A HAMPSHIRE yachtswoman has swapped sails for oars in a bid to take on the most gruelling rowing challenge in the world.

Lia Ditton has set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands bound for Antigua in the West Indies in the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race.

The 29-year-old has teamed up with 44-year-old Detective Inspector Mick Birchall for the 2,500-mile race, which is expected to take about three months.

The pair will take it in turns to row their 23ft ocean boat, each rowing 12 hours a day.

Lia, who has competed in three single-handed transatlantic yacht races, said: “The mere idea of crossing an ocean by boat, any boat, is a difficult proposition for many to grasp.

“For that boat to be a small 23ft boat propelled only by oars is mindboggling even for me.

“In the last ten years, I’ve logged some 75,000nm at sea; crossed the Atlantic on eight occasions, three times while racing single-handed.

“Before each solo start, I was nervous. Now I feel relaxed.”

Lia is using the challenge as training for the 2010 Barcelona World Race, a double-handed round the world yacht race.

She added: “For me, the Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race will be mental and physical training, since the race will be of similar duration to the Barcelona World Race – two to three months at sea and likewise with only one other person onboard.”

Keen artist Lia made headlines in 2006 with her performance piece Absolute Solitude, for which she lived onboard a yacht outside the Tate Britain for 28 days.

She was inspired by her experiences in the 2005 OSTAR transatlantic race, and is now planning Colours of the Atlantic, a piece based on her experiences rowing the Atlantic.