NO cold beers or hot blondes for three years. That was one warning for prospective round-the-world yachtsman Mr Terence Lam as he made final preparations at the Royal Hongkong Yacht Club yesterday.
Yacht club commodore Mr Vic Locke, who joked that sailing often revolved more around alcohol and women than boats, wished Mr Lam well on his voyage - the first attempted circumnavigation of the globe to start in Hongkong.
Mr Lam admitted he could face a host of dangers - from food shortages to raging storms and even pirates.
But this shy, softly-spoken businessman, as far removed from a swashbuckling sea adventurer as you could imagine, simply shrugged his shoulders and said he would tackle any problems as they arose.
If he took weapons to defend himself against pirates they could be used against him or he could even be accused of gun-running.
There was nothing he could do about the weather, said the Macau-born 41-year-old, but he would be taking enough food for two as well as a few bottles of Portuguese wine on the 34-foot yacht which will be home for his three-year voyage.
Bureaucracy could throw another spanner in the works - Mr Lam will need a visa for South Africa, but as they are only valid for six months and it will be at least two years before he catches sight of South African soil, he will need to find a consulate along the way.