Since I was a child I have had an obsession with the beautiful briny sea.

There were the smells of the briny sea, the wet timbers and the fresh fish.

If you are thinking of a dip in this briny sea, I suggest you think twice.

Down the furrowed sides of the disintegrating berg streamlets trickle, and miniature cascades leap, mingling their waters with the briny sea.

I could smell the briny sea air; recognize the sounds of gulls squawking and the yeasty waves crashing over the rocks.

Mine is the Atlantic,' says 41-year-old Seán McGowan as he prepares to try and row 5,000km of briny sea.