Profiles

Musician Phil Beer is accustomed to busy summer tour itineraries, but this year his ports of call have nothing to do with sell-out shows.

Phil - one half of East Devon roots duo Show of Hands - is leaving the other half, Steve Knightley, behind for 10 weeks to take part in the 2009 Tall Ships Race organised by Sail Training International.

He'll be travelling 4,500 miles on board the Salcombe-based pilot cutter Pegasus, which is owned by The Island Trust in Exeter.

Phil has his own 20ft fishing boat, but this will be an entirely different experience. He'll be helping to crew the 70ft Pegasus with seven young people from Liverpool, under the expert guidance of qualified skipper Diggory Rose and first mate Amy Ferguson.

Pegasus was built in Bristol in 2008

Phil and Diggory have known each other for years, as Diggory's father was the late Tony Rose, a traditional English folk singer from Exeter who was a major influence on Phil.

Pegasus, which was built in 2008, sets off from Salcombe on 21 June 2009 for the start of the Tall Ships Race in Gdynia, Poland, on 5 July. From there, the 120 or so competing ships head for St Petersburg, Russia, Turku in Finland, and Klaipeda in Lithuania.

Pegasus is due to return to Salcombe on 21 August.

"It's going to be hard work," said Phil ahead of the voyage. "But it's not often these things come your way and the older you get, you just have to grab the opportunities.

"We are going to be stopping in some wonderful places and it will be a great experience. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time."

The Island Trust is a charitable trust which provides sail training opportunities for young disadvantaged people.

Authentic looking, but with all mod cons

The seven crew members on this trip are currently seeking work in Liverpool, and they have each raised sponsorship to take part.

The boat may only be a year old but Amy says it has all mod cons: "She's got that authentic look but the interior is very modern - it has all the facilities you'd expect these days.

"We are quite nervous about doing this, but very excited as well."

The voyage will be a musical one. Phil is taking an acoustic guitar, a fiddle and his laptop recording equipment: "I'll be giving the crew some lessons," he said.

"And we'll also be meeting up with musicans from some of the other ships, so there'll be some jamming there."

So does Phil think this voyage-of-a-lifetime will lead to a Tall Ships-inspired album when he gets back?

"Let's see what comes out of it," he said. "It's just great to have a break for the first time in 18 years. It's a chance to recharge my batteries really. So we'll see."