YACHTMASTER and property specialist Katie Russell will be looking for a fair wind when she sails in the Fastnet Race 2005 in August.

There's a summer of races ahead of Mrs Russell and her eight-strong crew, but she is confident that they will qualify for the gruelling five to seven-day Fastnet event and be on the starting line on August 7.

She owns the 40ft-long sloop Sweden 38 with her husband Chris, and among their Fastnet crew will be one of her three children, 19-year-old Alec.

The sailing boat, named Associate, is moored at The Hamble, and summer weekends for the Russell family are mostly spent on the water.

Now Mrs Russell wants to take up the Fastnet challenge and raise money for two charities - the Ellen McArthur Trust and Sail 4 Cancer. She is appealing to businesses and clients in Basingstoke for sponsorship.

She said: "If I was sponsored just a penny a mile, that would raise £70."

The Basingstoke businesswoman is this year celebrating the 10th anniversary of running her franchise property lettings company, L D Property Management, from offices in Wote Street.

A qualified home economist, Mrs Russell (pictured) now manages more than 100 properties in the Basingstoke area and has plans to expand the business and take on more staff.