Gwyneth Lewis, a poet and seasick sailor, said sternly yesterday: "It's the chance of a lifetime, but it's work, it's serious, it's not just a jaunt."
Nevertheless, any desk-bound poet, staring for inspiration at an urban brick wall, may feel a stab of jealousy at the news that Ms Lewis has won a £75,000 grant to spend almost five years on a yacht, sailing around the world and writing poems. The money comes from the national endowment for science, technology and the arts.
Ms Lewis's sailing has so far been confined to the Bristol Channel. Her father worked for Cardiff port health authority, her cousin is a sea captain, her husband was in the merchant navy and her cousin, Joe Tanner, is an astronaut. "We've got ants in our pants in my family, big time," she said.
She is fascinated by the seafaring history of Cardiff. The harbour, which was once the largest port in the world, is now a marina backdrop for expensive new flats and cafes.
"Cardiff coalers went around the world, and we will try to trace that route," Ms Lewis said. "It seems to make sense to cross the Atlantic first and go to America, Argentina, Brazil and places like Patagonia, where the Welsh links were extraordinarily strong, and then continue to the far east. There are communities in Cardiff of people from all those places where Welsh ships traded, such as the Somali and Yemeni communities."
Until last year Ms Lewis worked with the documentary unit of the BBC, and sees the creative side of the journey bridging the gap between documentary and poetry. The enterprise will be chronicled on the internet, and she is about to make contact with round-the-world sailor Ellen MacArthur to see how she set up her website and webcam.
Ms Lewis and her husband, Leighton Denver Davies, who will be crewing while she writes, already have the boat, the 30-year-old, 35ft Jameeleh.
She said: "Her last owner told me 'she's not only sturdy, she's comfortable and by God she's pretty', which seems a good start."
There is just one problem. Ms Lewis is a rotten sailor. "I did my competent crew course and my teacher still remembers me as the most seasick pupil he has ever had. I found it helped when we got our own boat. Focusing on not crashing into the quay does distract you from being sick. But I'm still collecting remedies."
