AN ELLESMERE Port man has won a place sailing the high seas and battling the elements.

Clinton Ball, 20, will join the crew on a challenge voyage aboard the 60-metre tall ship Prince William sailing from the Azores to Liverpool.

He will fly to the Azores for the start of the 16-day, 1,500-mile voyage on Tuesday. The Tall Ships Youth Trust brig will sail up the Atlantic past the west coast of Africa, through the Bay of Biscay and finally the Irish Sea.

Clinton's duties will include taking the helm, keeping watch, climbing the yardarms to set the sails 120ft above the sea and cleaning the decks and toilets.

But the highlight for the crew will be standing on the yardarms above the deck as the tall ship arrives to a fanfare in Liverpool on June 9, just in time for the Mersey River Festival.

Clinton, an IT technician at Whitby High School, was awarded his place for his outstanding service with Ellesmere Port Sea Cadets, where he is a petty officer.

He has been with the sea cadets for 12 years, teaches engineering and is a drummer with the Sea Cadets Band which will be playing the ship in on her arrival in Liverpool.

Clinton said: 'It's a very exciting opportunity for me to get the chance to join the voyage, make new friends and learn to sail properly.

'Sailing from the Atlantic to the Mersey will be a challenge but I am really looking forward to it.'

He owes his place indirectly to John Billington, former chairman of Liverpool food manufacturer E J Billington & Sons.

Friends of Mr Billington clubbed together to raise money for a bursary for his 70th birthday. This was awarded to Karl Bretherton, 23, from Halewood, who persuaded the Sea Urchins Naval Officer's Club, which he was president of last year, to unite with the Tall Ships Youth Trust's Merseyside branch to provide a place for Clinton.