The four sailors will swap the relatively peaceful waters of the Cromarty Firth for the ravages of the Altantic Ocean when they up-anchor for their adventure of a lifetime in May.

Gwyn Phillips (55), owner of the Spar shop in Rosemarkie, has bought a 40-foot Hunter Legend Yacht in Miami and, with the help of Cromarty crewmates George Sylvester (65), Bill Paterson (68) and Neil Brooker (56), he intends sailing his new pride and joy from the Florida port to the Highland anchorage.

The 4,600-mile, seven week voyage will take them to Bermuda, on to the Azores before the next stop at Kilmore Quay on the south-east coast of Ireland.

Then it's on up the Irish Sea where they hope to pick up Gwyn's daughter Hannah, who lives in Belfast, and via the west coast of Scotland and through the Caledonian Canal.

Gwyn explained that the USA was a good place to buy a yacht because the amount of craft on offer meant they were cheaper, and the exchange rate was favourable.

"I went across last October and found something that took my liking," said Gwyn. "I have a yacht at Cromarty Boat Club but I fancied something a wee bit bigger.

"We've been talking about an Atlantic crossing for about two years but now we've decided to take the plunge and do it. The longest sail I've done previously was as part of a delivery crew taking a boat from Rhu on the Clyde to the Canaries.

"You have to make a lot of preparations and really think about it seriously. You have to do your homework because it's such a big undertaking."

The four pals have already been to the American Embassy for interviews to secure visas for the trip. "Because we have bought one way tickets to fly to Sanford Airport north of Miami and have no port of exit, we had to go to the embassy to get visas," explained George, who goes into semi-retirement in May from his job at the Marine Care Home in Rosemarkie.

Together they have cruised extensively around the east and west coast of Scotland and the Orkney Islands.

George Sylvester, Gwyn Phillips and Bill Paterson prepare for their Atlantic crossing. Ian Rhind, 01349 877218

"We've all crossed the Atlantic before but never in a 40-foot yacht so it's going to be a fantastic experience," said George, who served on the destryoer "Dunkirk" during his Royal Navy service from 1960-65. "Bill is an ex-merchant navy man and he was a boilerman at Raigmore Hospital before his retiral.

"Neil still works with the Royal Fleet Auxialliary as an engineer and we are all experienced navigators and sailors so we have no worries about our ability to make the crossing safely."

The crew, meanwhile, are looking for sponsorship for a satellite phone and they hope to provide the North Star with regular updates of their progress during their epic voyage.

"The trip itself will take about seven weeks. We will be spending five days in Bermuda and five days in the Azores which is a Portuguese colony. Everyone thinks it will be one big holiday.

"But it's going to be hard work. With four sailors we will spend two hours at the helm with six hours off and we have to keep going."

When they reach landfall in Ireland they hope to spend a day before heading north through the Irish Sea and by the end of their trip George expects they will have lost a stone each in weight – "Mind you, we could all do with that anyway," he quipped.

"But seriously, we are all experienced sailors with different skills and we are really excited about the trip."