A MALDON sailor battling a rare nerve illness will sail more than 300 miles to raise money for research into his condition.

Dave Selby, 57, will sail from Maldon Town Quay to The Southampton Boat Show to put his 18ft boat Marlin on display.

Mr Selby suffers from a viral condition called Guillain-Barré Syndrome which affects the peripheral nervous system.

He wants to raise awareness of his condition while raising money for the Guillain-Barré charity and encourage more people to take up sailing.

“It’s an illness that affects the peripheral nervous system, and I’ve got an even rarer variant called CIDP, which means the messages stop getting through to my legs about every four and a half weeks,” he said.

“Then I go into hospital for three days and antibodies from the blood of 800 donors literally give me legs for another month. Humbling.”

Dave will set off from Maldon Town Quay at 4pm on July 9.

He will sail up the Thames to London then round to Southampton in small hops as health, time and weather allow, to arrive for the opening of the show on September 16.

At the show he’s hosting a series of talks to demonstrate how to buy a boat and get sailing on a modest budget.

Dave, who writes for Practical Boat Owner magazine, said sailing had never been more accessible.

He added: “I want to share all that sailing has given me. There’s a myth that sailing is expensive.

“I bought my small boat in 2004 and it’s given me holidays of a life-time and opened up a world of adventure. Not bad for two-thousand quid.”

He has set a £10,000 fundraising target on his JustGiving page.

People will be able to follow Dave’s progress at pbo.co.uk/dave-selby.

To donate visit justgiving.com/Dave-Selby-Marlins-Mission.