raising sponsorship — so far more than £50,000 from the Army Benevolent Fund, the Royal British Legion and various commercial sponsors— though an additional £30,000 is still needed.

The crew has chartered a very competitive boat to give them an edge — an HOD (Humphrey's One Design) 35 ft, built locally at Penryn.

'It won its class in the Fastnet last year, so we've chosen a pedigree boat — it's down to us now,' said Fishy.

And 'down to us' means rigorous training in the classroom and gym as well as out on the water.

The crew have taken Royal Yachting Association courses in navigation and seamanship, although some are already experienced yachtsmen — three of the crew did the first BT round the world yacht race — one of them, Brendan West, broke his sole remaining leg in the Southern Ocean when someone fell on top of it!

They are also engaged in fitness regimes and taking first aid and sea survival training, but however prepared the crew are, there will always be additional problems they will have to face.

'It is difficult getting around the boat on one leg in big seas — you haven't the balance and feeling of people with both legs, but you adapt yourself, whether it's on the fore deck or up the mast. We do whatever we have to do. We will overcome whatever gets in the way and the training will enable all of us to do practically all the jobs on the boat — though using the heads (lavatories) is a bit of a nightmare,' admitted Fishy.

The practicalities of wearing and looking after artificial legs and stumps in such a harsh environment could also pose problems.

'But we all have a positive attitude — a result of military training — we don't ask for any quarter, nor do we give any. We work as a team. If there's a job to be done it gets done, it doesn't matter who does it. We work very much as an organic entity — my wife, Nina, calls the team "The mafia".

'We are aiming to win,' said Fishy. 'We are not going along for the ride — we are there to compete and we will do the best we can with the ability and funding we have.'

The boat will not be carrying any extra equipment to help compensate, but to improve the situation, Fishy has elected to sail with a crew of nine.

'We can run the boat with seven, but we are going to go for nine to make life a bit easier. It's a hard game, especially when you're racing — there's no sitting around — and it gives more people a chance to race,' he said.

On the water, the crew has come on in leaps and bounds. Their first excursion was in August last year for Cowes week.

'We had a lot of teething problems with the boat, so we only managed a fifth place on the last day,' said Fishy.

But since then they have pulled out very creditable performances in the Myth of Malham at the end of August — a race between Cowes and Le Havre, plagued last year by some very strong and changeable wind conditions.

There was also a race between Cowes and Cherbourg in September the crew completed successfully, so, with this season's training, they should be well set to make their mark on one of the toughest sail races in Europe.

Fishy takes all this kind of adventure in his stride. He has always been interested in adventure sports such as skiing, paragliding, rock climbing, ski bobbing, and is planning an advanced freefall course later this year.

He first sailed when he was eight or nine — soon after the family moved to Tavistock — in Mirror dinghies he and his dad built themselves in their garage. He also sailed on the Malcolm Miller sail-training ship as a youngster, but gave the sport up as a teenager, when he discovered girls and partying!

On leaving what was then the Tavistock Comprehensive School, Fishy had a number of jobs locally before joining the army as a 19-year-old. But what was looking like a promising career at REME — the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers — ended prematurely when he was knocked off his motorcycle by a drunk driver and had most of his right leg torn off.

After five months Fishy left both the hospital and the army, unwilling to take on a desk job, and returned to Tavistock to set about picking up the pieces.

'In 1976 there weren't many support systems in place. I felt a bit cut off, but got on with my life by myself really,' he said. 'It was quite difficult being physically limited and not having any qualifications or training.'

Fishy was out of work for a year before getting a production job and going on to gain electronics qualifications. He went on to do a number of other jobs, before health problems associated with his injuries kicked in, making work difficult.

It was at this time that he rejoined Blesma and discovered things had moved on in terms of rehabilitation from such devastating injuries. And it was here he rediscovered his love of sailing.

The Fastnet race starts in the second week of August from the Solent.