A WIRRAL roofer swapped his day job to race through intense storms and waves as part of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Les Perry, 59, took part in the third of eight legs that form the global Clipper Race route.

This saw Les and 20 teammates on the Imagine your Korea team yacht race 10 other identical yachts all day every day for more than three weeks.

The team faced freezing temperatures, waves taller than buildings and wind speeds of over 60mph.

Les and his group scooped third place in the 4,750 mile stage from Cape Town in South Africa to Freemantle in Australia.

Speaking about his journey, Les told the Globe: “I’ve just had my first shower in almost a month and feeling almost human again.

“Whenever I do something in life, I have to take the hard route else I feel there’s no point in doing it. I didn’t want to just sunbathe on deck, I wanted to get stuck in, see the high waves and strong winds and look danger in the face.

"And we did that on one or two occasions and I thought yes, that’s exactly what I signed up for!

"One day it was so cold and I counted and I had eight layers on.

"My supporters are fantastic. They’ve been WhatsApping me, even at midnight in the UK, saying how they are following the race viewer, the skipper blogs, the crew blogs and realising what a tough time you have had.

"They say it’s so addictive, they watch the race viewer throughout the day."

Wirral Globe:

Les Perry, bottom row closest to the camera, and his teammates have arrived into Fremantle, Australia

Les's family and friends have been at home watching his every move through the Clipper Race Viewer on the website.

He now has caught the bug and has put his name down on the waiting list for Leg 6, aka the Mighty Pacific Leg, from China to Seattle in March.

He added: “For anyone looking tempted to do the Clipper Race - just do it, absolutely do it!

“It’s a hell of a challenge, you have your lows - getting out of bed at 1am disoriented, the boat is all over the place, people are in your way, you can’t find your boots or foulies, and you have to be on deck.

"You get up there and you are looking at a beautiful starlit night, and the boat is a fantastic safe machine that’s hurtling through the darkness.

"I would compare it to driving down the motorway and people throwing buckets of water at you every now and then, it's incredible and so enjoyable. I’m so glad I signed up.”

The Clipper Race is the only event of its type that gives everyday people, regardless of previous sailing experience, the chance to race the world’s oceans.

Around 700 crew will take part in the 41,165 nautical mile circumnavigation which takes eleven months to complete.

Participants can choose to race around the world or take part in one of more of the eight individual stages with the global route.

Each team, led by a professional skipper and first mate, is crewed by everyday people, from all walks of life and representing 43 different nationalities.

So far, the race has called into Portimao, Portugal, Punta del Este, Uruguay and Cape Town, South Africa. From Fremantle, the race will restart on 22 December 2019 heading for Whitsundays, Australia; Sanya, China; Subic Bay, Philippines; Zhuhai and Qingdao, China; Seattle and New York, USA; Hamilton, Bermuda; Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland before finishing back in London in Summer 2020.